He have been in Japan for the past 4 and half years now. He works and lives inside a leather factory. Every day he works from 0040 to 1800 on his job while avoiding the police and immigration services that can come looking for foreigners  even inside the factories to deport. Godwin's Dad died , he couldn't leave the country because he have not even save enough money to account for the borrowed money he used for his flight ticket. Months later his Mom died too and same events played themselves out. Weeks later,while working he sighted the Police raiding the next factory, he wanted to escape by scaling a fence and in the process broke his hip and today he have deported after spending some time in the hospital,without any money, parents, friend or hope. He was just 29 years old.

Paul used to be the most brilliant student in his class. He quit school because his parents couldn't pay his school fees again. He got a job as bus conductor and when he had an opportunity to travel to Japan and makes some money to support his immediate young family and the extended one, he took it. He left behind his wife of 10 months who is pregnant with their first kid in her first trimester. He have to travel because the embassy will not give him another visa if that one expires. So he did. Because he couldn't do much nor achieve any kind of stability without a resident visa, he got married again to a Japanese. He believed that he can be able keep his true feeling to himself  in order to protect the woman he truly loves that he left at home.

Six months later, he realized that his Japanese wife is expecting a baby and that his wife in Nigeria is going to deliver through a Caesarean section . For the first time since this started, he felt that he cannot live in this double life with its complications, lies and deception. Today he cannot afford to give himself fully to the one in Japan neither can he hold the only woman he ever truly love.He have not seen his first son and have missed his first tottering steps. He is depressed and on drugs.

Uche was a handsome young man. He came to Japan to look for a way to fend for his future and that of his younger ones.  He needed a paper to stay, as a Nigerian there is no other alternative than to get married to a Japanese. He started visiting clubs every night, making overtures to many women. some he slept with in order to strengthen the relationship, others on knowing that he is a Nigerian never wanted to see him again, while others used him as a intimacy gadget.

Eleven months later, Uche was married and was expecting his papers when he realized that he have been feeling odd with constant diarrhea,tuberculosis and running fever. He went to a hospital for a free HIV test and it came back positive.  The doctor gave him 2 months to live. Uche died on 3rd week. He remains were cremated and send back to Nigeria.

Peter came to Japan. In his quest for papers, he impregnated a 19 years old student. They got married after running a gauntlet from the girl parents who rejected a gaijin, a black one for that to marry their only daughter. When the kid was born , the family dropped their objection and embraced their new additions to their family. They tried to help the new family by injecting money into Peter's business, $100,000 to be exact and in his naivety the money got blown away. Since he cannot get any new fund to move on, he decided to work. Taking care of a family in Japan is not a child's play as he soon find out. Every yen that he made got swallowed by the numerous unavoidable expenses that accost him every place that he turns to.

Resentment grew, he started dating other women . He keep borrowing money from different ladies. He grew distance from his family. The girl cannot go back to her family because of their earlier objection. She was got between the river and the mountain. She too grew more restless and started dating other foreigners too. On realizing that Peter cannot keep his promise of marrying her one of the girls demanded her money back. She also published his name all over the Internet making it virtually impossible for him to get another girl in the dating scene. One thing led to another and as they were fighting, Peter in a drug fueled anger sliced her neck with a flick knife he always carry's with him. Today he awaiting his trial in a prison which might be death penalty.

All these have same root cause; the almost maniac drive to get married so they can get a permit to live in the society that they found themselves. They marry without the fundamental element for the success of the marriage:Love. The girls gets into it without realizing that what theie are Visa-brides. She wanted security and love, he wants to succeed , a drive for self -preservation even though so primitive yet in all of us.  Marriages like this do not work and have never work. At the end, the parties gets bruised, heart-broken and in some cases end up tragically. Yet who will you blame? And our name keeps its place in the dis-honor list.

I think it is time for the authorities in these countries that these Nigerians and other less privileged are living in to find a way to document its immigrants and to encourage them into the open  so they can work legally thereby fulfilling their obligations to their host communities and the family they left behind. It is very important to  encourage assimilation but when it becomes tied to a marriage to their daughters, it becomes a lightening rod for discontentment and leaves room for abuse.

If an individual is found to be worthy to be trusted after some period of observation, it is just to accord him those privileges that he need to contribute to his host community.

too much nah!
cant read jare,hav a lot to do