Category: Travels

I didn’t only travel across African cities in 2019, I made out time to visit some of Nigeria’s famous tourist centres.  Below are 6 Nigerian tourist centres I visited, I have also embedded the videos of my experiences at each centre

1. Erin – Ijesha  Waterfalls: A few months ago, I went on a group tour to the Erin Ijesha Waterfall in Osun state with Tourmates by AdaTheExplorer a few months ago and had the opportunity to explore the centre. What about the Erin Ijesha waterfall? you may ask, I am happy to share my experience with you and share some of my learning experience with you. Make sure you eat eba or correct fufu before you attempt climbing the hills, also ensure you have enough water, glucose or energy drink. If not, e go be o!

2. Ikogosi waterfalls:  Although the experience wasn’t as great as I expected, it was nice to explore the ancient spring and also experience the warm and cold side to it, the pounded yam served at the restaurant was one of the worst meal I have ever eaten in my entire life. The rooms also smell damp and not well maintained. The pool experience was awesome. The Ikogosi Warm Springs is a  wonderful Nigerian tourist centre to visit, my advice is, don’t stay in the premises, if you can, book a room in a nearby hotel. Their food is not all that great too.

3. Arinta Falls: Didn’t quite spend a long time here, climbing the hills was fun and refreshing, wish I had more time to explore. Just check out the video of my experience too. The beautiful thing about this particular Nigerian tourist centre is that it is just about 15 minutes drive from Ikogosi Warm Springs, so you can visit both on the same day. 

4. Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library: The Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) is owned by Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, a former President of Nigeria. It is a historic, tourist and academic centre regarded as a national archive for the Conservancy of documents and historical items used by the president during his tenure as the president of Nigeria from 1999 -2007. This library is located in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria. The Olusegun Obasanjo Library occupies sixty-four (64) hectares of land and consists of religious, recreational and educational tourism. The library aims at  “preserving the past, capturing the present, inspiring the future, projecting culture and promoting tourism”. It is ringed by an attractive mountain and green vegetation giving it a terrific mix of scenery and culture. I actually think access to the library is overpriced, all in all, there is so much to see there.

5. Olumo Rock : I have a deep connection with the not so ancient city of Egba, Abeokuta, not just because I lived there for a year as a Youth Corps Member in 2012, but because my maternal grandmother hails from there. I enjoy the peace, serenity and joy the city brings. If you live/lived in Lagos, you will understand and appreciate this peace the beautiful city of Abeokuta brings. I first visited Olumo Rock in 2012 with some friends during NYSC and it was really exciting, my second visit was in 2015 during a staff retreat in Abeokuta. My visit in March 2019 was solely to document the history and interesting facts about the rock for YOU! So I hope you enjoy watching this video and reading the short summary below too

Also read: My Abeokuta Experience

6. Alake Of Egba’s Palace: The place of A lake of Egbaland is situated at Ake, Abeokuta, Ogun state. It is the sacred home of the Alake(King) of the Egba tribe of Yoruba in southwestern Nigeria. I enjoyed my tour of the Alake of Egbaland’s palace, although, I didn’t see him. I had fun touring his palace after I visited Olumo Rock and Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library

Which tourist centre do you think I should visit first in 2020?

Happy New Year people! I hope you had a funfilled December, mine was as ‘detty’ as it could get. I pray 2020 will be a lit year for every one of us. Okay, so, 2019 was a good travel year for me, I visited 4 African cities for work, speaking engagement and school. I also stopped over at 2 different cities. 

Also Read: Compelling stories and my other #TechWomenAfrica Summit takeaways

Travelling within Africa can be stressful I must say but the joy of exploring the beautiful cities, culture and meeting awesome Africans on these trips make it all worth it. In this short article, I will share with you the 5 African cities I visited 2019 and why you should also consider visiting them too. 

