Hello guys,due to the overwhelming support i have received from a seemingly innocent comment on a previous thread and in response to popular demand to create a separate thread to chronicle my experiences,i have decided to do this here.

However,i would like to point out and crave your understanding to the honest fact that i might not be doing a bare it all here. This is so because at the moment no one can tell where or when special interests might come knocking for my story.

I wouldn't want to have bared it all in here and be left with nothing to hand prospective suitors. ( everybody like money)

The experiences i'll be sharing here are going to be straight up first hand as it happened to me some 20 years ago,beyond and present as it might relate to my narrative.

To get a proper perspective i might have to do a background intro so you readers will better understand how i ended up venturing on this voyage of yes/no return as the case may be.

It is imperative to state here for the sake of clarity that i am doing this not for some cheap popularity or attention-seeking-ego-massaging trip,i am taking this up as a first step to finding me healing from all the trauma and also to pass on a lesson or two to you readers on the dangers inherent on this journey.

I'm naturally a pretty well private person who's known to bottle up stuffs a lot,this explains why this is the first time i'll be baring my experiences of some 20 years ago for the first time straight up as it is.

I'll hope you guys enjoy reading as i give the narratives but i'll prefer a question and answer session kind of. I even confuse sef.

Please note that my narrative here is not an expert advise on travelling by road or illegally,neither does it seek to promote or encourage same. I stand against and condemn all illegalities as it relates to travelling and otherwise.

Here's the thread that got us here

https://www.nairaland.com/4403645/share-day-never-forget/13#65950071

Finally you have done it.... Let the game begin.

Booked

Okada oya park! Na the place be this

Bro fire on I dey your back like hunchback


emerich
SKYKEN001
junnyjake
Nazeren
Nairalane
dexcira
Joseid

This is the thread y'all craving for

Yessss! I'm waiting

OMG! This is the same feeling I had when waiting for MaziOmenuko to post on his story thread then.

Gaby this stage is yours

bayocanny:
Okada oya park! Na the place be this

Bro fire on I dey your back like hunchback


emerich
SKYKEN001
junnyjake
Nazeren
Nairalane
dexcira
Joseid

This is the thread y'all craving for

Ayam here live . gaby how u today

dexcira:
Ayam here live . gaby how u today

Smsh, if I no mention you would you be here? You can't even say a simple "thank u"
Is that how u use to do lol

bayocanny:

Smsh, if I no mention you would you be here?
You can't even say a simple "thank u"

Is that how u use to do lol

sorry na, is this chicken head am eating that caused it. Tnx dear. Oya chop

Oya oya.. No time..

Finally! Let's get this started!

dexcira:

sorry na, is this chicken head am eating that caused it. Tnx dear. Oya chop

Chai abomination!!
I no dey chop chicken head jor, gimme that laps lol

Following

Shuooo una don make me dey fear o..i just go buy my bazz plus origin come meet crowd here...

Abeg make una bear with me i'll drop in a bit

dexcira:

Ayam here live . gaby how u today

Nice, but Gaby! Don't lit the cat out so quick! Speak in Parables but make them attractive

For the benefit of new followers the below post was what "opened" my nyansh and landed me on this hot seat.

This is going to make for a long read though but here we go..

The story about a day i'll never forget..

The year was 1999 and i was just 21,had dropped out of college and decided to migrate for economic reason from my home state in Nigeria.

With no pre-requisites nor sufficient finance to go legal by obtaining a visa and flying,i opted to travel by land through the desert onwards Spain via Moroco. There was however a snag as all i had was a map and a sketch of how and where to change vehicles at specific towns in each country i’ll be passing through. Fortunately on the night i was to board the check out bus from my small town of Benin City enroute Katsina State bordering Nigeria and Niger Republic,half the passengers on the bus turned out to be making the same journey so we all naturally gelled and formed a group.

We got to the border town the next morning and got smuggled into a vehicle that took us further into Niger Republic specifically to a town called Agadez.We did a couple of more days there until we got the next connection to smuggle us through the Sahara desert into a town (Tamaransett) in Algeria. Pertinent to note here that the ultimate target of our journey was to hit Morroco from where we can either Climb accross the razor fences seperating Morocco from either of Spain’s enclave of Ceuta and Mellila both on mainland Morocco.This is actually like crossing from Mexico into the US.

A lot happened on the travel through the Sahara as we did the journey in three days.From co travellers collapsing and been abandoned in the desert to having to survive on our urines. Travelling through the desert we did come upon a couple of human skeletal remains of a couple of unfortunate travellers.

Not to bore you folks with my epistle so i’ll leave out much of what i went through on the journey and continue from when we got into Moroccan territory or the border between Morocco and Algeria in a town called Magniya.Everybody journeying through that route actually get together at this jungle-a valley actually where we set up camps and wait to make up a certain acceptable number for the smugglers to take us on the journey by foot through the woods,deserts and jungles of Morroco to evade the authorities.On a good day with a good guide who knows the route well that’ll be a 2 weeks or thereabouts journey on foot.

So on this day my group and i got prepped to embark on this journey.We had gotten our standard supplies of barguettes,sardines and milk to survive on just enough not too heavy to burden us on the long walk.

We journey only at nights for cover.On the first night we covered a couple of km’s in between some guys and ladies already dropping by the way side not able to keep up pace and exhausted,nobody even cares it’s either you ship in or ship out. So we continued until i eventually took a short rest and afterwards got sperated from the group and i knew not what way to continue on.

Out of frustration,hunger and desperation i decided to come out of the woods in broad day not a single scare of the police as i would have gladly ran to them at this point if for nothing at all just for something to eat and a place to sleep.I started begging for food from some locals who were so kind God bless them.These locals will actually get into trouble with the authorities if it becomes public knowledge that they are habouring or didnt report seeing an alien.But these guys will take me in,make me ‘shai’ morrocan tea and bread then hide me until night time then show me how to go and avoid the cops.

