Naija for the show!!! About 30 years ago, I slept at the Murtala Muhammed Airport for four days.

No, I was not a homeless vagabond.
I had bought the Nigeria Airways ticket to fly to the United States for a one-year sabbatical leave.

But when I arrived at the airport, I realized that my ticket was not honoured, though I had bought it legitimately.

Whenever a plane was about to leave Lagos for New York, the NA officials posted a manifest list, and my name was not there.

They would ask me to wait for the next list.
This drama of “Your name is not yet listed, wait for the next manifest list” continued for four days.

I couldn’t leave the airport and return home because I lived in Ile Ife, and had bid my people goodbye for one year. They all expected I would be in NY already.

I was therefore forced to sleep by the door of the NA office at the airport, waiting for the release of the manifest list with my name on it.
I was not alone. There were hundreds of stranded passengers like me there—men, women, young, old, tall, short, thin fat—all sorts of people.

The Murtala Mohamed Airport was different then than what we have now. There were no security officers. People drifted in and out in their hundreds. It was rowdy. There was no order of any sort.

Food hawkers milled among the crowd of the stranded passengers like me, selling sandwiches, puff-puff, moin-moin, gala, meat pie, hamburgers, even rice and dodo. People hawked sodas such as Cocacola, Fanta, Sprite and malt drinks.

The interior of the airport was packed like the Oyingbo market. There were also pickpockets and other fraudsters pulling fast tricks on unsuspecting victims.

I was hesitant to buy anything. I had changed all my naira to dollars at the rate of one dollar to three naira. But if I wanted to change my dollar back to naira, I could only collect ONE NAIRA FOR MY DOLLAR at the airport, which would be a loss.

I was desperate when I got hungry. But someone was willing to give me two naira for a dollar, so I changed two dollars. I bought some moin-moin and coke.

The guys who helped me to change my money said I had no hope of travelling unless I was willing to bribe someone.

I was adamant. I wasn’t going to bribe anybody. It was my right to fly out, after all, I had paid for my ticket.

By day four, I lost hope of travelling out. I used my handbag as my pillow and reclined on the floor, to take a nap.

The young woman who slept a couple of feet away from me was also napping, snoring loudly. I asked her earlier, and she said she had been there for almost a week.

She said she was ready at that point to accept the offer of a Nigeria Airways official who wanted sex in exchange for helping her to get on the manifest list.

For how long I had been asleep I couldn’t tell when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I opened my eyes. It was Segun Odegbami, the famous international soccer star, who played for the Green Eagles. I thought I was dreaming.

I had met him through a friend, Tunde Fagbenle, and we had shared drinks at Fagbenle’s house in Lagos a couple of times.

I couldn’t refer to him as my friend, and I didn’t even know he would recognize me or remember my name. I was a fat nobody next to a big star like him, someone for whom Ebenezer Obey had waxed an album, with the chorus, “It is a gooooal, Odegbami,” a bestselling song throughout Nigeria.

When I opened my eyes and it was him, I wanted to close my eyes back, thinking I was just dreaming.

But he spoke to me. “Moyo, what are you doing on the floor here?”

I quickly sat up, wiped my eyes, and smiled at him. I narrated my story.

He shook his head, and said with a sigh, “That’s Nigeria Airways for you. I came to see someone off to London, and as I was leaving I happened to see you.”

“Na so we see am o,” I told him.

“Where is your ticket?”

I dipped my hand inside the pocket of my agbada, made out of new Ankara textiles. It had doubled as my daywear and my pajamas for four days. I retrieved the ticket and gave it to him.

He said, “Excuse me for a minute. Let me go and talk with them.”

Then he went inside the Nigeria Airways office, and within minutes he was back, with two young men.

“Moyo, are you ready to go now,” Odegbami said, “because a flight is leaving in about fifteen minutes.”

I didn’t need to say yes. My eyes said it all.

The two young men picked up my luggage.
Odegbami gave me a hug and wished me bon voyage.

The two young men led the way with my luggage—just a suitcase and my hand luggage.
They took me to the back of the airport, and there was a Peugeot 505 waiting for us.
They loaded my luggage in the boot and drove me down the tarmac to the huge aircraft about half a mile away.

From a persona non grata, I instantly transformed into a VIP, driven on the tarmac like a departing president.

Nobody checked my luggage for any contraband. Everything was loaded directly on the plane and I was given the luggage tags.
I walked to my seat and sank into it. I couldn’t help but notice that the plane was less than half full.

There were empty seats everywhere when the plane took off. Yet, there were scores of people waiting at the airport, denied their right to fly, after paying their fares.

I remembered the poor woman snoring next to me on the floor at the airport. Tears began to fall from my eyes.

