Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 13: Nigeria
I started my last day in Benin with morning prayers with the Salesian community
andthenjoinedthemforaheartybreakfast.BeforeIleftthemission,FatherJosépackedme
a lunch and gave me some Nigerian currency to start me off. What a great man!
As I cycled down the side streets to the main road, my anxiety about crossing the
Nigerian border was rising. This anxiety was fuelled by what was said to me by many in-
dividuals (from locals to embassy personnel) since my arrival in Sénégal many months ago
and throughout West Africa. The message was similar: be very careful at the Nigerian bor-
der for the guards were ruthless and extremely corrupt for “they will cut off a finger to take
a ring” and “you will be expected to give a hefty bribe if you wish to pass”.
Iwassopreoccupied withwhatmighthappenthatitwasonlyafterIcameuponsev-
eral road barriers that I realized I had just completed 30 kilometres to the border. To keep
myself calm, I recalled my response when I was constantly warned how dangerous it was to
be in Northern Ireland. My response entering Nigeria was to be the same: only after I cross
the 'bridge' and met the locals, will I form my opinion.
As I approached the final kilometre to the border, I noticed numerous armed soldiers
onbothsidesofthehighwaycongregatingaroundeachbarrierandinsmallclustersallalong
the road. When I arrived at immigration, my passport was quickly stamped and they wished
measafejourney.IthenproceededtomyfirstNigeriancheckpointjustdowntheroad. This
was when my heart started to race and when I kept reminding myself to “meet the locals.”
Just ahead of me, stood a tall Nigerian guard in a pristine uniform with a gun across
his chest and his finger near the trigger. I couldn't see his eyes for they were covered with
mirrored aviator sunglasses. When he saw me queued behind several vehicles, he quickly
strode up to meet me. My heart began to race even faster as a sinister smile came across his
faceshowinghisperfectwhiteteeth.Inadeepvoice,hetoldmetofollowhim.AndsoIdid.
Tocalmmynervesandto'meetthelocals'Iquicklybegantoexplainmyreasonforcycling
throughNigeria.ItoldhimthatIplannedtovisitSTCprojectsinLagostobetterunderstand
the plight of Nigerian children and to document what I saw for western media interviews….
all of which was true.
As soon as I completed this explanation, he stopped, paused for a few seconds and
then turned around. He removed his sunglasses and I noticed his facial expression had
changed. Gone was that sinister smile and I detected warmth in his eyes. He then took it
upon himself to be my personal bodyguard. He pushed all the pedestrians in front of me to
the side and took me to the front of the queue. I received my entry stamp immediately and
then went through customs without anyone checking my panniers or even inquiring as to
Search WWH ::
Custom Search