I am many things an engineer, an auto enthusiast but most importantly I am an average Nigerian youth hustling to get a better life.


A brief introduction.
A year ago I left the university bagging a degree in one of the most uninteresting engineering fields you can think about. I found it boring throughout my time at the university but I made sure to put in my best but came out with a miserable 2 2 . I left school like everyone else and started applying for jobs and got nothing. I got tired of the whole process and decided to start a business while learning the basics of what I have always loved (automobiles). Running my business while learning and working on automobiles was quite difficult. I gained a lot of traction but tried to raise money and was so unsuccessful at it and then when it seemed nothing was forthcoming an important email came through.

The opportunity
When i left school, i applied to more than 500 jobs. Most people think I exaggerate this figure but you could do the math. I started in January 2017 and was sending out at least 5 CVs a day. I did this till June but never got a reply at least not until after a year.

I got an email from an NGO I applied to a year ago asking me to come work for them. This totally blew me out of the water. I was gonna go to Gabon and the work will take me through Liberia and the canary Islands before I finally disembark in Italy. They covered my flights and were gonna give me a tiny stipend I felt I could use to get something to use for my business. We did the interviews over Skype and they were so impressed with my exploits over the year and told me they couldn't wait to have me. They asked me if I had any problem with vegan diet (I had no idea what this meant as of then) but I answered no and felt I could cope with it after all I am from Nigeria (we are rugged people afterall)

OP what is the name of NGO

Following...

Gabon
I got my ticket reservation immediately after my interview and started to plan my trip to Gabon. I have heard a lot about this African country oil rich and a small population of 2 million people. It should look like paradise right. They have the resources and not too much people. I felt it would be like an African dubai. Anyway, my flight left lagos to Cameroon and from Cameroon to Gabon. Everyone knows that murtala Muhammed airport is a big disgrace, the toilet at the arrivals stink, there's a very huge refuse dump in front of the airport. The excavators and some of the air conditioners don't work. I arrived Gabon and the airport though small was a little bit more organised. Immigration officers were very respectful and do not ask for cash, the air conditioners worked along with other equipment. There was even free WiFi to use at the airport but you could only use WhatsApp and Facebook messenger. From Libreville, I had to fly to port gentil. A photo from the waiting area.

Port gentil
I arrived port gentil around 11pm at night. I had someone from the organisation waiting at the airport to pick me up to where I would start working. We had the next day off anyway (it was a Co workers birthday). I got there and I felt so weird. I was the only black person. I have never spoken to a white man and yet here I was in the midst of them. I felt a bit shy but I am a naija boy na so I blended in. Next day was off for everyone so we all went to the beach. I noticed Gabon is a bit empty. You could walk for miles and you won't see a single soul on the road. At the beach, it was just me and my Co workers. Shops there close at 3pm. We got back at 4 and tried to get a coca cola and we couldn't anywhere. I found it very weird.

Transit to Liberia.

The next day work began in full swing and we had to get the vessel engine ready for our trip to Liberia. We worked like crazy. Our Liberian trip was the next day and we had to be on schedule. The day we departed for Liberia, our main engine stopped at around 12 nautical miles off the coast of port gentil. We did everything we could but the engine didn't start so we had to tow the ship back to port gentil. Once at the port, we started to diagnose the engine and we got to find out the fuel pump had failed. Changing the fuel pump on a 3000HP MAN B & W engine is a different ball game from my beloved automobiles. We finally did and got the engine running. We departed for Liberia the next day. We were off schedule. We had to sail deeper into the Atlantic then take a 90 degree turn to Liberia. We avoided Nigerian waters totally as it's the most dangerous on the African continent. Filled with pirates. The reports on ICC international piracy watch about pirates here is disgusting but as usual no one cares to do anything about it.

Liberia

Liberia Is one hell of an expensive country. A plate of jollof rice at a nice restaurant goes for at least 10 to 15 us dollars. The currency used here is either the liberian dollars or the us dollars. The infrastructure in Liberia is really shit (they just finished a civil war anyway). Monrovia is a real shithole by even shithole standards. We didn't do much in Liberia except patrol around. After our patrol we set sail for the canary Islands.

