The article is written by the publisher of Diaspora Glitz Magazine, Obi-West Utchaychukwu. He shared a 2005 experience while holidaying in Damascus, Syria

Obi-West Utchaychukwu is based in Finland. He is the founder of Face of African Queen Finland, a beauty pageant for young ladies from African background

In 2005, before the multi-sided Syrian civil war. I was working for an international company where my task enabled me to travel abroad, I got my Syrian visa and I began to prepare for the trip. Having been to Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, so Damascus was my next destination.

I bought my flight ticket with Air Maroc to transit in Casablanca en route to Damascus. A week before my departure, I was told that because I’m a Nigerian passport holder, that they won’t grant me entry into the country despite having an authentic visa except someone stands as a surety for me in the country; who will take responsibility for my stay. It was when Syria was in the throes of insecurity.

I made some phone calls and I was connected to a Nigerian lady called Pat Otabor who lived in Damascus. I called her and told her that I will be visiting Syria and she told me that I need to pay someone who will come to the airport to sign an undertaking. I didn’t waste time and I asked her “How much?” and she replied in Nigerian pidgin “bros nah $150” I didn’t bother to argue, I just told her no problem.

Our flight landed at Damascus international airport, stern-looking Military men guided us to the immigration section. I was the only black man amongst the passengers which made me the cynosure of all eyes. Still in the queue, when out of the blue, a military man just like the Goliath character in the David and Goliath movie walked to me and said. “Where are you from?” With nervousness, I replied-Nigeria sir. Can I see your passport he said while stretching out his hand to me? When I handed my passport to him, he quickly flipped through to see if I had visited Israel before coming to Syria. If I had visited Israel before coming to Syria, I would have had a problem. They would have charged me for espionage.

After going through a thorough search and interrogation for about an hour, they asked me the name of my contact person in Syria and I told them that was when they handed my already stamped passport to me.

As I came out, I saw a dark-skinned lady grinning from afar. She was accompanied by another black guy. They walked to me, and she asked are you, Obi? I smiled and responded “Yes, I’m Obi”

We boarded a taxi to her house, I was so fatigued, I needed to have a good sleep. When we got to her house, I came down with her and the African guy asked me for the $150 which I gave him and he also collected $50 from me for a taxi ride and he continued with the taxi to his house. The guy is a Sierra Leonean, who was the president of African students in Damascus. We entered the building, she turned to the right and said that’s my door. She opened the door and we entered, then I discovered that it was a studio with a big bed and a couch by the side. Without hesitation, I asked her, Sister, but you told me that you have a private room for me when i told you that I want to reserve a room in the hotel. She replied subtly, no worries, you can pass the night here and can get a place for yourself by tomorrow.

While relaxing on the couch, she asked me if I would like to eat a Nigerian delicacy called “fufu and egusi soup”, I told her no, that I would prefer noodles. After eating and having discussed with her, where she told me that she is planning to immigrate to Greece through Turkey. She turned to me and said, bro, go and take your bath while pointing towards the bathroom door. I paused for a moment, and then I told her that I’m okay; I will have my bath in the morning. Taking off my trousers in front of a lady that I don’t know and leaving my wallet and my document behind while in the bathroom are the major reasons I declined.

I want to take a shower she said, and she gave me the remote control of her old tv. After about fifteen minutes, she walked into the room with see-through lingerie, her seductive boobs reminded me of the temptation of the biblical Joseph in the hands of Potiphar’s wife. “Are you enjoying the channel?” she asked, this time she was in bed. You can change it, I told her. I threw the remote control to her. A couple of minutes later, she turned to me and said, I want to put off the light, “Come and lie down, let’s sleep together” I was a bit confused. What did you say? I ask her. I said come and lie down, she reiterated, this time, she has come to bed eyes. At this juncture, I was befuddled, my mind was preoccupied with two things-whether to heed to her invitation for sex or tell her that I’m comfortable passing the cold night on the couch.

Out of the blue, I turned to her and I told her “Thank you” I’m comfortable here. She sighed and switched off the light. I couldn’t sleep, I was having a gnawing feeling in my spirit. I also noticed that she was unable to stay asleep.

When it was morning, I told her that I want to take a walk around the neighbourhood. Her response was cold, obviously because of what transpired during the night. I got a sim card from the local network and activated the internet. The first thing I did was to look for a furnished place where I will put up and I paid for it. I got back to her house, she was angry because I was out for too long. I apologized and told her that I’m leaving her place right away. To where? she asked. I have gotten a furnished studio, I replied. Can I get the address? she asked, this time, I was close to the door of the building. I told her I will send it to her.

