Journal of Negro Education

The Morning Train to Ibadan

Author(s): John Henrik Clarke
Source: The Journal of Negro Education, Vol. 31, No. 4 (Autumn, 1962), pp. 527-530
Published by: Journal of Negro Education
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2293978 .
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 SectionF: The MorningTrainto Ibadan
JoHNHENRI CLARK
AssociateEditor,Freedomways
Magazine

LAGOS IS EAR from beingmyfavoritewill, no doubt,influencethe futureof

Africancity. It's cosmopolitan air mankind.
and the incongruous mixtureof African In the stationtherewereseparateeat-
and Europeanwaysof life leftme sing- ing facilities forthirdclasstravelers.
This
ularlyunimpressed.In spiteof myfeel- duplicationmade no sense to me and
ingsaboutit,I mustadmitLagosis nota seemedrathersilly. This is a new sta-
citywithoutattractions.Lagos is a col- tionbuiltunderBritishsupervision. Brit-
orfulcity with a dual personality-oneish cityplanningin Africaalwaysleaves
footin the 19thcenturyand the other muchto be desired. I purchaseda cup
one stepping, withawkwardrapidityto- of tea and a sweetbun beforeboarding
ward the 20th. the morningtrainto Ibadan. Some of
I left the hotel,absurdlycalled "The the cars were almostfull a half hour
Palace,"witha feelingof reliefthatwas beforethe timeof departure.I walked
closelyrelatedto happiness. The Palace throughthe trainuntil I found a seat
was absolutelythe worsthotel that I near a window. Chatting Nigerian
have everencountered in all of myyears womenwearingmulti-colored dressesand
of travel. The spell of earlymorning largebandana-like head pieces give the
was still upon the cityand I had more traina circusatmosphere.Nearlyall of
thanenoughtimeat my disposal. I de- the womenhad children. More passen-
cided to walk the mile and a half to gerswith odd-shapedluggageand some
the Lagos Train Terminus. The cab carryingtheir belongingsin bags and
drivers,already on the streetin full boxes soon filledup the train. Friends
force,offered theirservicesand accepted and relatives of the passengersstoodin-
my refusalwith bad humor,as though side and on the platform,givingout last
I was an escapingthief. minuteinstructions and advice,sometimes
in anxiousand serioustones,as if the
The road to the Terminusstretchedpassengerswere about to departfor the
throughone of the worstslum areas moon. At exactlyeighto'clockthe train
that I have ever seen; crosseda long startedits journeyto Ibadan.
bridgeovera lagoon,intruding upon the
landscapein the heartof the citywith A beggarcame on pleadingfor the
touchesof magicalbeauty. price of his morning meal. LeavZing La-
gos, we passed throughYaba, a residen-
At thestationI showedmyticketand tial suburb where most of the better
watchedtheexpression on theclerk'sface class Africansand a few Europeanslive.
as he weighedmy hand bag and viewed Shops, theatresand small hotels were
the ticketagain, frowning in disbelief. scatteredthrough thesettlement.
He was surprisedto see an American
At Ebute Mutta, the firststop, the
travelingthirdclass. I have been in
Africaover two monthsnow, traveling on. beggar leftthe trainand threemoregot
in mostlyout of the way places that Afterone moresub-station stopwe
were out of Lagos. When we leftthe
nmost touristsnever see. This is as it
thirdstop,Mushin,the country-side be-
should be because I am not a tourist.
gan to unfold. Shacks and huts punc-
My life-longinterestin Africabrought tuated the
me hereto myancestral hometo see and blankets of green foliage
stretching before us furtherthan the
try to understand, at least part of the
eye couldsee.
temperament and importanceof this
emergentcontinentand its people who From my accumulatedprovisionsI
527
 528 THE JOURNAL OF NEGRO EDUCATION

made a largesardinesandwichand I was There was no lull in the excitement.