Canary Islands.

When we were in Gabon, the engine room was at least 50 degrees celcius and remained all that way till we got to the canary Islands. The temperature coupled with the sea sickness and the vegan food (I would write about this in its own paragraph) was a complete disaster for me. At the canary Islands, the temperature in the engine room reduced to 30 degrees (a very huge relief for me) and the seas were somehow calmer. I still hated the food though. We couldn't port at the canary Islands so I was only opportune to view its beauty from afar. I would someday come back to visit this place.

The strait of gilbraltar.

From the canary islands we set sail for Italy. There was nothing much to see anyway except the occasional dolphins not until we got to gilbraltar. The sight was so beautiful. Morocco was just on one side and Spain is just on the other side. You could literally swim across from Africa to Europe. If you are thinking of trying this be well informed that there are many European navy ships patrolling the straits of gilbraltar and shooting down illegal immigrant ships. Once we were at the strait of the gilbraltar, we got a call from the Moroccan officials wanting to know who was on our vessel and countries they were from. The Spanish authorities also did same. For some weird reason, we started to get pursued by a Spanish naval vessel (I guess cause we arrested some Spanish citizens in gabon). The vessel asked us to stop so they could hang out but my captain and second mate ( she's spanish) would have none of that bullshit. They eventually left us when we got into french waters.

The storm before the calm.

We got into a very big storm in french waters. I really felt for any illegal immigrant vessels that would have been in the water at the moment. We faced 8 meter wave heights and 97 knots of wind. It was crazy. The whole ship crew started to drop like flies due to seasickness. Everything started rolling. There was no way you could even sleep cause the ship just kept rolling over and over taking your body swiftly from left to right. It was a crazy experience.

Italy.

I really used to be one of those who used to feel that someday Africa would get it right. That things are not as bad as we imagine it to be, that somehow black people are actually not stupid as other races think but being in Italy totally changed my mind. I have been living in darkness all my life and in Italy I saw light. First of all, once the ship crossed into Italian waters, I noticed the ocean water to be very blue (in most African countries it's usually very brown and dirty when you are close to port). You could literally see your face inside. We docked in a small town called la spezia. La spezia is a village by European standards and the scenery totally blew my mind away. As soon as I left the ship to see town. I just couldn't stop cursing all the leaders in Africa past and present and the idiot citizens who support their ineptitude. I was in an European village and there was freaking WiFi everywhere. The roads omg. I have been to more than 10 African countries in my short life span and I have never seen roads of this standard before. Public transportation. We got no public transportation in Africa. Our buses and trains are all shit. The public buses in Italy were


The roads just blew me away over and over again. The way the roads were built with considerations for pedestrians and cyclist. It was just strange to me that people could actually live like this, people could actually live sane.

I love automobiles, when I am not reading or working in them. I watch YouTube videos and drool on my favourite models I cant afford but here my favourite models were being used as taxis. Cars that would be used by Rich elite Nigerians being used as taxis and the kind of cars Italians drive gosh. I saw so many recent BMWs, Mercedes, audis and volkswagens. Cars I didn't even think we're out on the road. It was so unreal to me. Meanwhile in Nigeria, someone would do a thanksgiving ceremony for being able to buy a piece of crap camry or corolla.

Did I talk about Italian women? I have never met such beautiful women in my life. Beautiful and very interesting. I used to think it was impossible for women to be interesting and funny but white women proved me so wrong. My Co workers were always so fun to have conversations with. They knew absolutely everything about everything cause they read a whole lot. In Italy, the women are always smiling all the time ( it's a total different ball game in most African countries where most women are always ugly and angry all the time) and the greetings omg. It's not weird to hug a woman and give her a peck on both cheeks and say bounjourno or bounesera depending on what time of the day it is. La spezia had a lot of beautiful women but then we took a road trip to Milan and it was like a total different ball game. It was just like a real life miss world beauty pageant.

