I was still at university when he came to meet my parents in Australia. At the request of my Nigerian mother and father, I was to be escorted to Nigeria to get a feel for the country and see if I could withstand it. When my parents gave their consent we flew to London together...
... It was Winter and the usual grey skies and drizzle met us on the outskirts of Heathrow as we prepared for our onward flight to Lagos. London was cold; the complete opposite of the sweltering heat and humidity we experienced upon exiting MMIA...
... We landed early. I was to stay a whole month, the first week in Lagos. There were many places to go to and people to meet in my introduction to the country. The first stop was somewhere we could shower from the heat and get some food, traditional Yoruba style...
... Our ride finally found us waiting outside. By then I had taken off my earrings and watch and placed them in the pockets of my overcoat which I hung over my arm. Night fell as we proceeded to Victoria Island. When we arrived at our destination, I took off my money belt...
... and refreshed myself with a shower and change of clothes before sitting down to have a meal with our hosts. An hour later, my personal ride arrived. I was to be escorted by a lady and her driver to the former deputy governor's house, to spend the night there...
... We loaded my two suitcases into the boot of the car and I mistakenly left my money belt with my passport inside on the bed. Later this 'mistake' became a blessing to me. After pulling into the former Dep. Gov's house, I helped myself out of the car to go help take one of...
... my bags towards the front door. The driver and my lady friend stayed at the boot to offload other items. From outside the front door I watched them and suddenly saw 4 men run towards the car. House help, I thought, but then I saw their pistols glistening in the moonlight...
... Perhaps it was shock or confusion but fear did not grip me. I watched the men march my lady and the driver carrying my suitcase towards me and demand that the door be opened. My lady was terrified and banged on the door anxiously, pleading for those inside to open up...
... At last, a small girl opened the door into the vast foyer. The head of the pack ordered his boys to march everyone upstairs to the master bedroom while the suitcases were to be dropped in the foyer and I was left there face to face with him...
... He asked me what was inside my suitcases and I told him gifts plus my clothes. He then asked me if I had any jewelery and reached to check my ears. My coat was still draped over my arm and I had forgot what I put into its pockets. Fortunately, he did not check...
... He took me upstairs to be with the others assembled in the Master bedroom. We were asked to lie down face down on the floor as they searched around for weapons and other valuables. The man supervising us on the floor excited himself with threats to blow our brains off...
... if we moved and felt around my back, asking where the dollars and passport were. I stayed quiet but the 7 of us on the floor of the room were all engrossed in prayers as the over-excited one continued mouthing off. The head of the pack finally returned and spoke with...
... perfect English and elocution, addressing the former deputy governor She pleaded for them to leave us unharmed. He then instructed us to remain on the floor while they left. After 15-20 mins, we realised they had gone. The phone line was cut but the house had another...
... secret line unknown to most. The military were called and some househelp came to inform us that the men had gone with all my suitcases plus the car. All that was left was what I had on, my coat and the money belt I left at the other house. My escort was called to come at once
... and sleep under the same roof as me. We would have to change our plans and cancel Lagos. The police told us that someone had been killed by a similar group of robbers just the other night. I was the only person who slept that night...
... I had decided before I slept that staying here might one day cost me my life but that something must be terribly wrong for educated young men to resort to this. The next morning we were taken to the airport to fly to Abuja. On the way, I was told that Iron was removed from..
... the bridge by people to sell. I had been to over 40 countries but this type of poverty I had not experienced before. The children begging, the things most people had become desensitised to seeing, I saw fresh and silently cried in the back seat. The stolen car...
... was eventually found dumped by a waterway but my possessions were gone. I could only pray that someone benefitted from them. I could not tell my parents in Australia what had happened. Instead, we moved from Abuja to our eventual destination in the North, a town where...
...people could still go to sleep with their doors unlocked. Sweet visitors flocked to express their sympathies and frown at how crime in Lagos and other cities in the South was ruining the good name of Nigeria. To replace what I had lost, within hours people donated clothes...
... and fabrics to be sewn. I enjoyed the warmth of the North that entire month through visits to several Northern cities, eating fresh, organic food, experiencing the boisterous laughter of the powerful women of FOMWAN and partaking in the joy of traditional dance and...
... celebrations. Life in those days was simple and the love was real. My final days in Nigeria I returned to Lagos dressed and feeling like a Northerner, only a little more daring. I entered the danfo buses, climbed on the back of a motorcycle and entered a canoe to Tarkwa Bay..
...I left Nigeria with a strong imprint on my heart, destined to return. My children now consider Nigeria her home and I pray they never lose faith in their homeland.
*as home
