I did not decide to come to Ghana. It is what I didn’t plan for. Sometimes life will throw you what you didn’t plan for. E be like say una be bread and butter generation. You don’t know what I’m saying. If I start narrating my story, from when I grew up, maybe I will cry and this soakaway will be full with tears. I suffer well well. I studied Library and Information Science at Delta State University. I grew up under a single mother. My dad was not there. Even my schooling, I paid the fees in DELSU myself.
Those are the girls, you can see them coming out. Here in Ghana, the only time you see them dressed like this is at night. Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays. In the daytime, you don’t see a single girl on the street. This is Osu, the busiest in Ghana. There are a lot of clubs here. In one of them, they have naked strippers. Like, you see the pussy. Argh, it’s rubbish. When I go there, it pains me seeing women like that. They put them in a cage, you know, the way they do in the US. They dance. If you want to touch their breasts, you put money inside the cage, maybe 100 cedis, 200 cedis. They make a lot of money, but I can’t do that. Even this one I’m doing right now, I have guilt about it.
If I want to talk about myself, it will make me cry. But I am going to tell you. You know, I was not living this kind of life in Nigeria. I had a shop. I used to buy goods on credit. Canned drinks, water, and other goods. So, if I sell, I pay. You know how the country is; it is not easy. Everybody is struggling. It is not as if the whole shop was my money. What I owned was not up to ₦800,000; the rest was from credit facilities. When the rain came, the whole thing was fucked up. My building collapsed and my goods were washed away. I was only able to restore some. What do I do? I need to pay them their money. The people were coming. “Ah, you have to give us our money.” Baby, mm. Let me tell you the whole truth. I came to Ghana, this is the fifth month now. The story I’m telling you about is from seven months back. I had some money left in my bank account and paid some of the money. Okay, they should allow me to set up the building. No. Some of them came with the police and wanted to arrest me. Can you not see the destruction? I didn’t eat your money. They knew I was consistent with my business. I don’t joke with my business. I go as early as six am, then I close as late as 1 am. I had to be paying their money and the pressure was too much on me because I no longer had any savings. The pressure was too much. I say make I no go fall for river, die throway o.
I tried to get some loans from banks and cooperatives; they were doing me like this. You know our good country. They will stress you a lot. Go and look for government workers, three guarantors. Ahn ahn. The procedure was too long; it was too hellish. Who do I call? I should just be going on the street and saying, “Sir, are you a bank worker?” Abeg, Naija dey frustrate person. If I had my way, I would not go back to Nigeria o. I’m telling you the truth. I won’t go back, because I believe Nigeria is only for the rich. When you are poor, nobody cares about you.
So when I heard one of my friends, a very good friend, was staying in Dubai, I said okay let me just… My motive was to go there and maybe if she can get me a loan, so I can start all over again. But when I got there, she said me I don’t give out loans. Instead of me to give you loan, I will take you somewhere. You can go there, look for a job, and you start paying back their money. And maybe at least within one year, you are done paying and you can bounce back again. I said really, what kind of job? She said me I don’t know o, whatever you see them doing, do it. I said, aha, I don’t understand. Mtchew. That was how I came to Ghana. I had to sort for myself. It’s not as if I really wanted this, but I’m indebted. I don’t know what to do. I hope you can be in my shoes and know what I’m trying to say. I had to run to my mother’s village. It was so tough.
This work in Ghana is not easy. It is a little bit risky. Someone you don’t know will carry you and take you somewhere. Even though we say Ghana is safe, no be somebody’s face they tear so? Sometimes the boys will carry them and steal the girls’ phones. They will tell you they are going to somewhere like Tema. When they reach somewhere a little bit quiet, they will take your phone and other things like shoes, weave-on, earrings. They will just strip you naked and throw you out of the car as it is moving. These people, they are wicked. So the girls will ask where you are going. If you are not staying in this Osu, some of them will not follow you. Because Osu is safe.
Today, I had a job at Adenta. The person wanted to give me 700 cedis (about 80-something thousand Naira) for short. Ten minutes, you are done. But I looked at the location; it is very far. Like one-hour drive. I said are you paying for my transport to and fro, he said he will just pay for my coming. And when I checked Bolt, the transport fare was 207 cedis. When you minus that from 700, how much is left? Is it not 500? And sometimes when you are coming, there is a lot of hold-up. Your money is running. If you end up paying 350 for transport, then how much is left? That is rubbish money. After they have turned you like shirt, turn you back, turn you front. Turn your back. Turn your front. Obey like this. Baby, it is not easy abeg. No be easy job.
Like me, I just want to pay my money. I’m almost done paying. What is left is just like ₦1 million. I’ve paid almost ₦3 million from my money. So, once I pay now and get some money, I will go back to Nigeria, and the kind of shop I will open will be much bigger, because now I have experience. I now know that there is something we call miscellaneous. What you don’t plan for. So, we should save for the rainy day. Life is going to teach you experience.
Some of the young girls I’ve seen around here are 16 years old, 15 years old. Small small girls. I don’t know where they are packing them from. It is child abuse. I don’t know whether they don’t interview them at the border. You know what trick they are using? A girl will go to her village to carry a small girl. Sometimes they will not tell the parents what they are coming to do; they will tell them they want to get them a job. When they are coming, they will dress the girl like a small child and lap her. When the Immigration officers see them and ask questions, they will claim the girl is their daughter. They will wear gown and dress like innocent church people. That’s how they manage to get in. They no dey use passport. If you get NIN, you don enter. I don’t know if they pay the parents. The girls will be serving; some of them will serve for one year. As they are doing prostitution, any money the girls get, they will be giving the madame. There is one place; if you go there, you will see some ashawo girls who have been in Ghana for twenty years. They are drug addicts and have become useless.
I’ve tried for you guys. The time I’ve spent with you, I know how much I for done get. I don’t joke with Fridays. If you come on Monday, we can stay the whole day, work no dey dey. Because all the men, they don do ashawo Friday, Saturday, Sunday, they don finish their money. So Monday is resting day. The girls don’t come outside. But you see Friday? Just watch; here will be filled up with cars. Friday be like Christmas day for Osu.
As narrated by: Cupcake* (Accra, Ghana).
Discover more from Chronycles
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Published by