The rickety bus we boarded from Jalingo to Gembu, Sardauna Local Government headquarters, bumped into potholes as we made our way uphill and by the time we passed Serti, the tranquil headquarters of Gashaka local government, my body was rattled and my buttocks cramped.  The only relief was the undulating mass of mountains that bordered both sides of the road, with luxuriant vegetation at the banks of the serene streams and rivers we crossed. And when you begin to immerse yourself in the beautiful and peaceful environment, you will be jolted into reality as the bus bounce on the crumbling Lord Lugard bridges that are so narrow and low that crossing them gives you the scary feeling that the bus will nosedive straight into the river or stream.

But that was just the beginning of the journey. Dusk was fast gathering when the overloaded bus, (most of them in Taraba are anyway) labouriously began to climb the plateau, spurting dark smoke and jerking as it navigated the rutted, winding road.

We reached Gembu, an old rustic town perched on the peak of the Mambilla plateau by 9 pm at night. The January wind was cold and almost piercing the skin. I and my colleague from Nigerian Compass, Stephen Osu, who was more or less my guide, lodged at Daula Motel, a weather-beaten one-storey building that is not decent at all. It has worn rugs and smelly toilets, yet it is the best in a town that is a tourist destination.

The rusted roofs and the crumbling mud walls of houses in the old Mambilla town tells the story of Gembu—an old town that has not witnessed any form of development in recent years. There is no electricity, no pipe borne water and no modern school.

Jackline Amos who sells in a restaurant at Daula Motel told our correspondent that she was born and bred in Gembu in the last 30 years but she had not seen the town change in terms of development. Except that it appears to be sliding backward.

I travelled through a more rugged terrain the following day on my way to cover PDP State House of Assembly primary election in Mbamnga constituency. Mbamnga is a rustic community surrounded by rolling hills and sweeping, green valleys. And the road to the community is jagged and the commonest, easiest and safest means of plying the dirt road is by riding on a bike. Yet, it is a trans-border route, especially for smugglers, who use jeeps.

So we set out that Monday morning looking for bikes that will take us to Mbamnga. But we discovered to our dismay that not every okada in Gembu likes the idea of a rough ride to Mbamnga. We finally got two very young boys who were ready to take up the challenge. At first, I was skeptical that the boys may be inexperienced, but they cleared the doubts once we climbed the bikes and they raved them on the stony, dusty dirt road. I was rocked and jolted as the bike bumped on the rocks, especially when we made our way up hill. We came to a swift flowing river, in between mountains, and Ismaila Abdulkareem, the 17-year old SS one student who carried me on the bike told me it is called Nimoh Kiemo in Mambilla dialect. We were then ferried across in a dugout and the journey continued.

We sped past sweeping valleys with sweet smelling wild flowers and tall green eucalyptus trees and I felt excited. But each time we passed the edge of a gorge, I would shudder with fear that the bike might skid on the rocks and tumble down the gorge. My ears and hands became numb from the biting cold, and my buttocks cramped after being rocked and jolted on the rough dirt road for over an hour. So I was relieved when we finally arrived Mbamnga.  When I saw young girls strap baskets of firewood on their backs, I knew I was in a strange world.

Unfortunately, the election we were coming to cover could not hold that day. We waited all day but we did not see the electoral officers and the aspirants, so we took another rough ride back to Gembu just as the sun was setting behind the grey mountains and birds were chirping gregariously as they went to roost.

The following day we took the same rough ride to Mbamnga, with the same feeling of trepidation. But that day the election held as early as 10 am. The incumbent state legislator, Hon Abel Peter Diah won by a 100 per cent. His opponent, former deputy speaker in the state house of assembly, Hon Tafi Warwar, however, said the election was free and fair and accepted the result in good faith. And to demonstrate that, he hugged and congratulated the winner.

But the Science Primary School where the election was conducted looked weather- beaten with caved-in ceilings, broken windows, tattered roofs and seared walls.

We then asked Hon. Diah how he felt having been nominated in that kind of primary school and he said he was going to lobby to ensure the primary school was renovated.

He said he had already reticulated water from a natural spring for his people in Mbamnga and the school was now his priority.

I came back to Gembu that day looking shabby, with red dust plastered all over my body. And I was so fagged out the flames of excitement that adventure fans in me died out.