“If they ever see me again in that godforsaken country,” I swore silently, “they should cut off my head.”

—MOYO OKEDIJI, Art History Professor at The University of Texas at Austin, USA.

Many cases as this

only sons of bitch es thinks nigeria is progressing

The shit-hole we stay.

Buhari has turned Nigeria to IDP of the world

The memoirs of a diasporan professor.

tollyboy5:
only sons of bitch es thinks nigeria is progressing

Only Polithiefcians and religious leaders think Nigeria is working. Nigeria has never worked and can never work. The first day I get out of this country, it's going to be the final bye bye to Nigeria.

Righteousness2:
Hmmmmm
Very Deep!
The Recklessness in our country didn't just start!

This is beyond recklessness. It's something more than terrible.

DamZik:
Only Polithiefcians and religious leaders think Nigeria is working. Nigeria has never worked and can never work. The first day I get out of this country, it's going to be the final bye bye to Nigeria.

Aboki thinks the money they make from begging in Lagos also is something!

To them Nigeria is progressing!

This Same Nigeria airway

Felt so sad reading this shit


Nigeria which way?

Marine54:
This Same Nigeria airway

God

Why??

jayp92:
There were empty seats everywhere when the plane took off. Yet, there were scores of people waiting at the airport, denied their right to fly, after paying their fares.

The same way they will tell you admission is closed in higher institutions but they will still admit students with long legs after matriculation. The same way hospital will tell you there is no bed space but it a lie. I regret being a Nigerian.

Makavelli25:
Felt so sad reading this shit


Nigeria which way?

"The young woman who slept a couple of feet away from me was also napping, snoring loudly. I asked her earlier, and she said she had been there for almost a week.

She said she was ready at that point to accept the offer of a Nigeria Airways official who wanted sex in exchange for helping her to get on the manifest list."

N a i g e r i a !

Fahdiga1:
Buhari has turned Nigeria to IDP of the world

Tramadol is dangerous to health.
Did you read Buhari in this write up? Ndiara

Nigeria's corruption and lawlessness started from antiquity.To think that the same trend have taken a more sophisticated dimension as @ today is so discouraging.
This nation is doomed.

DamZik:
Only Polithiefcians and religious leaders think Nigeria is working. Nigeria has never worked and can never work. The first day I get out of this country, it's going to be the final bye bye to Nigeria.

99.99999% of those that think they'll leave Nigeria never do.

Its sad...

Golan007:


99.99999% of those that think they'll leave Nigeria never do.

I'm going to be among the remaining 0.000001%. Yes, I believe.

This event should be around 1983.

guess who was president then??

YEP! SAME OLD BUHARI THAT IS STILL PRESIDENT TODAY - YEAR DEC. 2020!


And some people still believe he can fix this damn country!

DamZik:
I'm going to be among the remaining 0.000001%. Yes, I believe.

Honestly, I wish you good luck.

I do know however, after 9 months tops, you'll start to miss Nigeria.

obiekunie2:
This event should be around 1983.

guess who was president then??

YEP! SAME OLD BUHARI THAT IS STILL PRESIDENT TODAY - YEAR DEC. 2020!


And some people still believe he can fix this damn country!

Couldn't have been 1983 because 1 dollar was still less than 1 Naira in 1985.

Many cases as this

Marine54:
This Same Nigeria airway

i wish they can give me these airplane i have business idea with it. But Nigeria na man know man.

jayp92:


Food hawkers milled among the crowd of the stranded passengers like me, selling sandwiches, puff-puff, moin-moin, gala, meat pie, hamburgers, even rice and dodo. People hawked sodas such as Cocacola, Fanta, Sprite and malt drinks.

The interior of the airport was packed like the Oyingbo market. There were also pickpockets and other fraudsters pulling fast tricks on unsuspecting victims.

I was hesitant to buy anything. I had changed all my naira to dollars at the rate of one dollar to three naira. But if I wanted to change my dollar back to naira, I could only collect ONE NAIRA FOR MY DOLLAR at the airport, which would be a loss.

I.

the dollar part got me

That must be during time of Andrew don't check out

very few will understand that quote......

Nigerian's problem didn't start today. It would take a lot to correct the problems of this country.

We need to go back to the foundation. A lot was wrong from there

Golan007:





Honestly, I wish you good luck.

I do know however, after 9 months tops, you'll start to miss Nigeria.

You like making unrealistic conclusions. You must be a rich man so you can't think from Nigerians' perspective.

DamZik:
You like making unrealistic conclusions. You must be a rich man so you can't think from Nigerians' perspective.

If I'm a rich man does it mean I was also born rich?