I have a history with the town of Ìsẹ́yìn. I figure that I spent about a year there as a child. My memories of the town are not extensive; I was a child.
But the few memories that I have of Ìsẹ́yìn were strong enough to have a hold on me and to feed the wanderlust in me. So, year after year, I nursed a desire to visit Ìsẹ́yìn again.
I woke up one quiet morning in May this year and decided that was the day I was going to see Ìsẹ́yìn again after decades of being away. And so it was that at sunrise, I hit the road in my trusty jalopy. By 10.20am, I had taken the final right turn into the town, passing by a sleepy team of police officers stationed along the road.
As I drove around the town, I wasn’t expecting to recognise anything and I didn’t. I just wanted to see what this old town was like in 2024. It isn’t different from most Yoruba towns that I had seen as an adult. Standard fare.
I drove through the town and kept going, stopping at Ado Awaye to take in the view of the hill on which the hanging lakes sat, after which I decided on taking the scenic road through Igbo-Ora on through Abeokuta back to Lagos. In all, I spent about 9 to 10 hours on the road to Ìsẹ́yìn and back.
It was good to see you again, old friend. I am certain I shall see you again soon.