stillin theprocessof consuming it when More thirdclass passengers were board-
we reachedAgece,the fourthstop.Two ing the train. A ladycameinto the car
conductors moved rapidlyto the back carrying a large strawsleepingmat on
of the train,talkingin excitedtones. herhead,one childin theclothcradleon
They werehurrying to the firstand sec- herback and a bundlein one arm.Other
ond class cars wheresomekind of com- passengerswere equally burdened,some
motionwas attracting the attentionof werecarrying cookingfacilities.
the people waitingto board the train.
I called out in vain to a chatting market In spite of my fascination for third
woman who was sellingboiled guinea class travel,I still have some prejudice
fojwleggs, two for three pence. The against it that is being rapidly dispelled
trainpulledawayas she noticedme and by sceneslike this. Third class accom-
triedto reachthe windowwhereI was modationmakes it possiblefor a lot of
sitting. people, with verylittlemoney,and an
excessiveamountof luggage,to travelat
A beggar boardedthe train at this a fare they can afford. But for third
stop,carrying a sign sayinghe was deaf classaccommodations, mostpeoplein Af-
and dumb. He woretheattireof a Mo- rica who fitinto thiscategory wouldnot
hammedan-apoorlykeptMohammedan. be able to travelby trainat all.
His long whiterobe was dirtyand torn
in severalplaces. For a hat he wore The ladywiththe strawsleepingmat
a red fez. He looked to be of Hausa put downthe firstload of herbelongings
extraction, thoughhe was much shorter and broughtin a tinpan thatwas much
than mostof the Hausa people that I largerthan most Americanwash tubs.
have seen. Her littlegirlcame over to me, greeted
me warmlyin the Yorubalanguageand
At 9:15 we stoppedat Kajawya. The climbedinto my lap. I answeredher
marketwomenalong tlle tracksoffered with a smile as she continuedto talk.
nothingforsale thatI had enoughnerve When she finallydiscoveredthatI did
to eat. As thetrainwas leavingKajawya not know her languageher small face
I noticedthe "deaf and dumb" beggar lost some of the brightglow of friend-
standing by the tracks, laughingand talk- shipand plainlyshoweditsbewilderment.
ing to a groupof similarly dressedmen. The childwaitedwithadmirable patience
while her motherfounda place forher
The trainmovedthrough a thickforest manybelongings and foundtimeto take
area. The straycindersfromtheengine her. Her motherwas noticeablypreg-
had spoiledmy cheap bargainbasement nant.
suit. Still anotherbeggarcame through
the trainwearinga signannouncing that As the trainstartedto move forward
he too was "deafand dumb." The so- the chatterof the newlyarrivedpassen-
licitingmethods of thisbeggarweremuch gers. acquaintingthemselveswith the
more intriguing than thoseof the last others,rose to crescendosof clashing
one. Ile was calling attentionto his soundsand created,for me at least, a
signwith a tin rattlethat made a sad, strangekindof confusedjubilation.From
hauntingkind of music. He was also the windowI saw the greencountryside
more imaginativeand more energetic unfoldingits primevalsplendor. About
than the last beggar. He tumed com- a halfhour laterwe stoppedat a small
pletelyaroundseveraltimes,almostag- villagesurrounded by a thickforest. I
gressivein actingout his plight. Even sat in the windowspeculating about the
withoutthis ceremonyhis mannerof names of the diversespecies of trees
dresswas colorful enoughto get him all scatteredalong the tracks. The train
stoodpanting,as if anticipating the jour-
the attentionhe needed. A pang of neythatlay ahead. . . seemingly wonder-
depressionand disappointment touched ing, as I was wondering, why thisstop
myspiritwhenhe leftat thenextstop. was made. We were nowherenear a
 CURRENT TRENDS AND EVENTS 529

station.No one got on or off.My Amer- weredressedin smocksof different col-

icanmindexpectsa reasonforeverything.ors. This made the completely white
The Nigerianpassengerswere still fill- robe of the assailedman standout with
ing the car withcriss-cross
conversations.contrastingsharpness. His face bore a
peculiarlypassiveexpression.He seem-
The child of the lady withthe straw ed neitherfornor againsthis assailants.
mats and all the otherbulkyparapher- He stood and listenedas thoughlisten-
naliahad fallenasleep. The trainstarted ing was a penitence,totallyunrelated
jerkily,awakeningthe childwho looked to guilt.
up at her motherfor one surprised mo-
ment and closed her eyes again. Still Every seat in the car was occupied
no one, exceptme, seemedto care why now. Marketwomeninvadedthe train
the trainhad stoppedin thefirstplace. along with the new passengers.Move-
mentin the aislesbecamea problem-a
I left my seat and walked through ratherhecticone. The local argument
the thirdclass cars untilI reachedone outside of the traincontinued,heated
marked: CANTEEN. This was the and confusing.The ladywiththe large
closestapproximationto an American din- pots and pans preparedsome food for
ing car I could find. A cup of tea cost herchild. The childwas beautiful.To
me threepence. The scant choice of me she seemedover-dressed. I could be
foodwas not impressive.I arrivedback absolutelywrongbecauseI am not sure
at myseatas thetrainwas makinganoth- whatbeingoverdressed consistsof in this
er stop,forno reasonthatI couldunder- or any otherpartof Africa.
stand. Up ahead of us I saw a citybuilt
on the side of a hill. It lookedto be As the trainstartedits forward thrust
new. The shinytin-roofed houseslooked the argumenton the platformended
as if theyhad been freshlypainted. The abruptly. The white-robed man got in-
citywas Aro. to the thirdclass car behind us. The
groupof men wearingthe multi-colored
The marketwomen at this station smockswho had been addressing him in
did not have anyattractiveitemsforsale heated tones,were lookingtowardthe
. . . mostlysugarcane and agidi. Agidi trainnow. Theirfacesuniformly showed
consistsmainlyof maize (corn) meal. It a flushof satisfaction,
as if theyhad won
is one of themostimportant itemsin the somekindof victory.Probably,just be-
West Africandiet. My favoritemarket ing heardwas all theywantedor needed.
women,the fruitsellers,arriveda few
secondsbeforethe train pulled away. The ladywiththemanypotsand pans
I boughta bunch of eightbananas for had one fullof agidiwrappedin banana
threepence. leaves. She took one ball of agidi from
the pan and gave it to the child, who
A fewmilesawayfromArowe reached
made no attemptto eat it. She held
a largecitycalledAby. Somepassengers
the food in her hand and watched me
left at Aby. For less than one minute as though I was likely to take it from
the aisleswereuncongested.Soon,more her. A group of men carryingbriefcases
colorfullydressed people came aboard. and flauntingairs of officialdomwalked
Some were carrying strawmats. Where through the train.
are they takingthose mats? A lady
pushed a largedishpanundermy seat. At the next stop some of the passen-
A childwas tiedto herbackand another gers with the straw mats left. A new
one was growingin her abdomen. On passenger came into the car carrying
the platform near the windowwhere I what seemed to be a large cat fish. One
was sittingan argument was in process. of the "deaf and dumb" beggarsended his
A white-robed man was in the middle tour at this station and was met by
of a clusterof people, standingstonily friends. He took offhis sign and stood
silent as their uninhibitedwrath was by the tracks, laughing and talking as
pouredupon him. All of his tormentorsotherfriendscame up to greethim. Here-
530 THE JOURNAL OF NEGRO EDUCATION

