There’s nothing like a dose of good music; the right people; food, drinks and laughter on a road trip! In the quest for adventure, freedom and purpose, with just a destination in mind but no idea of what to expect…after all, it’s the journey not the destination that matters, yeah?.
As we began our journey through the lush rolling hills and crop fields, full of wonderfully fresh local produce, unfolds. There is something so magical and breathtaking about it all- Itu envelopes you in its distinctive warmth, soothing, peaceful air, full of life and vitality! The “ooohs” and “aaaah” from the vibrant hubbers in the bus mirrored my feelings as we all couldn’t wait to exit the bus and begin the tour. With a bus filled with energy enhanced by music blaring from the speaker, people chattering non-stop whilst also singing along to the tunes (a cacophony of the good, the bad and Ugly voices), the feeling of excitement was palpable. Seeing people who LOVE being in the office working all day everyday in front of their computers, letting their hair down (did I mention that it took two weeks of convincing and numerous postponements to get here?) and soaking up the thrills of Itu was eye- opening .
To the action!
On a sunny Friday, a group of over 20 software developers, strategists, Graphic designers, Creatives, and growth hackers toured Ntiat community, a scenic location in Itu LGA of Akwa Ibom state, to provide solutions leveraging technology to age along problems in a bid to localize innovation and bridge the technology gap between rural and urban areas. The aim of the hackacom is to have energetic young people tour the community, identify areas of need, interact with the people of the area, and to provide solutions to their needs.
“The goal of this Hackacom event is to explore and find new and creative technology solutions to create innovative business ideas as well as to develop the rural community to embrace the opportunities of digitalization”- That was the remarks by the co-founder of Roothub, Tony Onuk.
The Hackacom tour had participants visit scenic sites of interest like the undulating lush hillls of Itu, the Clerk Quarters, Queen’s Beach, The beach market and others, while absorbing the rich history and culture of the people of Ntiat as narrated by our guide. At the end of the tour and after interacting with visitors and indigenes of the area, Two ideas were identified and worked on as projects for the area;
1) A tourism, trade and investment brand and strategy manual is to be developed by Francis Onuk, co-founder of The Roothub and team lead of the tour, which would identify the boundless potentials of the area.
2) A food produce platform to aid the local fishermen and farmers expand their market area as well as reduce food wastage.
It wasn't all serious work though!
Almost everyone craved to go on a boat ride after watching the fishermen come ashore to sell their produce . We had fun haggling with the fishermen to buy seafood. Haggling around here is an art, a skill not for the faint-hearted. Speaking the local dialect gives you an edge as the general perception is that, when the fishermen deduces that you are a tourist, he may outsmart you- this later turned out to be untrue as we discovered that the people are warm towards visitors and are willing to throw in freebies and extras just to make a sale. A boatman who just sailed to shore amidst a thunderous shout to herald his arrival, caught our interest. He agreed to take us on the ride but he needed to wash his boat first.
The ride was fun and we found out why the 'captain’ was applauded on arrival- He has got maneuvering skills and there were incidences of hair raising moments when we thought the boat would keel over, just to keep us entertained. It was a thrilling ride in all!
During the ride, we got to witness how the oysters (Nkop) are harvested-by diving to the river bed and picking them up. It is painstaking work and requires the skills of expert divers as they could be submerged for as long as 3 minutes. We witnessed kids as young as 5 years diving for Nkop!
As we returned to shore, we interacted with the people in the market to obtain first hand report on their activities and areas for improvement.
We had lunch, sampled seafood, and washed it all down with fresh palmwine (I watched the tapper come down from the palm tree, lol). We had so much fun that Hubbard didn't feel like going home. I had to literally drag people into the bus!
The HackaCom event is produced by Roothub, Codekago interactive, www.hypestation.ng and is refreshed by Pepsi. This is set up to be a monthly event, and we are looking for great tourist sites.
Did I mention that I am a son of the soil-from Itu LGA of Akwa Ibom State?