Italian women are the most beautiful I have ever seen in my life. I just pray I can marry a Nigerian because ever since I got back all the girls are just ugly to my eyes

Pictures from my road trip to Milan.

I notice that when they drive here, no one skips their lane. The obedience to traffic rules was just so strange especially for someone who has stayed a long while in lagos.

Nigeria shall be great again

I really wish I could show more pictures from my trip but the others had my face in it and I dont wanna show my face. We are really suffering in Africa. I used to be one of those who believe in this continent but I don't anymore. We are living like animals especially here in Nigeria. Nigeria especially is the worse amongst all African countries. Nigeria lacks the basics a country that can't provide electricity nor water for its citizens or even healthcare. In all of Italy, healthcare is free. They live so long. You see so many old people on the street. They get sick they go to the hospital and get treated for free and they got quality healthcare. We got absolutely nothing in Nigeria. I am back to Nigeria now and at the moment I am confused on what I wanna do. Everything here feels so strange and so weird. Everyone in Nigeria is suffering I mean it everyone. You have to really go outside to see how bad it is here.

Anyone that wants to leave Nigeria should do so ASAP. This country and by extension much of sub Sahara Africa will never get better. I mean even Gabon that has so much oil and very few citizens has so much poverty and really shit infrastructure same with equitoreal guinea.

The most painful aspect is that most African leaders travel to this countries regularly and see how things are done here and see how people live like human beings but cannot replicate same in their home nations.

Anyone that has an opportunity to leave Nigeria should waste no time. We are suffering in Nigeria. Life is not all about money quality of life matters too and quality of life in Nigeria is shit real shit.

TonyeBarcanista:
Nigeria shall be great again

Nigeria has never been great and will never be.

chineji:

Nigeria has never been great and will never be.

Continue praying for Nigeria

Dear Op:
I must say I totally enjoyed your accounts of your cross continental journeys. And I must say I unequivocally agree with all you said concerning sub saharan African countries especially Nigeria. You see until I left Nigeria I never really knew how bad, I mean rotten things were. In Nigeria people are so used to suffering that they have come to accept it as a way of life, like that is how things are meant to be. We lack even the most basic of amenities. We suffer miserably without any respite in the horizon. So often times I get infuriated by gullible Nigerians who continually sing praises for the same politicians who have stolen our collective wealth. These same gullible individuals would heap praises on politicians for commissioning pedestrian bridges. Good luck in all you do, bro.

TonyeBarcanista:
Continue praying for Nigeria

We've prayed. We've fasted. Yet no real changes. What else is left to be done?

Nice post OP. You should get more pictures to make your story more interesting.

chineji:
Italy.

I really used to be one of those who used to feel that someday Africa would get it right. That things are not as bad as we imagine it to be, that somehow black people are actually not stupid as other races think but being in Italy totally changed my mind. I have been living in darkness all my life and in Italy I saw light. First of all, once the ship crossed into Italian waters, I noticed the ocean water to be very blue (in most African countries it's usually very brown and dirty when you are close to port). You could literally see your face inside. We docked in a small town called la spezia. La spezia is a village by European standards and the scenery totally blew my mind away. As soon as I left the ship to see town. I just couldn't stop cursing all the leaders in Africa past and present and the idiot citizens who support their ineptitude. I was in an European village and there was freaking WiFi everywhere. The roads omg. I have been to more than 10 African countries in my short life span and I have never seen roads of this standard before. Public transportation. We got no public transportation in Africa. Our buses and trains are all shit. The public buses in Italy were


The roads just blew me away over and over again. The way the roads were built with considerations for pedestrians and cyclist. It was just strange to me that people could actually live like this, people could actually live sane.

I love automobiles, when I am not reading or working in them. I watch YouTube videos and drool on my favourite models I cant afford but here my favourite models were being used as taxis. Cars that would be used by Rich elite Nigerians being used as taxis and the kind of cars Italians drive gosh. I saw so many recent BMWs, Mercedes, audis and volkswagens. Cars I didn't even think we're out on the road. It was so unreal to me. Meanwhile in Nigeria, someone would do a thanksgiving ceremony for being able to buy a piece of crap camry or corolla.

