www.abelabel.com/2015/12/24/nigerian-man-who-rode-a-bmw-bike-from-london-to-lagos-says-he-will-not-do-it-again-shares-his-story/


Andrew Began from Britain to Spain and From Spain to Africa. He shared it all and his experience on the way;

“I first got a ferry from Portmouth, UK to Bilbao, Spain. It was around November, then, the weather was cold throughout Europe, assuming it was during summer, I would have ride from London to Dover to France then to Spain, but the ferry played a big role in cutting the journey short. It took one full day to cross Spain from North to South. At the Southern part of Spain, I took a ferry to Morocco. Upon my arrival to Morocco, I was happy that I am in Africa.

“In Morocco, I had to process a visa to go to Mauritania since Mauritania is no longer part of ECOWAS. The visa processing wasted part of my time in Casablanca. I spent 3 days inside Morocco because it is a big country. Bear in mind that I was still a learner, although certified and tested, I fell off the bike once inside Morocco because I forgot there was a stand in the bike which I didn’t pull down. So from Morocco, I got to Western Sahara, this is a region controlled by Moroccans. From Western Sahara, I got to somewhere called ‘No Man’s Land’. This is a stretch of land between Western Sahara and Mauritania. This was the worst and hardest part of the journey because there was no road; it was just mountains, sands, rocks, toxic waste, and land mines e.t.c. I had my second fall here.

By and large, I made it to the capital of Mauritania and stayed in a hotel owned by a Cameroonian. Mauritania can be described as a place where the Arab world meets the black world. Something occurred to me when I was leaving Mauritania, the people at the border wanted to collect extra money to stamp my British and Nigeria passport but I
ignored them till I made my way to the Senegalese border.

“They said Ghana was going to be a problem and behold it was! I slept at the Ivory Coast- Ghana border for 3 days because I had to wait for them to do the necessary paper work before I can enter into the country; also they had to put a tracker on my bike so they can track my movement in the country. I paid $300 for the tracker. On the 3rd day after all the
paper work was done, I rode to Elmina where I stayed 2 nights. I visited the Elmina Slave Fort popularly called Elmina Castle; it was a depressing tour because I toured the gate-of- no-return where the white men used in transporting our people as slaves. It’s an emotional place that can make any Blackman to fight every Whiteman he sees on his way.

From Elmina I rode to Accra where I lodged in a big
hotel called La Palm Beach Hotel, the workers there were rude, it was in the hotel that I noticed the animosity of Ghanaians towards Nigerians, they don’t like us. I only spent 1 night there because the attitude of the staffs there doesn’t seem hospitable. I left Accra the next day and rode towards Aflao border where I met with the immigration officer who has been calling my phone to monitor my movement while I was in Elmina and Accra. The immigration officer removed my tracker and I proceeded towards Togo without any problem.

Togo was nice; the hotels are beautiful with moderate rate. I had to fix my bike in Lome because I notice some of the wires had melted, it took 3 days.”


Where was the emotional part of the journey for him?

“That will be within the borders of Senegal and
Mali. There is a small border town where a lot
of activities take place; it’s a busy place because
Lorries and trucks pass through there to make
it to Mali which is a landlocked country. I was in
the border town when I suddenly heard some
girls speaking Pidgin English; I called one of
them and ask where she came from, she
replied by ‘I am from Nigeria ooh’. This girl
looks like an 18years old, as young as my
daughter. I asked her what she’s doing there,
she replied by saying ‘I be prostitute oooh’, I
was shocked and at the same time inquisitive.
She opened up to me and explained how those
traffickers tricked them that they are going to
take them to Europe, upon getting to that
border, they seized their passport and told
them that this is where they will start work.
They have no passport, no means of getting
home and no hope, all they do is prostitution,
and the proceeds from prostitution is shared
among those who are controlling them so they
can’t save enough to return home. They are
used as sex slaves. If I can remember well,
there were atleast 30 Nigerian girls in that
border and they range between 16 to 40 years
old. It was shame and very depressing, I always
reflect on the memory of that border every
time. The only thing I could do for those girls
was to empty my pocket and give them money,
some of them even gave me their phone
number and told me that I should remember
them when I get to Nigeria, I almost cried I
felt sober and weak.”

He got to Benin and Togo before reaching Nigeria;

“I got to Benin Republic after days of fun and
relaxation in Togo. I did not feel too good in
Benin Republic, though, I don’t know why, my
vibes were bad, and my instinct told me to get
out of that country as soon as possible. I just
headed straight to the Seme border, where I
was asked to pay 40,000CFA which is around
$60, I had no choice than to pay. I left Benin
side and rode to the Nigerian side of the
border. To my astonishment, I was given a
grand welcome, I didn’t pay anything, everyone
is just welcoming me, I even wanted to give
them a tip; they said ‘no you’ve suffered,
welcome home’.”

Will he do this again?
“Definitely not by bike, I will do it by car and
for a longer period. I will travel more
extensively within each country.”

U can trek it nah!

talktonase:
U can trek it nah!

Lols,na hin sabi!!