Our journey towards Kwara’s mystery waterfall
On Tuesday, all that was on my mind was the Arsenal Europa league game against Benfica. The atmosphere was charged already, simply because two of the giants of European football had been beaten a day prior.
Like every other Arsenal fan, I was waiting for the day where the lord of banter will smile at us. Then, Yusuf sent me a message on WhatsApp to remind me of our commitment to visit some places in Kwara state in preparation for @timetravelers360 #KwaraMegaTour . Oops! I immediately started planning again as my schedule had been affected for Wednesday. However, it was important because that’s simply the major reason why we have been able to carry out 99 percent of our travels successfully.
Wednesday morning started like a normal day. I love traveling to new places and anytime I have such an opportunity, I try as much as possible not to allow anything to delay it. I woke up earlier, prayed, and finished my chores before 8 am so I can meet Xultan by 9 am as promised.
Yusuf and I don’t know where we are going to but we have heard and seen the mysterious Eroomola waterfalls online and we are travelers, we can’t lose our way.
After all, Freya Stark said “To awaken alone in a strange town is one of the pleasantest sensations in the world”.
We made the short and silent journey to Iloffa, a quiet and beautiful town in Oke-Ero LG of Kwara state. When we dropped at the LG secretariat, we didn’t know that will be the start of our nightmare stay in the ancient town. Since we didn’t know where we are going, we told a group of bikemen that we have come from Ilorin, and we would love to go to the Ero-Omola waterfalls. They smiled back, probably because they were thinking, oh, thank God for bringing these visitors into town. Your guess is as good as mine. Nigerians, we are always looking for our next scamming victim.
What followed next is the scamming itself. One of the bikemen said if he wants to take us to the falls, he will take #1000. Ah! Even his fellow bikemen shouted at his Abacha-esque way of charging visitors for a journey that’d be less than twenty minutes. Then, an elderly man said, don’t mind him, I will carry you to the waterfalls for #300 naira only. I was thinking thank God, I finally met a good man today. I didn’t know he’s probably the same with our #1000 guy.
The man carried us for ten minutes and dropped us on a bridge housing an abandoned dam as a waterfall! Seriously baba! We meant “ibi ti omi tin san wale, ko kin shey ibi yi rara” . The look on the man’s face made it clear he only wanted to make some fast cash. Well, I don’t always want anything to waste and I took pictures of our Ero Dam, just before the entrance of OSI, the headquarter of quality Garri in Nigeria. Help me check if there are no Ijebu men or women outside, please.
After some calls and back and forth, baba discovered where we are going is like two hours to where we were and he promised to call a driver for us. So we started our journey back to Iloffa from Osi so we could leave fast for Odofin Igbana where the waterfall is said to be located.
Oh, before that, we took a detour to see the historical Imoleboja Rock Shelter, Kajola, Kwara state. Oh my God, if you don’t go out, you will not see things. Trust me when I say true history is the one you get to hear from a witness or someone born in that historical circumstance or place.
According to the local man we met, he told us the rocks have been there for hundreds of years and it used to be a form of protection and shield from those who wage war against the clan. He narrated how people almost always come to the rock shelter every day to act, relax or take pictures. At first, we were afraid to enter into the rock because it was dark and I was hearing sounds like those of bees. I have had nasty experiences with them and I was not ready for another adventure like that.
I am not good at racing, not to talk of running out from a rock surrounded by bees! We later summoned courage and entered and man, it was so beautiful! Different ways head to the top and the views are splendid from there. The palm trees surrounding it make for amazing scenery but unfortunately, the locals are not learned enough not to cut down some of the trees and burn them for charcoal.
However, it was a very marvelous experience and one I will hold on to for a long, long time. The good news is, I am going there again in March and I will have all the fun I didn’t have now. Yay!!! Hopefully, it would have rained and the green and lush bushes surrounding it will be out. It is a great place to camp for the strong-hearted and builds everlasting memories!
We left Kajola for Iloffa to continue our journey to see Ero-omola waterfalls. At this point, I was so tired and hungry and I could swear Xultan was as tired as I am. Luckily, I saw one local woman pounding Yam while we were waiting for our new driver and those legendary scenes in Yoruba movies came to my mind. What else are corp members traveling in Yoruba movies without eating the local food? Lol. It’s not like we were serving Nigeria but you know villagers, every young man that comes to see their village is a corp member. In fact, we were addressed as corpers all through our journey.
