New Year in the sky
I can’t remember being airborne on any previous first day of any year. So this was something new to me. My whole life has been spent doing the New Year celebration on the material earth. Not that there’s anything very wrong with that. But these earthward celebrations by mankind are quite one sided, come to […]
I can’t remember being airborne on any previous first day of any year. So this was something new to me. My whole life has been spent doing the New Year celebration on the material earth. Not that there’s anything very wrong with that. But these earthward celebrations by mankind are quite one sided, come to think of it. Ha Ha. If I could do at least one up in the sky in a lifetime that really wouldn’t be bad, I reflected. I felt it was a nice new way to start the year. The seconds pass swiftly as the plane cuts through the quiet ever changing clouds. The New Year nears quietly but surely, and the stars so very far away, seem to hum and sing. I Love stars and clouds so beautifully arrayed up there in the sky. It’s nice to see all this from a plane. I often wonder why whenever I have to fly to South Africa, the preparation is almost always slightly hurried. I believe this happened in 2002. I was heading for Zimbabwe then, and had to pass through Johannesburg. The visa to Zimbabwe came all of a sudden, although there had been a few initial doubts about its coming. Then I headed to the airport, and boarded a flight at the last minute to Lagos, to catch the 10.45 or was it the 11.45 to Jo’burg. This present trip followed the same hurried pattern. Again, I was on the 10.45 to Jo’burg .There was a little feeling of De ja vu on the trip. During my 2002 trip we flew in a massive plane which had an upper and lower section for the passengers. Someone joked then that the plane won’t be able to fly because of its sheer size. But it did and conveyed us beautifully to Jo’burg. There was no need for a visa to Jo’burg this time since I made use of my British passport, but the flight from Abuja to Lagos that Friday afternoon almost became elusive. I pulled a few strings and suddenly got a flight. I had developed a fondness for South African history and culture even as a child, and remember being excited by the IPI Tombi performance at FESTAC. I didn’t understand the dance, but I liked the stirring song. But then my MA research into the South African Novel, which had a focus on Shaka Zulu and the Mfecane, years later at the Ahmadu Bello University, had nothing hurried about it. The research was carefully worked at, and also earned me a $2,000 grant from CODESRIA of Senegal in 1997. Thereafter, all subsequent connections with that country have been rather hurried and even dramatic. Its strange how things seem to have intensified for me in the post 1997 period.
Some people have said that I am a lucky man. There may be some truth in that. When I was checking in my luggage at Lagos Airport, the Lady on duty asked if I had gone for the Yellow Fever Vaccination. I answered in the negative.She then confirmed that I have British citizenship.I answered in the affirmative and she proceeded to allow me to go forward.I couldn’t believe it. This ‘luck’ was also demonstrated at the Jo’burg airport when another Lady asked for the document relating to the Yellow Fever Vaccination. Nobody had mentioned that I needed this document at Abuja. When I said that I did not have the document, she paused and had a discussion with her male colleague, who motioned that I should be allowed in. She turned and looked at me for a few seconds, and said that since this is a festive season, I am lucky to meet her in a good mood. She too allowed me in.
As the flight to Jo’burg commenced and the watch indicated midnight, I suddenly began to notice the bald headed South African air hostess. Her fairly bald head which had some small strands of black on it, giving it an enchanting aspect, began to resemble the New Year that was coming into being. I couldn’t help but draw a link between her bald head and the new year with its seed of promise, and even began to wonder why South African women like the bald head.I later gathered that the habit began among the Zulu women, and it later spread to other groups in that country.But then there was little work for the Air Hostesses since the plane was less than half full,I calculated. Perhaps if we had a crowd within or a fuller craft, the birth of the year would have been heralded with some celebration of sorts. The meal that was served even began to take on the character of a New Year feast. I wondered how many had converted it into a New Year Feast of sorts. Then the lights were dimmed and some of us went to sleep, while some read.
Later, in the distance after we had travelled for several hours, a luminous redness came towards us. These were the first heralds of the dawn and seemed to give promise of a good year. I remember seeing the sun up in the Skies as a red ball during the 2002 trip.Now it seemed that the red ball of long ago had become a horizontal flame which had a compelling redness to it. Soon we began the descent into Johannesburg. I always like this moment of the flight. This is when the engines begin to purr somewhat, and seem to be in a more likeable mood. The airport at Jo’burg is a miracle that’s taken on physical form. This is a nice sight to behold on New Year Day. We only saw a few persons when we disembarked at about 5.20 am. Soon we were done with immigration, where I had my adventure as outlined above. I was accommodated at Sandton, regarded as an elite part of Johannesburg. Nearby is the impressive Michelangelo hotel, as well as the train station. I won’t forget the train trip I made in a hurry. The train was neat and swift. The roads are wide and clean. I never saw a street sweep, but every day the streets of Jo’burg were spotless. I was told later that the streets are cleaned in the dead of night. Then I went to Monte Casino, a popular Mall in Jo’burg which draws countless visitors, including Nigerians, every day. A day later I was in Pretoria to visit Union Building, the seat of government which is a crowd puller anyday.Here the seat of government is a magnet for tourists, and people sell souvenirs nearby .Then I met Dominic,a new friend and a remarkable Zimbabwean. I also made the round of bookshops which are located in the many malls of Jo’burg.
Also, I felt quite safe in South Africa and hope to return soon, to go up to Cape Town and Kwa-Zulu Natal, the home of the Zulus.
The airport was neat and organised .I saw other parts of it when I was making the return trip to Nigeria. There are countless shops there too. Bookshops, as well as restaurants, and places where one can buy souvenirs.Its simply unforgettable, and all around are the helpful and friendly staff. There’s so much space there too, as though built in anticipation of great crowds. The return journey was a bit unlike the New Year Day trip. There was no dignified bald headed woman, and there were more passengers this time on the plane. On the return trip an enchanting twilight was visible from the plane, and my neighbour was as affected by it just as I was. It was like a bit of fairyland taken into the skies for us to see. When we landed at Lagos airport there were vast crowds of taxi drivers heckling, almost sneering at you while looking for customers. This contrasted so much with the patience of the taxi drivers I saw at Jo’burg .My heart sank .But it was all fun I guess , and somewhat made the New Year to begin on a hopeful note. This year I made two special resolutions in the sky…I will fulfill these on earth by the Grace of the Eternal One.