La Spezia is not a village but a city..A tourist spot In the Cinque Terra...
So you're bound to see a lot of well-heeled Italians, loads of Northern Europeans who holiday there regularly. Services have been designed likewise to meet needs of this clientele.

Liguria is a really beautiful area... Nature meets good nurture. With French influence... Lovely!!


More importantly, it's Northern Italy, well known to be economically better than its Southern counterparts.

Lastly, Italy's transport system is quite ace!! Particularly when comparing cost to service. Italy has one of the cheapest rail travel costs in Europe!!




.

chineji:
Did I talk about Italian women? I have never met such beautiful women in my life. Beautiful and very interesting. I used to think it was impossible for women to be interesting and funny but white women proved me so wrong. My Co workers were always so fun to have conversations with. They knew absolutely everything about everything cause they read a whole lot. In Italy, the women are always smiling all the time ( it's a total different ball game in most African countries where most women are always ugly and angry all the time) and the greetings omg. It's not weird to hug a woman and give her a peck on both cheeks and say bounjourno or bounesera depending on what time of the day it is. La spezia had a lot of beautiful women but then we took a road trip to Milan and it was like a total different ball game. It was just like a real life miss world beauty pageant.

Italian women are the most beautiful I have ever seen in my life. I just pray I can marry a Nigerian because ever since I got back all the girls are just ugly to my eyes

Milan is the fashion capital... So yes you will meet lovely beautiful carinas.. They will smile as well.. Not thinking of how to survive with odds greatly stacked against them as our Naija chicks. The Economy may not be very strong but they have Brussels to fall back on, till the Squeeze is cranked up and a 'Greece' situation is created

So being fashionable is an inert thing for most Italian women.

They get up to 2 holidays a year dedicated to spring-cleaning their wardrobes and updating their clothes!!! For crying out loud!




.

chukxie:
Dear Op:
I must say I totally enjoyed your accounts of your cross continental journeys. And I must say I unequivocally agree with all you said concerning sub saharan African countries especially Nigeria. You see until I left Nigeria I never really knew how bad, I mean rotten things were. In Nigeria people are so used to suffering that they have come to accept it as a way of life, like that is how things are meant to be. We lack even the most basic of amenities. We suffer miserably without any respite in the horizon. So often times I get infuriated by gullible Nigerians who continually sing praise for the same politicians who have stolen our collective wealth. These same gullible individuals would heap praises on politicians for commissioning pedestrian bridges. Good luck in all you do, bro.

Gbam.

TonyeBarcanista:
Continue praying for Nigeria

It's not about praying. It's about holding the worthlessly inept and corrupt Thieflicians accountable. Maybe, a revolution the type of Rawlings in Ghana will do the magic to rid Nigeria of the leaders destroying the country. Sometimes blood have to be shed to cleanse the land of the maggots infesting the land. Sad but true.

I'm now convinced that "Black men" are Africa's problem Oga, you are telling your fellow black about the beauty of "Whites" how did you contribute to the good of us by this? As you've seen that we are all suffering, before you leave to Europe finally, gather your friends to MMA, that place where you saw hip of refuse, go and pick it up and do a rally to sensitize people before you leave. This is what our leaders do to us and we complain, they travel, see things but don't replicate it here, same thing we ourselves do.
Meanwhile bro, update us with info when there's an opening in your coy.

chukxie:
Dear Op:
I must say I totally enjoyed your accounts of your cross continental journeys. And I must say I unequivocally agree with all you said concerning sub saharan African countries especially Nigeria. You see until I left Nigeria I never really knew how bad, I mean rotten things were. In Nigeria people are so used to suffering that they have come to accept it as a way of life, like that is how things are meant to be. We lack even the most basic of amenities. We suffer miserably without any respite in the horizon. So often times I get infuriated by gullible Nigerians who continually sing praise for the same politicians who have stolen our collective wealth. These same gullible individuals would heap praises on politicians for commissioning pedestrian bridges. Good luck in all you do, bro.