Damascus is one of the oldest cities in the world with amazing historic sites. I visited The Umayyad Mosque also known as the Great Mosque of Damascus, where the tomb of John the Baptist is located. I visited the Straight Street called Bab Shargi in Arab where Apostle Paul got converted. I can’t forget the sweet memory of Antioch, also known as Aleppo where you’ll find one of the early church. Another interesting place was the Citadel of Aleppo, a large medieval fortified palace in the centre of the city. Sayyidah Zaynab Mosque that holds the remains of Prophet Muhammad’s granddaughter was an interesting place. Maaloula, a large rocky Christian community where you’ll find some monasteries and the temple of Baal were the places I also visited that I can remember.

A couple of months later after my arrival to Nigeria, I decided to call a Nigerian student whom I met in a Church in Damascus. After we have spoken for a while I asked him about Pat and I was shocked when he told me that she is dead. You mean Pat is dead? He replied “yes.” According to the guy, Pat relocated to Turkey and fell sick and when she got to the hospital it was discovered that she’s HIV positive. She died of AIDs complications that she contracted years ago. So Pat was HIV positive and she wanted me to lie with her? I began to reminiscent what transpired the night I was at her place and at the same time I was thanking God for not heeding to her seduction.

Nothing must happen to Bishop kukah.
those who are planning it know what I am saying..

let’s not trigger what would snowball into more drama..

leave unarmed critics and deal with armed terrorists..

Dont touch bishop kukah.
when you touch God’s ministers,God would reply you..

In The Joy Of Christmas ��� - May Our Dreams Come Through - Read my inspiring story

Everyone desires to see their dreams come true. I have always wanted to become a publisher because of my penchant for writing. My interest in writing had a huge boost when my article was published by The Punch Newspaper in 2011. The title of the top-notch article was "The many ills of the nation." In the article, I criticized former president Goodluck Jonathan's plan to put ex-presidents of Nigeria on a lifetime pension at a time when Nigeria was in a profound economic crisis.

That same year, during my wilderness experience in Lagos, still fighting hard to disentangle myself from the claws of poverty, I wrote a book on the African Odyssey. The 200 pages book was a compilation of the experiences I have garnered vis-à-vis life outside the shores of the country. I took the manuscript to a publisher for him to read and see if he could publish it for me on pro bono. A week later, he returned the manuscript to me and told me he can't publish it for free and he advised me not to give my manuscript to anybody just like that, that they could steal the content.

I went to the office of The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) at Ikeja and they collected the manuscript from me and told me that they will send it to their head office in Abuja. Three days later, the office in Abuja contacted me to acknowledge the receipt of the manuscript and that they will get back to me within two weeks.

After two weeks, I got a reply from them that someone has read the manuscript and the person approved it. I was told that the agency is willing to publish the book because it's informative, educative, and articulate as it would go a long way in warning young Nigerians about the dangers of traveling through the desert and other illegal means just to get to oversea. The agency asked me how much do I need for the publishing and I told them N2 million naira for thousands of copies (I can't remember the exact figure) and they agreed. They told me that they will invite me to Abuja to sign some papers to enable them to release the fund. That week I was in an ecstatic mood, little did I know that my bubble was about to burst.

The following week, I received an email that shattered my life. They said they can no longer sponsor the publishing of the book because of paucity of funds, "but it was a fallacy." Someone from the office told me that the reason why they jettisoned the initial agreement to help me was because of my tribe. If I were a Northerner, they would have supported me.

I took the manuscript this time to a very wealthy man from my village who is in the race to become the next King of my community. When I got to his office at Ikeja, Lagos State, I met his absence and I waited for almost two hours before he came. As soon as he was about to enter his office, I stood up, greeted him, and introduced myself to him. I gave him the manuscript with tears almost dropping from my eyes, i told him to assist me in publishing the book. He flipped through the manuscript and handed it back to me. His statement was "I'm very busy, you can come another day" instantly, I developed cold feet, I didn't know what to do. I never expected a harsh response from him. In summary, because of poverty, I abandoned my manuscript in the hands of people who might have published the book without my knowledge and made money from it.

Today, I give God Glory because my dream of becoming a publisher has been fulfilled. Everyone knows me in Finland because of my Diaspora Glitz Magazine which has maintained consistency and quality. The quarterly magazine is the official producer of The Face of African Queen Finland, a beauty pageant for ladies with African backgrounds. The magazine has launched me into limelight.

I can publish whatever I want to publish because Grace has made it possible. You can still achieve your dreams if you don't lose focus because of the challenges of life. Merry Christmas to all