Afta midnight of 27 June, Roman Ebimene Friday gada all di food wey im don dey collect for some months and enta road to di port wey dey Lagos, Nigeria. Earlier dat day, Friday bin don spot one 620-foot (190m) tanker wey park for di port and decide say na di ship wey go carri am enta Europe be dat.
Friday dey aim for di rudder of di tanker wey be di only accessible point for pesin wey no suppose dey for di ship. No way for am to reach di rudder if im no convince fisherman to carri am across. “Di fisherman na holy man,” Friday tok. “Im no ask for moni. Im see say I wan leave.”
Di fisherman carri am reach di rudder and 35-year-old Friday surprise as im see three faces for di dark. Friday na di last of four men wit di same idea. “I first fear.” Friday tok. “But dem be black Africans, my brodas.”
Di four men perch silently for di rudder for di next 15 hours so dat pipo dem no go catch dem. At 5pm, dem feel di ship giant engines. All of dem dey go Europe. Dem expect to be shipmates for as long as one week.
Di tanker called Ken Wave push out from di port and head to sea – dis na di beginning of dangerous two-week ocean voyage wey go bring di stowaways close to death.
Day one
As di ship dey leave Lagos, di rudder begin move constantly as e dey steer di ship and di men no fit find comfortable position. Precious little space dey to stand, and di only place to lie na inside one of two small nets wey pesin throw ova di water. Friday assume say na previous stowaways go do am.
E go dey hard for pipo to understand wetin drive pesin to risk im life on rudder or boat wey no good across di Mediterranean. But di decision come easy wen pesin don already lose hope, Friday tok.
“For Nigeria jobs no dey, money no dey and no way for me to feed my younger brothers and my mama,” e tok. “I be di first born son and my papa die 20 years ago, so I gatz take care of my family, but I no fit.”
Instead, im don spend three years living on and off di street of Lagos as im try find work. Each day for Nigeria na about “crime and sin,” e tok.
“Pipo wey dey fight, kill each oda, terrorists attack, kidnappers. I want brighter future dan dat.”
Na Thankgod Opemipo Mathew Yeye dey next to Friday for di rudder. Na Pentecostal minister, businessman and papa of two wey Nigeria flood of last year wash im peanut and palm oil farm away.
Im no get anytin to fall back on and no insurance to cova di loss.
“My business dey scata and my family become homeless. And dat na di beginning of my decision to leave,” e tok.
Im decision become final afta di recent presidential election wey get allegations of vote rigging. “Di election na our hope,” e tok. “But we know Nigeria well, we know say di system corrupt.” So, witout telling im family, e leave im sister house for night and go di port where im know say di ship wan depart.
Many pipo like Yeye and Friday dey komot di kontri via regular and irregular routes sake of recession and high unemployment rate. Many dey travel across di Sahara and di Mediterranean, wia at least 1,200 Nigerians don die already dis year, according to di UN.
William and Zeze na di oda two pipo wit Friday and Yeye. Dem pass di first few days on di ship in a mixture of boredom, discomfort, and fear. Na only small tok-tok dem dey do, and dem dey pray well and dem also dey try stay awake as di ship push into di vast stretch of di south Atlantic for di 3,500 mile journey to Brazil.
Day five
As day five pass Friday and Yeye begin to see di danger of dia situation.
Dem don dey weak sake of small food wey dem dey chop and lack of sleep. Dem tie one rope around dia waists wen dem need to pee off di side of di rudder. Wen di water rough, waves dey beat dem. “Di big waves dey scare us,” Yeye tok. “I neva see di ocean before but I dey watch documentaries about storms and I don see big ships wey dey rock from side to side sake of waves.” Sleep no dey impossible. “You try make you no even close your eyes,” Friday tok.
“Di rudder dey turn 24 hours a day, seven days a week, you gatz dey alert constantly.”
Di nets bin loose but dem redo am. “If di net break, you go straight into di water and you don go,” Friday tok.
As di days pass, di men grow weaker and dem stop to dey tok. Friday keep track of di time on im wristwatch. Im try to remember di day. Di nets loose again and dem redo am. Na small small dem dey chop, and na only sip of water dem dey take. Dia mouth begin to dry out and dia stomachs dey ache. Dem try to remain vigilant and try make dem no fall in.
Day 10
Day 10 bring di moment wey di four of dem dey fear. For morning, dem eat di last of dia food and drink di last of dia water. All of dem dey hungry. “Dis na di hardest moment of all,” Yeye tok. “My mouth dry and completely crack. For di first time for my life I really understand di meaning of water.”
Hour by hour, dem become more thirsty. Time seem to move more slowly.
Di next day, Friday manage to attach nylon biscuit wrapper wey don tear to rope and lower am into di ocean to collect small salty water for dem to drink. Dem bin lick toothpaste.
On day 12, one of di men bin sick sake of salty ocean water and begin to vomit. Im dey look straight into di water and dey vomit,” Friday tok. “Im no get strength to hold imsef. “Im bin wan fall. Na only me still get strength and I gatz grab am.”
Sake of say im wan distract imself from hunger and thirst, Friday begin to sit on di edge of di rudder alone and look at di ocean. On di 13th day of dia journey, im see whale.
“Di first time for my life wey I don see such tin,” im laugh at di memory. “If I tell anyone for house say see whale, dem go say I dey lie. But I sit on di rudder and I see whale. And I forget say I dey hungry and thirsty. I watch di whale and e be like to dey watch creation. Na holy moment.”
Day 14
As di first light appear on di horizon on day 14 of di journey, Friday go back to di rudder and im feel say di ship mighty engine dey slow down. Den im see land for distance, den buildings and one boat.
Di ship stop to take fresh crew and di resupply boat spot di men. “Shey you know where you dey?” pesin shout.
Friday try shout back say im no get idea, but im throat too dry. Di boat leave, den two hours later, police boat appear. One officer stretch out one bottle water to Friday. “Na Brazil you dey,” e tok.
Wen dem dey on dry land, di migrants borrow phones to call dia families. Friday and Yeye two fellow migrants, William and Zeze, decide to take up offer to return directly to Nigeria. Friday and Yeye decide to make Brazil dia home. “We dey joyful to dey here,” Yeye tok. “Na new beginning.”
Dem go likely face challenges. Migrants get automatic rights to healthcare and oda benefits for Brazil, but African migrants often face racism and struggle to find work wey dey pay well. One shelter for São Paulo don take Friday and Yeye and one Catholic mission, Missao Paz, dey assist dem wit Portuguese lessons and oda support. Yeye wan start new business and bring im wife and pikin ova.
Friday dey focused on di more immediate future. “I dey for new place, I dey try adapt, I dey try learn di language,” e tok. Di first journey im don eva make out of Nigeria almost kill, but as di days pass afta im rescue, im feel di hopelessness wey im feel for Nigeria don dey disappear, e tok.
