Every student that would be going for FPY were rushing to the notice board. The list had been released. The FPY list contains students that will be going for industrial training for one session.

FPY means Farm Practical Year in Federal University Of Agriculture ( Funaab) calendar. It’s equivalent to Industrial training done by other courses, the only thing is that FPY is meant for Agricultural courses and departments in my school, Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta (FUNAAB), and it will be done for one year or session while other courses not Agriculture affiliated does theirs for 3months.

Funaab has four locations, ishaga orile, Ode-lemo, Odogbolu and Iwoye-Ketu. As at the time the FPY list was to be released, Iwoye-ketu was the most hated. We have heard endless tales from the last set before us that was just fishing the FPY program. Some of them said that the distance from Abeokuta to the place is so far, no mobile network and internet coverage, before one can make any call, he or she would have to climb un-top of a tree or go to any high mountain just to get a network coverage. Some said the village was cursed and many other stories. Only some few positive statements were said about Iwoye-Ketu, like, food is very cheap, it’s a border community. But the negative comments outweighed the positive. That was why almost all students including myself due to go for FPY program don’t want to be posted to that community. Many students like me prayed, fasted that we won’t be posted their; But how I wish that was possible, students must be posted their. With over 1000 students due for FPY, at least 250 must be posted their.

When I checked my name, it was so unfortunate that it fell under Iwoye-Ketu. I was speechless and confused as I walked out of the place. I turned around and went back again to recheck it, maybe I didn’t see it very well. Before going, I bought a sachet water and washed my face very well. I want to make sure that what I will see is real and if it is what I saw before, let there be a miracle. I went back to check it and it was still Iwoye-ketu and the miracle I was expecting was nowhere to be found. I wondered how I would cope with an area like that.

On October 6th 2012, i and a friend and departmental mate posted to that community for FPY went to get accommodation over there. We left Abeokuta by 7:30am and got there at about 09:30am. One of the negative things people said about this location is that from Abeokuta to iwoye-ketu was 5 hours journey. Even one of my neighbors said it, and I believed him because he said he has been there. When I got their within 2 hours I wondered, was it bicycle he(my neighbor) used to travel to iwoye that he spent 5hours on the way. I confirmed this one as false, the journey was just 2 hours journey. We got to iwoye-ketu, the place was pretty cool and okay as a village unlike the negative things people say about it. We got accommodation and paid within 30minutes and left for Abeokuta. But before we left the place, I used my phone to browse just to check the internet strength, there was network coverage, though it was only MTN network that was in the community. I also browsed with my mobile phone, it wasn’t that fast, but above average. Before leaving, the people I saw in Iwoye were really friendly.

On the 12th we all posted to iwoye-ketu. We left Abeokuta by 8:45am, We got to Iwoye at about 12pm.

My first week in Iwoye-Ketu, I got to learn some few things about the community, the people and their culture. Iwoye-ketu is a small village in Ogun state of Nigeria. Its parent town is Imeko Afon . Iwoye shares a border with Benin Republic. Iwoye has about 4 ethnic groups which are Hausa, Fulani, benin indigenes and Yoruba who owns the settlement. They speak hausa, Fulani, anaogo,Egu( a mixture of Benin republic Yoruba language and Nigerian Yoruba language) and the major Yoruba language owned by the Yoruba people who lives and owns the settlement. The name of their king is Ooye Joel, a good and humble man because we met with him when we first came to his community. One of the most amazing things I saw in this village is a small area where the Fulani settled in that village. I loved the way they constructed their houses and fence. The Hausa-Fulani people have been able to blend with the Yoruba and their population makes up about 35% of the people in iwoye-ketu. According to what I heard, the hausa-Fulanis have been staying there for over 20 years, I guess that makes them indigenes of the community.

We visited the king four days we arrived. He welcomed us, advised us and told us to conduct ourselves. In as much as they are very friendly and accommodating, we should try our possible best to adhere to the rules and custom of the Land. One major, significant rule he gave us was “the use of umbrella”. He said that they don’t use umbrella, whether rain or sunshine, no use of umbrellas. I could remember that one of my friend asked him what would happen if any of us should use umbrella when it’s raining. The king said that, whoever uses an umbrella, whatsoever befalls him or she, he or she is on their own. He sounded it to us that it’s their custom and they have maintained it for a long time, indigenes don’t use umbrella, as visitors, he’s telling us to adhere to the rules and if we get outside of the community, we can, but here, it is banned whether the rain is heavy or not.