Well, Xultan tried to warn me subtly not to eat egusi, the soup the woman said she will dish the pounded yam with because of his funny experiences eating food while on travels. He even explained how he had to leave the camera and work to find the closest resting room because of food ate outside.
I finished my pounded yam with local egusi soup and man, it was great. The food drew the curtain on our Iloffa experience as within minutes, our driver showed up, agreed on #2500 and we left.
Our journey towards the Waterfall was full of gists. From the bike man telling us stories about how Odo-Owa and Kajola people used to fight every time till the government had to build a police area command there and some divisional police stations. He also explained a lot of things to us which really gave us a good sense of history and the Fulani people living between Iloffa and Oko. Because of sweet talk, we didn’t know we had spent an hour on the bad, hidden, hilly roads linking Iloffa, Oko, and the Idofins.
After Oko, we passed through Idofin Igbanna, Idofin Iga before we got to Idofin Odo Ashe where the waterfall is said to be located. It later turned out our bike man didn’t know the place, he only wanted to collect his money. I wanted to cry but as humans, we will need to go through a lot of challenges in life especially during the course of work.
Yusuf eyes were red and watery because of the sand and breeze on the bike while I was looking so dirty and tired. What brought us back to reality was when the local people at Odofin-Odo Ase said we need to go all the way back to Oko, and then turn beside Odofin Igbana that the waterfall is in between Odofin Igbana and a small town called Ajuba.
We started our journey back, this time, with silence because all parties were pissed and frustrated. We got to Ajuba close to an hour later and the person we met told us we need to go into town to bring someone that will take us to the waterfall because there are places we can’t step on or get into.
In my mind, I was thinking about a lot of things. Why would people be this serious about this kind of thing? I told Xultan that we should be going home! Then the bike man told the local man that the corpers only want to see it, they are not stepping into it and will be careful. He agreed and wished us well. He even gave me cashew to eat.
It is worthy of mention to state that all the places I have highlighted in this chronicle probably account for 90 percent of the cashew trees I have seen in my life. Instead of roads having trees and bushes, the roads here only have cashew trees! Our bike man said nobody sells cashew in all the towns because people will not buy. It is only outsiders that come to pack it and sell it in their respective places for big money. Village life is sweet my guy! You will get fresh food, fresh fruits, and fresh, fine ladies too if I may add. Consider serving in a village as a guy, e get why! Please don’t take my advice if the mandatory one year is important to your plans!
We got to the waterfalls a little above an hour later and man, it was worth all the stress and frustration. We met some workers working on the building that will house recreational centers tourists can relax when they visit the waterfall. They were happy to see people, and happier we had a drone! I kid you not; drone feels like a new year to them. They were giggling from head to toe like a female ignorant virgin told she’s the best thing after Oyo bread!
Since we couldn’t get too close to the waterfall, our phones and cameras couldn't get a clear sight. However, the drone was able to but the pictures are still being edited. Trust me, it’d be stunning when they are out!
It was said that nobody gets into the waterfall unless it’s worshipped. In fact, one of the people we met told us a story about how a tourist forgot his camera there last year and went back for it, only for the corpse to surface three days later. Big story, my guy! But we move!
We were later told that was a one-off and that it receives hundreds of tourists every year that comes to savor the beautiful sight, especially during the rainy season when the water level would have rised to its peak.
Beyond the folklore, the environment of the Ero-Omola waterfall is amazing. Serene, filled with trees, a natural swimming pool just before the waterfall, and the depth of the cascade of the waterfall. It is as if it made provision for those who would like to have a feel of the water without getting into it with its natural swimming pool.
On top of the fall, there are animals like monkeys who live and enjoy the serenity of the environment. They ran away when xultan wanted to take pictures of them too. I guess they are also afraid of drones. Lol!
With the recreational center, the senator representing Kwara south is building in conjunction with the Federal Government, it would further increase traffic to the waterfall and improve its popularity amongst tourist lovers. I can’t wait to go back there next month and savor the beautiful moments and history with people. I hope you will love to join me!
It was a hell of a day but it was later worth it. Traveling educates us in ways we can’t get in classrooms and reshape our ways of life. I hope you conquer your fears like we did when we wanted to enter the Imoleboja rocks or snapping pictures at the Ero-Omola waterfalls and go on a splendid road trip of yours.
Check out www.twitter.com/timetravelers360 or follow me on www.twitter.com/peng_writer if you are a lover of travel!
Adios for now!
