@gaby i really love ur story, my questin is dat be4 u got to spain did u encounta any immigratn officer, if so hw did u escape dem

honestly the only thing am thinking of is just to meet op one day and ask him, "man how you doing "


I hope to meet him one day!!!

my bro is just like you and suffered in all area's just to get to Europe, but all the same, you are indeed a wonderful man.

kokosin:

u no go understand

Pls shove the thoughts o. It never ends well especially now that all eyes are on such dangerous routes. Imagine what OP went tru back then as 1999. Now u won't make it to Libya alive not to talk of spain

Wow, wow, wow! I hate screaming like an ambulance but I must do so this one time! Wow, wow, wow! Respect to the Op!

Nice writeup...op pls mention me when back

is there any other road asides from Lybia

gaby:


Smallies dem..a quick search of my moniker and posts would have been enough if you were any smarter.

Here's a thread i started in 2006 for your kind perusal and by the way how old were you in 2006
https://www.nairaland.com/22441/need-serious-advice-trucking-business#610104

I am even holding back from spilling much and yet you want to accuse me of telling lies,very laughable.

My story will loose all of its originality and sauce the moment i try making things up because i'll constantly need to keep up the falsehood to reach a climax,and that my brother is more energy sapping than keeping it real the way it happened.

Do you want to know how at the top of my game as a dirty fraudster i had made an upward of 500k-1m euros in assets and cash or how the almighty FBI instigated a crackdown on us (made the headlines both electronic media and print where i was living) and how some of us got extradited to the US?

I'm only holding back loads so as not to be seen as a snitch telling on my former crook mates,as everyone is trying to appear legit.

Please note that i had already started my trucking business 2 years prior to the topic above i only got worried that i had made a wrong choice of investment when the constant demand for maintenance and all sorts was becoming overbearing and i needed to sample opinions to be able to find out from people who know or are already in the business if it was well worth it.

Guy, you really need to do a detailed write up of your life's experience and develop it into a movie script.

There has been no movie on the illegal migration yet, with the recent attention this topic has generated recently, it should be a hit.

Hmmm this reminds me of a Novel

"The return of Ameaze"

ok

Martin0:
honestly the only thing am thinking of is just to meet op one day and ask him, "man how you doing "


I hope to meet him one day!!!

my bro is just like you and suffered in all area's just to get to Europe, but all the same, you are indeed a wonderful man.

Humbled bro will be a pleasure meeting y'all someday too..we've become fam ain't it?

ayusco85:


Pls shove the thoughts o. It never ends well especially now that all eyes are on such dangerous routes. Imagine what OP went tru back then as 1999. Now u won't make it to Libya alive not to talk of spain

Be guided bro..not worth the pains and psychological scars..please don't broach it.

gaby:


Humble bro will be a pleasure meeting y'all someday too..we've become fam ain't it?

yeah

Following

gaby:


Be guided bro..not worth the pains and psychological scars..please don't broach it.

U are quoting the wrong person.

gilgee:
I had a similar experience. My sojourn was through the Sahara to Libya. We trekked for three good days before setting foot on an inhabited land called Ghat, in the mountainous region of Libya. It was a terrible experience, and I had just become 15!

I have vowed to share my story with the world at the right time. Against the backdrop of my experiences and pain, I acquired burning aspirations that motivated me to develop myself to the extent of obtaining both bachelor and master degrees from some of the best institutions in the world, and I even made a first class in the process.

It doesn’t really matter how your story begins. What truly matters is what you make of all the pains, hardship, opportunities, and the experiences.

waiting to read that story

smithsydny:
waiting to read that story

lol

Well done Gaby.

This is really an Eye-opener.

We encourage people with similar experiences to share them so we can learn from them.

thanks Gaby for the update, I was following that thread where you started sharing your experience, I couldn't comment because I was banned ,so here we are and I'm ready to flow with you,thanks for the update

...Ultimate Survival...

Manaria15:



lol

yea oo.. how ya doing bae

men niggars gat mind o.

gaby:
On one cool friday morning in August of 1999 at about 4 am i felt a nudge to wake up,grudgingly looked up to be sure i wasn't in a dream and no i wasn't.It was my dad urging me to wake up and get ready to wake up and get dressed.I wasn't feeling really up to going with him to his engineering work at Apapa as has come to be the norm sometimes,but i reluctantly stretchered up and got set so we headed out from our base in Oshodi en route Apapa to beat the rush hour traffic.

We got to the office and everyone was hailing,oga you bring smallie come work today? Dad answered in the affirmative,got into my dad's office and was about changing into my coverall when he stopped me in my track to hold on as we had go somewhere down the road first to which i complied.

We stepped out of the office complex and walked down about 500 metres and he made a detour in to a big complex where i saw written boldly "All States Trust Bank". We got in and my dad asked me to fill out a withdrawal form and told me to write one hundred and fifty thousand naira only and to boot he specifically mentioned he was clearing out his account. Wanted to ask him why but thought to keep mute until we got back to the office.

The idea about travelling was actually sold to me by my then Benin girlfriend seeing how things stood with me and the burden lurking around to be borne by me.She had told me her mum has helped a couple of people travel out and will put in a word for me to see how we can make it happen.I concurred and she informed a couple of days later that she had spoken to her mum and she was okay with it but i needed to go see her mum in Benin city.

When i got to benin i was well received and promised to be sorted out and the plan to get a visa began in earnest. She called one of her contacts who said he had a Russian or Bulgarian Visa but the amount he requested was on the up so we declined. After a while mummy came up with a plan seeing she wasn't financially liquid at that point in time to get my dad on the arrangement and see how much we can get from him.She said to go back to Lagos and tell dad about my travelling plans and to also make him call her so she can further convince and assure him if in doubt.

