I had never heard of a place called Abraka, Delta State, until 2016. A friend had cancelled on a dinner party because of a job she had to do in Abraka, Delta State. First I laughed at the name, and then felt really bad for her. How horrid it must be to be stuck in an unknown village for a job, while we were having such a great time in the city of Lagos. The joke was on me.
To be fair, she did say that the place she was staying at was really nice and worth a visit, but I simply took it as her trying to make herself feel better. Again, jokes on me.
In 2019. I saw an Instagram video of a friend (Emeka) jumping into a river that looked amazingly unreal and when he said it was in Abraka, I still shrugged it off as maybe just the river was its saving grace.
2020 showed the world serious pepper and I was ready to jump at any chance to travel safely within Nigeria. When Emeka suggested a long weekend at his village in Ibuso, Delta state and Abraka, I jumped at the opportunity. The planned travel dates fell on the week after the tragic events of #EndSars and my mental state was not in the mood for traveling anymore. Like many other Nigerians, I was curled around my phone, drinking in every news that helped shed light on the atrocities our government had committed and traveling to Delta state for respite was not my cup of tea.
On the day before the trip’s planned date, Emeka decided he was still going to go and suggested that it would be great for our minds to focus on the beauties Nigeria had to offer besides the current uglies. After a bit of last minute scrambling, I decided to visit Delta state, and my present self thanks my past self for the decision.
There’s always something cathartic when embarking on a journey by plane. Watching the plane take flight as it leaps off the runway and staring at the shrinking view of Lagos the further the plane moves. The flight was less than 40 minutes, and by the time we got to Asaba, my entire mindset was focused on soaking in as much of Delta state as my exhausted mind and body were capable of.
As soon as we got to Emeka’s family home, I was immediately reminded of the reasons why I always make an effort to journey to my uncle’s home in Ijebu-Aiyepe, Ogun state, for Ileya. The slower pace of the village life, the lack of reliable internet service that keeps us grounded in the moments, and talking about nothing but connecting on everything.
A tiny bitty video on our lazy days in Asaba & Ibuso
We spent a couple of nights doing the absolute least while in Ibuso and on our 3rd day, we drove off to Abraka Turf and Country Club in Delta State for the most delightful surprise of 2020.
See video below for a full breakdown on my Abraka Turf and Country Club experience in Delta State.
Altogether, despite the little mishaps shown in the video regarding Abraka Turf and Country Club, Abraka is a destination that is worth a visit at least once in a lifetime. Stay tuned for a couple more articles letting you know why I will visit Abraka again.
