ALORO COMMUNITY, UNEXPLOITED DOMICILE.

It was a drizzly day, an afternoon to be precise. The tides were quite high, but for bravery, the team showed no trepidation. The young man in charge of the speedboat asked if we have ever had a boat ride once and there was a chorus answer as though we awaited that particular question. The ride was bouncy as the boat glided along the waters; the feeling of fresh sea breeze and freedom from land we much anticipated began to unveil itself. We were warned not to touch the waters so that we won’t incur the wrath of sharp objects that float on the surface of the river.

We made fun of throwing one of the team members overboard if he doesn't comply with the rules and he said “I got my life jacket on".

This wasn't a fun expedition, but a serious one. The beautiful scenery of the tank farms at the shore of Kirikiri waterside is said to be a complete transformation considering how it was in previous years. They arranged themselves properly and are also heavily built and fenced. There, a ship docked to make supplies. It was so massive and our boat actually passed behind the 600 meter sea giant.

Several boats docked on the sea for business, some docked for repairs while several others are now being used as apartments. People actually live on the sea.

The twenty minutes’ drive was over as the boat man announced our arrival to the small community of Aloro. The sight of the environment that welcomed us was one that can’t be forgotten in a hurry. Question like: Was Kirikiri town formerly like this?, needed to be asked. It was no different from a typical village.

Nollywood shouldn't look for a real village setting for their movies anymore because one has been discovered already. Kirikiri town complains of development but the Aloro people crave for it. They yearn for a finger touch of the arm of government. This people have no road, all they have is pathways. The river water is so dirty along the shores of the community, thereby not fit for drinking. They sometimes source out for drinking water from Kirikiri town or the town behind them called ‘Igbosere’, ‘Igbo’ for short.

The old men stared at us while the old women greeted us ekasun, so we heard. Effort to speak to them proved abortive as the old men couldn't speak English language and we couldn't speak their language, although there was a translator with us but they refused to speak to us. One youth asked, you be council? We didn't bother asking questions because their intent for not communicating was well established.

As we went further through the pathways, houses vanished and thick bushes welcomed us, remember our bravery? We still had it on. We quickly remembered a story we were once told about the forest behind Kirikiri town, where a certain man went there to hunt and he encountered a gorilla that fought and killed him. We got scared and threaded the path gently until we heard voices of young boys in the bush, a deep breath of relief. The boys were quite friendly as the urged us to keep walking along the path which leads to the other community called Igbo.

We continued walking; only the sounds of birds were heard. Movement of little unseen animals disturbed the peace in our minds and we all held hands together and chanted the hallelujah song as a sign of bravery. We were amazed to come across church in the middle of the Aloro forest. “There are Christians in Aloro community” we said in excitement. We went further until we came to an open swampy field where little signs of sea creatures were seen such as crabs and little fishes. A flock of beautiful birds were also seen flying and playing around the field, unexpectedly we even found a mast there.

We gathered momentum and moved further because we were energized after a good refreshing snack. We encountered an old man who claimed to also be in Aloro community for the first time, he refused to give answers to our questions such as where does this road lead to? He confessed that he was a stranger in the land and left our presence. Some few minutes later, people returned from the path which we asked of that man. We actually asked where the path led to, but they were so busy trying to concentrate on what they carried on their heads, all they could answer was "no road for there". The 25 liter gallon is suspected to be drinking water or diesel.

We were adventurous; we never listened as we pulled our shoes and walked pass the swampy field to the path that lied in front of us. We kept on walking. There was no sign of human life in sight but only sounds of speed boats were heard. We came to a path that looked very much like the point of no return, where slaves were taken abroad located at Badagry, Lagos state in Nigeria. It was a place that none of our team members reasoned crossing. In addition, the day was getting dark; we might overstay our welcome as there are no hotels in Aloro community. We finally understood the warnings given to us by those people when they said “the road deep well well”, but how did they pass? We stopped to imagine, but there was no time as night was fast approaching and we might miss our boat.

We hurried back to the river bank not fulfilled as we did not see the other island behind Aloro community. As we left we greeted the community members and said to them we shall return well geared up and prepared next time.