So i headed back to Lagos, met dad and briefed him on my plans. The idea was to tell him Mummy was assisting with some cash but he needs to support with some amount in the range of two hundred thousand.Mummy had come up with this plan seeing how securing a visa might be a problem owing to the lack of enough funds and hatched a plan B which was to make the journey on land through the desert europe-wards. She had a couple of confirmable successful voyeurs through same route as earlier as a week prior,people who had made the trip and gotten into Spain within a month.

Daddy and i got to the office and he told me my son,you saw i just cleared my account and this money is for your proposed trip. God will help me take care of your remaining nine siblings.I was to leave back to Benin the next day been saturday to deliver the money to mummy and dad thought it wise to accompany me for extra security and to also get to meet my new found helper.

We set out early the next morning,with just a back pack where i kept the Three bundles of 50# notes totalling a hundred and fifty thousand naira. Saw my bestie in front of his house and told him i was coming he couldn't have guessed what or where i was upto.You know how such moves and trips are supposed to be kept under wraps so the enemies wouldn't scuttle it..lol

Arrived benin safely while all through the trip i had to continuously answer in the affirmative to daddy's question of if i could feel the money in the bag which i was holding firmly to ( life-line).My dad met mummy they got acquainted and handed over the money,he headed back to Lagos while i stayed behind and that was the last time i would see my siblings,friends and entire family without a proper goodbye. (Just imagine if i had died.)

So i was with mummy for a couple of days and then she announced that one of her cousins was fed up with his furniture work and was planning on travelling by land so she'll link me up with him and we take it from there.

I was introduced to Osagie who revelled me on how most of his guys are already there and he had just gotten off the phone with some who left 3 weeks ago and i was like wow. He told me they have directed him on where to go get maps of the different routes which he showed me and we studied the maps together and we both settled for the Katsina-Niger route since that was the route the last guys travelled on instead of through Cotonou-Mali et al.

So we started prepping in anticipation.Mummy gave me some money to go change to dollars got about 500$ and some money for clothings. Osagie took me to forestry road ( for those familiar with benin) i selected some fine trainers and some top notch jeans and tops trying not to appear any lesser than those black American hip hop stars we used to see on posters adorning our rooms. ( for my mind europeans go know say person just land) got a nice body lotion with perfumes to boot (how i wan take know say dem no dey baff for desert fa).

All prepped and arranged and the next day was the D-day. Osagie said to lets step out and go have our last 9ja groove with his friends who were unaware of his planned check out.We had loads to drink and chow on with both of us trying to outdo each other spending our last miserable nairas that'll soon become useless to us.

Got back home drunk and wasted mummy saw my condition and understood what it was (euphoria plus excitement).

Woke up the next morning heavily hungover and messed up but still was able to get all my stuffs together arranged my 'sharp' hip hop wear for the trip with a "nigga raw" hoodie to compliment the latest european burger in town's outfit.

The evening came since we'll be travelling by night bus to Katsina,bade our farewells and unto Aduwawa we went. Paid for the bus waited until it was loaded and we set out. We had carefully hidden our dollars in different parts of our clothings,shoes and then i wrapped a couple up in a nylond and dropped into my lotion bottle for fear of bandits and been given out to police or immigrations as potential travellers which will mean serious "obtaining".

So we journeyed in between road blocks/ checkpoints and arrived Katsina the next day.

Thanks lalasticlala for the front page.

will update soon i dey go look for work.

my geee your mind tie wapper.abeg mention me for your next update.

Nice story.

Nice one op

praiseneofingz:
is there any other road asides from Lybia

Yes going to an embassy ,getting a visa nd flying through an airport

Hoping this thread might just be a way to get reconnected with Christy and Tyson you never can tell.
Just to hear from and know how they've been.

Had a fling with one of the girls in my group (Joy) who couldn't continue on the journey.She was being trafficked by one OZ in company of Charles and the last i heard from via via was that Joy claimed i knocked her up even though we all knew she and OZ were an item as per trafficker and traffickee. If pregnancy got to term and delivered, kid should be 18 now i suppose.I know nothing about Joy other than that she was from Benin and used to attend a church at ihinvwin around st. Savior 3rd east circular in Benin City.

Just incase anyone here knows anyone else who might just happen to know Joy we might be running a paternity test.

Shout outs to my fallen comrades too numerous to mention..Wilson,Smart,Tupac,Lucky (was stabbed to death in my salon 31/12/2000 forever etched) i salute you guys still holding it down on this side..RIP fellas

gaby:
Hoping this thread might just be a way to get reconnected with Christy and Tyson you never can tell.
Just to hear from and know how they've been.

Had a fling with one of the girls in my group (Joy) who couldn't continue on the journey.She was being trafficked by one OZ in company of Charles and the last i heard from via via was that Joy claimed i knocked her up even though we all knew she and OZ were a topic. If pregnancy got to term and delivered kid should be 18 now i suppose.I know nothing about Joy other than that she was from Benin.

Just incase anyone here knows anyone else who might just happen to know Joy we might be running a paternity test.

Shout outs to my fallen comrades too numerous to mention..Wilson,Smart,Tupac,Lucky (was stabbed to death in my salon 31/12/2000 forever etched) i salute you guys still holding it down on this side..RIP fellas

Gaby!!! Do you mean you are a barber after the whole thing? Tudu guys must hear this.

u are mixing things up u will post wen u are in point A d nxt one u jump without telling us how u move from point A to point B mk this ur thread worth it

Oya make una find me a book or movie deal...lol

op ride on

besides suspense its actually frustrating reading half stories

gaby:
Oya make una find me a book or movie deal...lol

Nice one OP... please quote me whenu update....