 You don’t have to wait till y next blog post to read about my travel experiences, CLICK HERE TO FOLLOW TO MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL SO YOU WILL BE THE FIRST TO KNOW ABOUT MY NEXT TRIP

1.  LAGOS TO LOME TO CAMEROON TO CHAD IN 5 MINUTES: I mentioned earlier that travelling across Africa can be very stressful, so on my way to Chad for the 7th African School On Internet Governance,  I had to travel from through Lome and Cameroon just to get to Chad, a journey that could have been 2 hours ended up taking 10 hours or thereabout and oh! It was really stressful. The check-in process at the arrival point at the N’djemena airport in Chad was super draining. Below is a sneak-peak of how the journey went.

2. N’DJAMENA CHAD:  When I got selected for the African School on Internet Governance in August 2019 and we were informed that Chad would be our host country, I didn’t know whether to be excited or sad, but a naturally happy person, I knew I was definitely going to make the best of the situation as much as possible. I spent almost 2 weeks in Chad’s capital city, N’djamena, a very quiet and hot city. There isn’t so much to see in Chad, though, we visited the museum, went to see the trade fair happening at the former National Assembly and the Chad monument centre (video to be uploaded soon). If you ever, want to visit Chad, the food and language can be a problem, you don’t have enough variety to choose from and if you speak French, well, you won’t have a problem at all.  You can watch more of my African School On Internet Governance Videos here

3. ADIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA: I have always looked forward to visiting and spending time in Adis Ababa after stopping over on my way to Istanbul in 2013. Attending the Forum On Internet Freedom In Africa was a great opportunity to explore the beautiful city. Adis Ababa is a chilled and organized city. The people are so nice, I also observed that Ethiopia is China’s favourite African country, there were a lot of Chinese people there and it felt like they were home. I didn’t get to visit a lot of places but explored one of the malls and visited one of the local clubs in town. I didn’t particularly enjoy the food as I had to almost eat rice on a daily basis because I wasn’t a fan of the ‘taj’. I had fun dancing and interacting with Ethiopians. Please watch the video below. I visited Addis Ababa in September too and the weather was super cold too 

4. NAIROBI KENYA: Over the past few years, I have had the pleasure of meeting and be friends with East Africans, especially Kenyans, so when the opportunity to speak at the WordCamp in Nairobi and Mombasa came, I was more than excited to be a part of it. Nairobi has so many similarities to Lagos, the traffic situation, the daily hustling and bustling, the ‘turn up economy’ and a few other similarities. The city is so well organized and the residential areas are quite a distance from the business areas. If you ever think Lagos hosts the ‘littiest’ night parties or hangouts, well, you might just have to hold Nairobi’s beer. The city never sleeps and the people never get tired of turning up. Just like the weather in Addis, Nairobi was very cold, and it rained every other day. Oh! A funny fact you should know about, Kenyans don’t like rain and they run helter-skelter when it does rain (don’t tell them I told you this).  I enjoyed eating Ugali and fried fish. If you ever want to have a good time out in Nairobi, you should holla at me, so I can give you a masterclass on this. Check out the video from my Nairobi trip below, you may also want to watch the curated video of my trip from Lagos to Nairobi on Kenya Airways here. I didn’t get to visit the wildlife centres in Nairobi because I had very little time to spend there and also because of the rains 

Also Read: Making Digital Rights and Internet Governance Conversations Appealing and Relatable With New media

5. MOMBASA: I have never heard of Mombasa prior to the WordCamp Mombasa publicity. Mombasa is also a county in Kenya, but unlike Nairobi, Mombasa is very hot even though it is surrounded by the oceans. It is pretty much like an Island. From my observation, Mombasa has a very large Muslim population and a lot of ‘white Kenyans’, yes, you read it right, Kenya has quite a number of white citizens. I spent just 2 days in Mombasa and made sure I got the best out of it. Just like Nairobi, the nightlife in Mombasa is also very lit but mostly outdoor. I also took out time to visit the Nyali beach. There are quite a number of private and public beaches in Mombasa. The county also plays host to thousands of Kenyan and foreign tourists during the festive seasons. Check out the video of my time out in Mombasa below:

6. EXPLORING THE LOME AIRPORT (BONUS):  The Lome airport is very beautiful and very well maintained. Though, not as big as Lagos or Abuja airport, it plays host to thousands of travellers on a weekly basis. The airport also serves as a hub to ASKY Airlines, I guess this is why most ASKY flights stopover at Lome. I love airports and always take advantage of every opportunity I get to curate my experiences. So here is a bonus video of my time at the beautiful Lome airport.