Iwoye-ketu people don’t have much money but businesses boom because it’s a border community. Majority of the houses built there don’t have toilets or befitting bathroom. Bathrooms are constructed with palm fronds. For toilets, they do what we call “short put” or “dig and cover” or even “discuss” like my friend call it. Short put is where someone poo inside a nylon bag and throw it inside the bush. Dig and cover is where someone goes to the bush, digs a hole and poo inside and cover it back. Some houses can’t boast of pit toilets. . I asked dayo an indigene of the community who helped me with my accommodation why they don’t like building toilets when they are building their house, he said his people believe it’s a waste of cash, they have abundant land with abundant bushes around, anytime you want to poo you can go to a nearby bush to do “dig and cover” or short put or even “discus”. There are some pretty houses in this village, some of the houses don’t have toilets or even borehole water, some houses have reservoir that look like well. The reservoir is one of the major source of water during the dry season. Few boreholes that they have was built by my school while the Hausa-fulani community have about two borehole built by them at the area where they majorly base or stay in that community. The Hausa-fulani community are pretty much in number, in Iwoye, they have an area where they settled more than the other parts in the community.

I came to realize that the Hausa-fulani community in Iwoye are more organized than the main iwoyeans. The part they stayed, they have about two borehole while the major iwoyeans can’t even boast of one borehole, they depend on the one at the town hall which was donated by my school, Funaab. Each of the houses constructed by the hausa –fulanis in that area are made with strong dry palm fronds. According to them, they don’t believe in wastage of money in building with cements. Only but a few of their houses are made with roof palm fronds and body cements.

There are no filling stations in iwoye-ketu, they sell fuel in bottles. A bottle costs N150. Kerosine is rare in Iwoye. People of the community use charcoal to cook. When me and my friends first arrived, some of them brought kerosene along with them but my roommate suggested we use charcoal as it’s been done there because we didn’t bring kerosene. Though I never really bought the idea but later most of us students opted for the charcoal because it is cheaper and lasts longer more than kerosene, only that it takes time to catch fire.

There is a place we call Shoprite there in iwoye-ketu. Iwoye-ketu can’t boast of a well befitting shop talk less a super market but this place we call Shoprite, is at least befitting to an extent because we can find 60% of what we need as students. If we are in need of anything and Shoprite doesn’t have it, we just have to go to the city because you can’t find it anywhere here.

Food is very cheap in Iwoye, cheaper than any other community I have been to. Maybe because it’s a border community. Their market days is every 4 days. People come from imeko Afon, Abeokuta and Benin Republic to sell their goods. According to their king, he said the market area(land) is not owned by Nigeria, it is owned by Benin Republic, that is why the area is mostly called “French”.

Another business booming area, dominated by the Hausa fulanis, where they do money exchange and sell their goods in the community, the King also said that the area belongs to the Benins. The area is well dominated by Hausa-fulanis and a few Benin Republic citizens.

Iwoye-Ketu can boast of only of one secondary school which is located at the entrance of the community. The Primary schools attended by the community kids are located in the “French” area, in which they are thought in French Language.

Finally, Iwoye-Ketu is a great community. I enjoyed myself in that place in the over 7months I spent their. Before going there for my Fpy, the former set that did their FPY there before us complained of poor network services, both internet and phone calls. But guess what, I browsed on 3g towards the end of my stay there. The network was even faster than in my area in Abeokuta. Till I left Iwoye-Ketu, MTN was the only network service in that community. I also came to realize that, it’s not all reports that I should believe. Many might have a negative perception about a place, one can only find out if it’s true or false only when they have been there. Just like Nigeria, it’s only when you have been here that you would know that we are not so bad like what the international media paint us to be.

http://www.hovabuzz.com/frontline/925-somewhere-in-nigeria-called-iwoye-ketu

Nice one

Wow, I really enjoyed your write up, well articulated. Keep it up Sir