So i continued until i got to Nador.This town actually borders Mellila one of the spanish Territories on Morrocan soil.Meanwhile as a group,our original destination was Rabat where we have a decent population of fellow immigrants on the same journey,where we could gather and map out the next strategy on how to cross into spain either by ferry on. a dingy across the atlantic/mediterranean or scaling the razor fences.

When i arrived Nador i was lost for how to proceed being alone.Mind you it was 2 weeks plus already since i got seperated from my group.I hadn’t showered all these while so you can imagine what i was like. While thinking about my life and how to proceed a bike drove up to me and asked i hopped on,i was hesitant but he insisted and i obliged.He drove me for about 5 kilometres and stopped then asked me to keep left and climb a super mountain across that if i did that and kept to my left i’ll get close to the razor fence.

I thanked him and started on the journey of climbing the huge mountain.From my reckoning i started ascending at about past 8pm when the.man dropped me and when i got to the peak of the mountain where i could see all around Nador and also look into the spanish territory it must have taken me about 3 hours but i became so fired up that at least i’m close to spain.

While i was still basking in the euphoria of my new found luck and planing on where to attack from,the heavens gave way and it started raining cats and dogs with no where to take shelter.

I decided to just keep walking with no particular direction until i happened on a cemetry.When i got to the cemetry at about 12–1 am i couldn’t hold it any longer.I just broke down and started crying my hearts out thinking about my family and friends and how no one knows where i am at what i was passing through. Afterall and the rain had subsided i hadn’t the will to continue that night i just laid on the closest grave to me and prayed for the person resting there.

Pretty tough journey i must confess but had to leave out most parts for easy reading.

Thats it folks a lil story about my life.

Thanks for your time and for reading.

I've done a book on my story. To get the book, follow this link. https://okadabooks.com/book/about/the_irregular_migrant_a_story_of_perils_triumphs_and_karma/19703

And this:
Just remembered how in the course of the journey one of the girls had gotten knocked up by someone she can't place and how she had gone into labour and everybody scampered in different directions except me. I helped Christy bring into the world a cute little baby boy and christened him Tyson right there in the desert.The boxer Mike Tyson was at his peak then.
How i managed with the delivery? Even me sef tire for the inspiration and inexplainable direction on what to do.

I can remember kneeling in front of Christy while she was gritting in pains and urging her on to keep pushing.When the baby popped out and unto my hand i was confused on what to do because the baby was still attached to the placenta inside her mom through the umbilical chord.

Confused on what next step to take,i resorted to pulling on the umbilical chord until the placenta came out. At this time i had shown Christy her new bundle of Joy and though still in pains,she had the presence of mind to direct me on what and what to do , such as un tying a thread from her head and tying between the chord and the placenta before separating the baby from the placenta. For the cutting i had to improvise with the lid of a sardine can.

There's more on this particular event too.
Only God knows where Christy and Tyson are today and if they ever talk or think about me...lol Got no contact with them.

Gaby, the title is damn long! As a graduate, with experiences in Psychology, I can boldly suggest that you make it abridged


e.g. A True Life Story; My Journey to Spain thru the Desert.


Many will want to follow it for diverse reasons;
1. How possible?
2. What road is that?
3. How many days did you spend
4. What happened on the road
5. Where are you now
6. Successful or not

and many more

Gaby sorry which state do you come from.. I know its edo

Nairalane:

Nice, but Gaby! Don't lit the cat out so quick! Speak in Parables but make them attractive

sure..

Lets see...okay can i get some questions from you guys

Nairalane:
Gaby, the title is damn long! As a graduate, with experiences in Psychology, I can boldly suggest that you make it abridged


e.g. A True Life Story; My Journey to Spain thru the Desert.


Many will want to follow it for diverse reasons;
1. How possible?
2. What road is that?
3. How many days did you spend
4. What happened on the road
5. Where are you now
6. Successful or not

and many more

I appreciate your comment and taken it to heart. Bless you sir

Cutehector:
Gaby sorry which state do you come from.. I know its edo

I'm Edo as rightly guessed sir

gaby:


sure..

Lets see...okay can i get some questions from you guys

Alright sir, you've given us some background information about what triggered you to embark on this perilous journey, also you have shed some light not all tho on your adventure from Niaja to spain.
What happened when you finally reach spain?
Who host you, how do you survive and manage to get a job to sustain yourself being an illegal migrant without papers?
In addition, where are you now, spain or nigeria?
Are u successful or not?
What about your family back in Nigeria, do they know about your travelling plan?
How are you faring now?

You mean that's the end of it?

gaby:


sure..

Lets see...okay can i get some questions from you guys

Why did you decide to take rest when your guys didn't rest and how did that affect you
Is it postice or negative

Nice one Mr Gaby

Even as of today, some group of people left Benin to Kano enroute libya

Cutehector:
Gaby sorry which state do you come from.. I know its edo

I'm Edo as rightly guessed sir..It's our work oo...lol

gaby:


I'm Edo as rightly guessed sir..It's our work oo...lol

Chai but why una too do illegal immigration na.. E no good.

Typing..
sorry guys i needed some dutch courage to fire down..who know,know

Updating an answering queries in a jiffy

Cutehector:
Chai but why una too do illegal immigration na.. E no good.

E go good bros..we wan make am good now

bayocanny:
Okada oya park! Na the place be this

Bro fire on I dey your back like hunchback


emerich
SKYKEN001
junnyjake
Nazeren
Nairalane
dexcira
Joseid

This is the thread y'all craving for

Correct...
Your head get anointing...