Did you get to travel in 2019? If yes, please share your experiences in the comment section, if you are also looking forward to visiting these African cities and others in 2020, I would also very much like to hear from you in the comment box.

I love life so much and try to create as much fun as possible while I work. Visiting the Nyali beach in Mombasa was one of the fun activities I took out time to do after my speaking engagement at the 2019 WordCamp Mombasa.

Read: Compelling WordPress Stories: My Presentation At WordCamp Nairobi And Mombasa

I made new friends who told me about the beach and beautiful it was. Mombasa is surrounded by waters and there are a lot of public and private beaches around it.

Nyali beach is so beautiful, serene and mostly important neat.  We went on a Monday morning/afternoon just before my late night flight back to Nairobi. I had loads of fun, although, I can’t swim, I fulfilled the scriptures by walking on Water just like Peter did in the bible. LOL!

Also Read: A Video Guide: All You Need To Know About Olumo Rock

I had an interesting conversation with one of the vendors who think Nigerians are stingy people, well after one or two conversations, he changed his mind and said we are generous. Prior to going to the Nyali beach, the last time I was on a beach was last year October, when I had a great time at the Labadi beach in Ghana.

I hope you enjoy watching these videos. When was your last beach experience? I’d like to hear from you in the comment box.

Also Read: A Fun Day In Nairobi: Food. Live Music. Hangouts

ABOUT NYALI

Nyali is a residential area within Mombasa City, located on the mainland north of Mombasa County. It is connected to Mombasa Island by the New Nyali Bridge. Nyali is known for its many high-class hotels and residential houses, modern standards, and long white sand beaches making it a popular destination for both local and foreign tourists.

Nyali is renowned for its tourist potential, thanks to its calm water, its accommodation facilities and its coast bordered with white sand beaches protected by a coral reef, loved by divers. This is a part of the Mombasa Marine Reserve, managed by Kenya Wildlife Service. Read more about NYALI here

WATCH MORE OF MY TRAVEL VIDEOS BELOW:

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Lagos To Accra | See The Beautiful Kotoka Airport

Accra To Lagos| Which Airport is Better? Kotoka or Lagos?

Visit To Tchad 2019 Trade Fair, N'djamena

My Tour Of The Ooni Of Ife's Palace In Ile-Ife

Visit To Chad Tourist Centres | N'djamena TChad [2020]

Exploring The Lome International Airport, Togo

Kotoka international airport And My Other Favorite Places In Accra

My Holiday Inn Experience | See How Beautiful The Accra Hotel Is

The Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library: All You Need To Know (DOCUMENTARY)

Exploring Nyali Beach, Mombasa

Ethiopia's Culture, Food And Dance: A Fun Night In Addis

Inside Life At The Legend Hotel, Lagos

A Day At Akodo Beach Ibeju Lekki | Dangote Refinery

My Tour Of The Alake Of Egba Land's Palace

My Stay At The Beautiful Labadi Beach Hotel Accra

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A few months ago, I went on a group tour to the Erin Ijesha Waterfall in Osun state with Tourmates by AdaTheExplorer a few months ago and had the opportunity to explore the centre. What about the Erin Ijesha waterfall? you may ask, I am happy to share my experience with you and share some of my learning experience with you.

Erin-Ijesha Waterfalls (also known as Olumirin waterfalls) is located in Erin-Ijesha. It is a tourist attraction located in Oriade local government area, Osun State, Nigeria. The waterfalls were discovered in 1140 AD by one of the daughters of Oduduwa.  There are also sayings that “Olumirin waterfall was discovered by hunters in 1140 AD”. Another source has it that the tourist site was discovered by a woman called Akinla, founder of Erin-Ijesha town and a granddaughter of Oduduwa, during the migration of Ife people to Erin- Ijesa. Source: Wikipedia

Also Read: A Video Guide: All You Need To Know About Olumo Rock

Here are some exciting things to know about Erin Ijesha Waterfalls, just in case you are interested in visiting:

