It was 4:27 a.m. on Friday in Lagos, the same time in Morocco, when our bus driver pulled away from the apartment we had lodged in since Wednesday evening.

For the AFCON, off we went. To Murtala Mohammed International Airport. The six of us you can find in this picture.

To avoid boring you, we took off at 7:22 a.m. in Lagos, still the same time in Morocco. Mind you, I was unusually observant of everything on the plane. It was my first time on one. Interestingly, all the drama people often talk about during take off never happened to me. I had heard the stories many times, so maybe that helped.

Off we went. A bit into the journey, I became slightly nervous as the plane made different sounds. The turbulence. The entry into darker clouds. So I stayed awake throughout the trip.

All through the flight, I had the screen in front of me set to the map, tracking our route, the distance covered, and the current destination.

I noted a few places we crossed or flew near, according to the map.

We passed through Benin Republic at 7:55 a.m., crossed the Niger River at 8:43 a.m., and flew over Mali at 9:10 a.m.

The food was another intriguing part. I had decided beforehand that I would take everything I was offered. I eventually did. Except one thing. Tell me why I was expected to eat a raw tomato. That was the only item I didn’t take.

The trip grew more interesting, and at some point I dozed off, though not for long. We landed at Mohammed V Airport in Casablanca at 11:50 a.m. The plane made its final stop at 11:59 a.m. I stepped out of the aircraft at 12:07 p.m.

I walked into the airport alongside my Elegbete TV crew, Dr Kelechi, and Phatill

We made a few videos and took some pictures. I also met Daniel Amokachi for the first time. Daniel, who is on CAF commentary duties, spoke in a video with me about how good he was as a striker.

Once all that was done, we headed to immigration to get our passports stamped and documents checked. We cleared that successfully and moved on to the next phase.

As we walked further, we came across a spot with a beautiful AFCON backdrop and decided to create some content and take pictures. We also bumped into someone shooting content professionally with a camera, and a Moroccan fan, Med Abbadi, who had come to support his team.

Myself from the left, the Jamiu, then Edafe, then Emmanuel Sabastine, then Kalejaye and finally Micolo

After that, we bought SIM cards for ourselves and got food to eat. Throughout the process, the hospitality and reception were excellent. Something a first timer like myself truly appreciated, even with the language barrier.

With a layover stretching almost until midnight, we decided to take a train to the Casablanca Media Centre at the Mohammed V Stadium to pick up our media accreditation tags. We got to Oasis train station and booked two rides to the stadium.

We arrived, collected our tags seamlessly, and headed back to Oasis to catch a train back to the airport.

This was where it all got crazy.

Our train was scheduled for 6:08 p.m. to 6:38 p.m. After waiting a few minutes in a crowded station, we did the usual Lagos street instinct and rushed into a train, only to realise we had boarded one heading to Marrakech. We found out when someone tried to claim his seat. That was when it hit us. We had messed up.

He advised us to stop at the next two stations, take a train back to Oasis, and then head to the airport again.

That was exactly what we did.

We stopped and prepared to head back, but Micolo insisted we ask questions. Thankfully, we found a train heading back almost immediately.

But Micolo was still sceptical. Even after Edafe and I had confirmed, he kept double checking. You could not blame him.

Inside the train, the journey seemed longer than expected, and the thought of boarding yet another wrong train crossed our minds. We laughed it off, joked about it, and thankfully, with help from a few passengers, confirmed we were on the right track.

Just when we thought the madness was over, something almost repeated itself.

While heading back to Oasis, Kalejaye Hammed checked online. The time he saw matched when we arrived, and a train was waiting. We ran to catch it, but it left. So we waited.

Back at the centre, Micolo once again explained our situation to a security officer, who told us the train we were expecting had not arrived yet.

A few minutes later, it did.

We ran towards it. Micolo still asked questions. We confirmed with about three different people.

Only then did we finally get on.

The real joke of this scene was if we had gotten into the train Kalejaye wanted us to get into 😂😂. Just imagine that situation.

Anyway, we got back to the airport, ate, had random and work conversations, and welcomed a member of the crew, Emmanuel Etim, who came in from the UK. Our flight was delayed further, but eventually we took off at 1:18 a.m. this morning. I missed the landing time anyway. Apparently, our photographer, Jamiu Adelase, woke me up, because I was exhausted. The plane made its final stop at 2:13 a.m.

I was the last passenger to get off the plane, stepping out at 2:18 a.m.

Immediately, the cold in Fez I had been warned about showed itself.

It was freakishly cold. This is no exaggeration. Even people who had been to the coldest European countries reacted. We all rushed inside quickly, and in that short minute before getting into the building, it was harsh on all of us. When I got in, I looked around and saw the Moroccans. They looked completely normal. There was this silent “really” in my head. I found myself thinking, in pidgin, “cold no dey catch these ones?” Meaning, are these people not feeling cold at all?

We settled in, picked up our luggage, and decided to stay at the airport until morning. Our apartment was in an estate, a residential area, and since we had not met them before, we needed to wait till daylight.

By about 3:30 a.m., we all sat and settled at Crushly Lounge inside the airport. Gists flew across tables. Phones were pressed.

There was tea, and there were packs of Chipto Munch chips, one of the best snack brands in Nigeria. Trust me, you would always ask for more.

The first time I had those chips earlier this year, I thought I would keep them for a few days. They did not last 24 hours. They keep calling you back.

Emmanuel Etim was a victim of it this morning. The chips were passed to him, and I said, “I know you will come back for more.” He did, even after it felt like he had already had enough.

We talked, slept in bits, and by morning, it was finally time to go home.

When we got into the taxi, one thing I remember telling the taxi driver was not to turn on the AC, because I was freezing already. When we got into the apartment, it was still very cold, even with the heater turned on.

We settled down, sorted our luggage, and finally made food. Proper concoction rice.

One funny moment from the day was when Edafe and I went out to get a few things. When it was time to pay, the shop owner said he did not accept cards and that we would need to withdraw cash.

He understood English only slightly. He tried to explain where we could withdraw money. We walked a bit and saw what looked like a payment platform shop, so we went in. There were two ladies there. We asked if they understood English. One replied that she understood just a little. Edafe handed her the card and mentioned the amount we needed. She immediately exclaimed “no,” with other expressions. The other lady beside her kept laughing, and soon we were all laughing, because the language barrier was clearly having its way with us.

Luckily, a man walked in. In the middle of everything, Edafe noticed the winter jacket he was wearing and said, “This is the kind of jacket we need.” The man smiled. His smile made me ask, “English?” He said yes. The excitement in me was instant. He told us to walk a few metres away to use the ATM stand. After he was done in the shop, he even came out to check on us to be sure everything was sorted. We thanked him, and also thanked the ladies before leaving.

This scene took me back to the earlier months of this year, when I began learning French from my friend, but failed to continue. If I had stayed consistent, communication would not have been an issue.

We went back to pay for the things we bought, and then headed home.

We ate, we slept, and work mode for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON, is now fully active.

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