Thanks Bro. We have it really bad many people don't know. It's like theres absolutely no hope at all. We aren't developing in anyway.

chineji:
Liberia

Liberia Is one hell of an expensive country. A plate of jollof rice at a nice restaurant goes for at least 10 to 15 us dollars. The currency used here is either the liberian dollars or the us dollars. The infrastructure in Liberia is really shit (they just finished a civil war anyway). Monrovia is a real shithole by even shithole standards. We didn't do much in Liberia except patrol around. After our patrol we set sail for the canary Islands.

chineji:
I really wish I could show more pictures from my trip but the others had my face in it and I dont wanna show my face. We are really suffering in Africa. I used to be one of those who believe in this continent but I don't anymore. We are living like animals especially here in Nigeria. Nigeria especially is the worse amongst all African countries. Nigeria lacks the basics a country that can't provide electricity nor water for its citizens or even healthcare. In all of Italy, healthcare is free. They live so long. You see so many old people on the street. They get sick they go to the hospital and get treated for free and they got quality healthcare. We got absolutely nothing in Nigeria. I am back to Nigeria now and at the moment I am confused on what I wanna do. Everything here feels so strange and so weird. Everyone in Nigeria is suffering I mean it everyone. You have to really go outside to see how bad it is here.

Anyone that wants to leave Nigeria should do so ASAP. This country and by extension much of sub Sahara Africa will never get better. I mean even Gabon that has so much oil and very few citizens has so much poverty and really shit infrastructure same with equitoreal guinea.

The most painful aspect is that most African leaders travel to this countries regularly and see how things are done here and see how people live like human beings but cannot replicate same in their home nations.

Anyone that has an opportunity to leave Nigeria should waste no time. We are suffering in Nigeria. Life is not all about money quality of life matters too and quality of life in Nigeria is shit real shit

For emphasis sake.

I've been saying these words (the bold) for a long time but brainless people (anyone who supports a Nigerian politician) keep arguing that things will get better. Newsflash!!! Nothing will get better.

You see brainless people supporting useless people who call themselves politicians, you've them everywhere saying this and that. It's why whenever anything happens these days, I've a numb feeling towards the incident. Nigerians deserve whatever they face.

And anyone who says praying will solve the problem is a cretinous fvcktard!

I wish you the best in your endeavours.

Mizwisdom:
I'm now convinced that "Black men" are Africa's problem Oga, you are telling your fellow black about the beauty of "Whites" how did you contribute to the good of us by this? As you've seen that we are all suffering, before you leave to Europe finally, gather your friends to MMA, that place where you saw hip of refuse, go and pick it up and do a rally to sensitize people before you leave. This is what our leaders do to us and we complain, they travel, see things but don't replicate it here, same thing we ourselves do.
Meanwhile bro, update us with info when there's an opening in your coy.

You eh

Mizwisdom:
I'm now convinced that "Black men" are Africa's problem Oga, you are telling your fellow black about the beauty of "Whites" how did you contribute to the good of us by this? As you've seen that we are all suffering, before you leave to Europe finally, gather your friends to MMA, that place where you saw hip of refuse, go and pick it up and do a rally to sensitize people before you leave. This is what our leaders do to us and we complain, they travel, see things but don't replicate it here, same thing we ourselves do.
Meanwhile bro, update us with info when there's an opening in your coy.

Actually, you are correct. I've thought of writing an article on it, but no time. The African man is the problem because all over the world, it's the men who developed their countries or played a significant role in the development. What do black men do? Drink, sleep with lots of women and inseminate them to procreate lots of children who they cannot take care of adequately.

In a thread last year, someone mocked Asian men for their small pen!s, but he forgot that these Asian men developed their communities and are a force to be reckoned with today.

One will ask, what am I doing to solve the problem? Well, I was born to see them this way and I have come to realise that NOTHING will change for the better. So I save my energy. The previous generations should have solved the problem not mine.

in 2005 when i went to uk. The plane could not land and we hovered around for like 20mins . From the skies what i saw ehn. Light everywhere. NIGERIA can never be great or have basic amenities