afterit is goingto be difficultforme to stareme through myseat. She was not

believethatanybodyin Nigera is really hostile. She was intenselycurious. I
deaf and dumb. thinkshe had realizedthat I was, at
least,not a local Africanand therewas
The littlegirlseatedoppositeme took something out of the ordinaryaboutmy
offher headpiece,unfoldedit, covered presencein a thirdclasscar on themorn-
herselfand went to sleep. The train ing trainto Ibadan.
movedthrough a valley. At anotherstop
a stoutNigerianwomanboardedthetrain We reached a village of red clay
carrying a largebasketof barkand some houseswithtinroofs. A trainto Lagos,
-earthenware potsand dishes. She leaned fullofpassengers, was waitingon theside
out of the windowand gave instructionstracks. I saw a fewdropsof rain. The
to threepeople standingoutsideas we rainmademe moreconsciousof wanting
got underway again. The stationwas and needinga bath. The cindersfrom
onlya largeplatform withno cover. A theengine,flying intothe open window,
smallherdof goatswas grazingnearthe had ruinedby cheap suit. I mustre-
tracks. They lookedup for a moment mindmyselfto neveragain wear a light
as theheavystraining noiseof theengine coloredbargainbasementsuit on an Af-
was becomingincongruous in the midst ricantrain.
of thispastoralscene. The new passen-
ger founda seat,made a new friendor Anotherstopwas made at 2:05 P.M.
rediscovered an old one. The stout woman with the basket of
barkand theearthenware potsand dishes
The littlegirlwho had been sleeping got off,while handing her belongings
underher headpiecegot up and opened adroitlyand continuinga conversation
one of the potsof food. She prepared withher friends. Fifteenminuteslater,
a mealforherself, usingbananaleavesfor the trainwas pullinginto Ibadan. The
a plate. Her mother gaveherone glance conductorwalked throughthe cars, an-
of approvaland continueda conversa- nouncing:"Ibadan! We are now in Iba-
tion with anotherpassengeracrossthe dan!"'
aisle. At 12:40 the trainmade another
one of its unscheduled stops. We were The man with the large cat fish
near a village of small farms. Finally brushed againstme on his way to the
the trainresumedits journey,jarringthe door. The conductorcontinuedto give
littlegirl'sfood in its banana-leaf plate. out his needlessmessageuntil he came
The manwiththebig cat fishhad hung to me. His observation of me was slow
his property above his seat. No one, and thorough.
exceptme,bothered to stareat thissight. "American?" he asked.
The trainmovedover a long stretchof "Yes."
straight track. Forthefirst timeit reach- "Everbeen in Ibadan before?"
ed a speed thatmighthave been thirty-
fivemilesan hour. His expressionbecame a mixtureof
The littlegirlfinished hermeal,threw prideand condescension.His nextmes-
the banana-leaf plate out of the window sage was also needless.
and rediscovered my presence. For a "You are now in the largest city in
momentI thoughtshe was going to West Africa,"he said.