‘East or west’ as the saying goes, ‘home isthe best.’ However, this doesn’t seem to old
water for this Nigerian who was forced
home by the recent uprising in Libya.
“For my present situation and condition
now, I prefer war-ravaged Libya to Nigeria. I
am a welder by profession and as a welder
in Libya, I was better off than being a
welder in Nigeria.” These were the words of
Adebayo Samuel Adesina, who was in the
first batch of returnees from Libya in March
this year after a six-year sojourn in the
north African country.
Adesina, 41, told Daily Sun in a chat that he
regretted coming back to Nigeria in the
wake of the war in Libya because, according
to him, despite the crisis in that country, life
was by far better for him than in Nigeria
where there is no war.
He said he came back to Nigeria out of fear
of the war only for him to realise later that
there are safer places in Libya where he
could have remained to do his business or
work, adding that there, both Muslims and
Christians worship only on Fridays and
everybody is friendly.
He further noted that he had also worked in
a construction company but later picked up
a job as a chief steward in a restaurant in
Benghazi city where he earned 3, 500
Dinars, equivalent of N3, 500 daily, bringing
his salary to N105, 000 a month.
But when he attempted to get a job in
Nigeria, he was offered N6, 000 a month,
insisting that it was grossly inadequate to
cater for himself and his family.
Hear him: “Since I came back to Nigeria, I
have not found a job to do yet. In fact, I feel
like going back to Libya. I think I prefer life
in Libya to Nigeria despite the crisis there.
Yes! I prefer it because once I have my
documents, I think there is nothing to fear.
Even in a city like Sabha down south, there
was not much problem there but I did not
know on time; if I had known, I don’t think
anything would have brought me back to
this country.
“How I wish I could go back to Libya now. If
I have money, I will still go back there; I
prefer Libya. I prefer to go back. For my
situation now, I prefer war-ravaged Libya to
Nigeria. I am a welder by profession, and as
a welder in Libya, I was better off than
being a welder in Nigeria. Few days ago, I
tried to get a welding job with a brewery
company in Kaduna but I was surprised
when they said they offered me N6, 000.00
per month. For God’s sake, what will I do
with N6, 000.00 a month? I have a family to
take care of so, what am I going to do with
N6, 000.00. Paying a welder N6, 000.00, to a
man, 41, married with a child?
“I am from Ogun State. I was among the
first set of Nigerians that the Federal
Government brought back from Libya in
March this year. One of my friends that we
simply call Kingsley went back to Libya
recently and when I spoke with him on
phone he told me that he was doing fine
but when I later spoke with him another
time, somebody else picked his phone and
told me that the person I am calling was in
prison for supporting former president Col.
Gaddafi. I told the man, who picked the
phone, that he was telling lies; no Nigerian
is supporting Gaddafi. Probably my friend’s
permit documents have expired. The people
we heard, who are supporting Gaddafi are
Chadians.
“The Federal Government did not give us
money when we returned to Nigeria but we
heard that the United Nations allocated
some money to us. But other people from
countries like Ghana, Burkina Faso, and Mali
were given $400 by their respective
governments as soon as they arrived home.
But here in Nigeria, we were maltreated as
soon as the officials heard that we were
from Libya. Even ordinary water we did not
get from Nigerian Government.”
“Apart from my friend, there are still other
Nigerians in Libya who are doing well there
without being molested. So why did they
decide to molest and accuse my friend that
just went back there recently of supporting
Gaddafi. I don’t blame my friend for going
back to that country because life is difficult
in Nigeria, in fact, supposing I have enough
money on me now, I would have gone back
to Libya. I can’t just understand what is
going on in Nigeria.
“I was living in Benghazi since 2005; I was
working in a road construction company. I
came back to Nigeria in 2008 when I was
given my annual leave. I went back in 2009,
and I decided to work in a restaurant, and
to God be the glory, I was doing fine, until
the war started. I have my resident permit.
The owner of the restaurant did the
resident permits for me.
“I was a chief steward in the restaurant
where I was earning N105, 000.00 per
month because my daily payment was 35
Dinars Libya currency. Its naira equivalent is
N3, 500.00 daily. And those under me as
their chief steward were being paid 25
Dinars, which is equivalent of N2, 500.00
daily. If it were in Nigeria, I would probably
be earning N6, 000.00 or N16, 000.00 a
month. You can see that the difference is
clear between our country and Libya. I was
actually better off working in a restaurant
than in a construction company.
“If you are living in Libya as a foreigner, and
your documents are genuine and complete,
the people will accommodate you; their
security is very good. As long as you are not
there to do dubious things or to create
problem, the people don’t have problem
with you, they lead a normal life. No
policeman will embarrass you.“There are
churches in Libya, everybody is allowed to
practise their own religion; you go to
mosque as a Muslim, and you go to church
as a Christian. But Christians are not allowed
to worship on Sundays, only on Fridays like
their Muslim counterparts. It is their law that
everybody should worship God on Fridays
irrespective of your religion. There is no
work on Fridays; they don’t do any other
things on Fridays; they go to the mosques,
come back home and relax. The working
days there are from Saturday to Thursday,
and on Friday they rest.
“Some of us left there out of fear because
the people of Benghazi were accusing the
blacks that they were in support of Gaddafi,
but when you flashed your documents, they
would leave you alone. But those who did
not have documents were the ones badly
molested.“I landed at the Murtala Mohameed
airport, Lagos whereas my friend landed at
the Abuja airport. Others landed at the Kano
airport. None of us got anything and that is
so bad. This thing happened at a time many
of us have spent money. And in Libya, there
is no much money in January because many
people have spent much money in
December time, the way it happens to
Christians, that is the way it happened to
Muslims there.
“There is no Nigerian man that will take the
risk of going to fight war in Libya because
of $100. People are just saying what is not
true. We only heard about some Chadians
that collected 100 dollars to fight for
Gaddafi. But I don’t think a Nigerian will risk
his life to fight war in Libya for $100.”
via Daily Sun Share on Tweet
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