In 1991, during the season of the harmattan wind in Maiduguri, a city in north-eastern part of Nigeria. The leaves were falling from the Neem trees along Bama Road. This road was home to the University of Maiduguri, University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, and Federal Government College, Maiduguri (FGCM), all federal institutions situated on the same road. FGCM, located in the middle of the other institutions, was where I had grown into adulthood. During this time of year, the dry leaves and cold harmattan wind would often bring bouts of cold and catarrh. Unfortunately, I caught malaria along with a high fever that forced me to be hospitalized. To add to the stress, I was in the midst of writing my WAEC examinations, as a final year student.

One day, my guardian, the late Engr. Ayodeji Okonrende, came to visit with his wife and informed me that we would be traveling to Kaduna together after my examinations. This was a departure from my usual mode of travel during my six years at the college, where I typically either flew or snuck on a train. Traveling...