• The falls is about 5 hours drive from Lagos, all thanks to the bad roads, they might be in better shape when you are visiting
• Gate fee into the tourist centre ranges between N500 ($1.38) – N1000 ($2.76), you can also go with your cameras and other recording devices
• There are 7 grounds in the waterfalls and takes about 3 hours to climb through the floors. It is also advisable to go with a tour guide
• SECURITY Warning: Do not accept drinks or gifts from anyone while on tour of the Erin Ijesha waterfalls, the Chief Security Officer of the tourist centres warns that tourists

• Interesting fact: There people living in between the hills at Erin-Ijesha waterfalls and tourists may get missing if care is not taken

• Visiting the Erin Ijesha waterfalls is more fun when you go with groups

• Have enough water and energy boosters with you before attempting to climb the hills, it is not for the faint-hearted

• If you have a phobia for heights, do not attempt to go past the first ground

• You can go with a change of clothing if you want to have a bath in the spring, the downside is that there is no dedicated area to change, you might need to have a few people cover you up to change but if you go with light clothing, you might decide not to change at all.

Also Read: #TheWomenSeries: How WIDC helps women discover their purpose – Busayo Obisakin – Busayo Obisakin

I went on a tour of the tourist centres in Abeokuta sometimes in March with my cousins and our first site was the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL). I personally think access to the library is ridiculously overpriced, I opted for sight-seeing the whole complex which cost about N1000 and made the best out of the journey.  I made an interesting video of my time there and below are highlights of my experience. Do watch, comment and share  🙂 *wink*

The Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) is owned by Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, a former President of Nigeria. It is a historic, tourist and academic centre regarded as a national archive for the Conservancy of documents and historical items used by the president during his tenure as the president of Nigeria from 1999 -2007. This library is located in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria.

The Olusegun  Obasanjo Presidential Library is the 14th presidential library in the world and first in Africa; there are 13 in America. As the first on the African continent, the Obasanjo Presidential Library seeks to promote Nigeria on the world stage, inspire other African nations in the development of democracy, and preserve the past for the benefit of the future.

The Olusegun Obasanjo Library occupies sixty-four (64) hectares of land and consists of religious, recreational and educational tourism. The library aims at  “preserving the past, capturing the present, inspiring the future, projecting culture and promoting tourism”. It is ringed by an attractive mountain and green vegetation giving it a terrific mix of scenery and culture.

Do watch the video and subscribe to my YouTube channel here for more exciting videos

Here are some of the major highlights and interesting facts about The Obasanjo Presidential Library:

• The library for researches and studying.
• The Green Legacy Resort, comprising of 153 rooms to accommodate visitors, allows lodgers to have access to visit the library without extra charges. It is the major source of income in Obasanjo Library, unlike America where the government takes care of the library, The Olusegun Obasanjo Library is managed and maintained by Olusegun Obasanjo. 
• 400 and 500 seater halls for events and parties.
• An amusement park, which will definitely send children into whoops of joy and excitement, likewise games for adults.
• A chapel for Christians,  having given his life to Christ while in prison, President Obasanjo vowed to build a place of worship for Christians if/when he got out. The chapel was the first building to be commissioned on the complex. The lord of the manor himself, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo is said to be a Sunday school teacher.
• A Christian named school for children to be enrolled in, trained and taught.
• A senior citizen centre for the elderly, ages 65 and above, for them to discuss and relax. 
• A mosque for the Muslims to worship and an Islamic school named after the mosque.
• A car wash to keep visitors cars in good shape and presentable.
• Adire & African fabrics centre, to project culture the best way possible. Keeping the aim of the library alive.

• A youth development centre.
• The grill house – is more of a bar and mini entertainment centre 
• Swimming pools for both children and adults to relax in.
• Honeymoon suite for newlyweds.
• Recycling plant
• Mountain of inspiration where it is believed that every prayer said there is answered.
•  And many more exciting places to visit for your comfort, relaxation and enlightenment.

Although my payment plan didn’t include touring the library itself, I enjoyed sight-seeing and touring the complext. It is a fun place to visit with your friends and families. Do watch the video and subscribe to my YouTube channel here for more exciting videos