COMING TO NIGERIA

MY FIRST TIME IN NIGERIA

The first time I went to Nigeria was in 1999, I came in search of.........................??? It wasn't business but I'm not sure it was love either.

I was flying Virgin airlines I almost missed my flight from London to Port Harcourt, I can remember the way I ran to the plane with a Nigerian lady (we were both late) she had so much hand luggage I had to help her with some so she could run faster......... We made it just before the doors were shut

The flight was a smooth one, but it was the fly over of Nigeria that left a lasting mark on me. The fly over Nigeria was filled with rusty tin roofs. Port Harcourt was dark, but the flames from the petroleum companies and refineries lit up the city. I remember it was getting late, not so bright out, but the burn offs were a remarkable sight. It was a bitter sweet experience for me, quite impressive but the roofs tops represent a sense of under development that I wasn't quite comfortable with.

The plane began to descend in Port Harcourt, and it was then that it all dawned on me......... I had only been in contact with this one person over the internet.

What if this person didn't exist?

What if this was all a scam?

What if no one shows up to get me from the airport?

I've never been to Nigeria, I don't even know anyone here.....

The plane landed, and I got out, went through customs and headed for the arrivals door, (moment of truth) my heart was racing.  She was there!!! Standing out in the crowd of other receivers, she was all dressed in white like she told me she would (sigh of relief). Her all white ensemble made her stand out like a white rose in the midst of red roses.

We got outside the airport premises, we loaded my luggage in the trunk of the car, but the trunk wouldn't close. Whenever the driver tried to get back into the car a group of people would try to pull out some of my luggage from the trunk. It was a dilemma. As soon as he chased them off and get into the car they would run back and try to raid the car again. Finally we had to move the bags to the front of the car.

I remember, prior to my arrival my host had told me she would rent a fridge to make me comfortable (i refused and told her not to bother as it might be inconvenient and costly for her) as I realised that this person was scraping to get by and I didn't want her incurring additional expenses because of me.

The ride home was a bit awkward; I remember her and the driver constantly telling me to slide down as far as possible in my seat as to not be seen... (What's this all about I said to myself). when they drove up in front of the compound they actually drove right up against the door of her one room studio, so close that the two doors joined... so that I could slide out of the car and right into the studio with only 2 or 3 steps... so close had he pulled up to the door I understood they didn't want me to be seen by on lookers.

I stayed in her one room studio apartment with 2 of her siblings, we all 4 lived and slept in her small one room studio. It was all she had... to offer and I was totally happy with that. Days later we travelled to a village called Aba. I knew nothing of malaria at the time and slept without my shirt, no mosquito net and by the next morning I was 'eaten up' by mosquitoes. Few days later I had my first case ever of malaria, I remember my bones and joints aching so bad like the most terrible of our flu's here in America. Got rid of the malaria by drinking high doses of malorene and beer :D. They said I fell unconscious for 2 days and they were pouring buckets of water over me the whole time thinking I was goanna die.

Back to PH I remember there being a lot of small bits of cement in the food as her burner was placed against a cement wall an she kept tapping the wall with the pan as she was cooking... bits of cement kept falling into the pan.

Sleeping wasn't easy, we slept on mats. As I didn't know yet and I say "yet" how to sleep on the floor... all the skin was off on my hip bones and I remember them being so sore. However I looked to see how they positioned their bodies on the hard cement floor and I just followed their example ... and got through that one.

She was beautiful, A beautiful Nigerian lady, A beautiful African woman, there are no words to describe her. My emotions for her were clearly driven by a desire to know more, more than just know her, know where she 'came from'  know her people, know her customs, know the 'inside' story to know everything......

I will not hide though, I found her very pretty, in the mornings when they would go to work and leave me all alone... they would tell me "don't you dare go out"............ (But typical me! I would). I began roaming the streets in front of the compound... however with a certain degree of caution, ss I was of course very naïve concerning Africa -at the time... This... -will soon change.

And if you're wondering what happened to the girl, well… she is now living in Belgium where our two sons are studying. However we never married. Was through sheer perseverance and intrigue that I managed to get her a visa.