a long journey and what stress.She had been away from Benin for 9 years.Her
arrival was spiced by great fanfare.Family members and friends she had not seen
for several years were at the airport to welcome her.It was well they did for
Ofiakhara had done good for herself in Italy.She had built 3 4-Star Hotels in
Benin-City,one petrol filling station,a gas plant and the popular Oviasu Supermaket
at Sakpoba Hill.Her bank accounts were three in Nigeria.In each of these accounts
she had nothing less than N100 million.She has come along way and now this is
the time to savour her sweat of nine years.It has not been easy.
THE PERILOUS JOURNEY TO EUROPE.
It all began nine years ago at Ikpoba Slope,Benin.
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| Nigerian Prostitutes in Italy. |
who sold sweets ,cigarattes,puff puff,oxford biscuits,tom-tom sweets and small provisions in
front of the family house.It was in this modest house that Uncle Ohenhen came with a hot gist
for mother one hot afternoon.Ohenhen"s daughter who left for Italy 18 months earlier had bought
a house for Dad with a small Toyota car to go with it.Ohenhen has just said goodbye to grinding
poverty.Ofiakhara hid behind a passage listening to the conversation between brother and sister.
It was there and then that she vowed that if Ofure could make it in Italy why nor her.She had never
really liked Ofure because of her condescending attitude towards her.she was going to Italy by
fire by force if need be to rubbish whatever great strides her cousin must have made.
And so began the journey after she had made series of enquiries with her loving mother on
how to make the journey to Italy.Mother luck smiled on her when Ogbogbodo,a well known
human trafficker came home to recruit more girls to be ferried across to be shipped to Europe.
Money was raised from here and there including the sale of prized ancestral lands.Ogbogbodo
set out on the journey with 16 girls aged between 17 and 21.They left Benin at dawn on a journey
that took them to Auchi,Kano.At Kano Ogbogbodo handed the girls over to one Lucky
Ikponwasa who continued with the girls to Zinder and Agadez in Niger Republic.The desert
crossing was full of hazards.Some nomadic tribes along the way were kind to them.Water was
a precious commodity.On this very route a month earlier,a roving band of armed robbers had attacked
another team of human traffickers and their girls.Five of the girls died in the desert as the group scattered when the raid was on.Ofiakhara"s journey so far had been smooth.They hitch hiked,
trekked long distances,slept on sand dunes and in the homes of kind Tuareg tribes in Niger and Libya
until they arrived Tripoli after 14 days.Ogbogbodo being a master of the game had made arrangements for their reception in Tripoli.Omar was on hand to receive,hide them away from
the prying eyes of security officials.They waited in Tripoli for the arrival of a rickety boat captained
by Roberto with Angelo as his second.The waiting was for ten days before Captain Roberto
arrived.At the dead of the night on the appointed day all the girls were herded to a secret port
and quickly made to board the boat.The journey commenced by midnight headed for Lampedusa,
Italy.The sea was calm tonight and after several hours in the Mediterranean Sea the group arrived
Italy with other migrants from Somalia,Ghana,Guinea,Afghanistan,and some other nationals from
other countries.
Ofiakhara was welcomed warmly by an imposing muscular woman known as Mummy by
other Nigerian women in Italy.She was tutored on life as a prostitute after Mummy had collected
her Nigerian passport.Two days after her arrival in Italy,she was led by Betty and Sharon,young
Nigerian girls of Edo origin into the streets to solicit for male customers.
Her fortunes changed one night when she met Giovanni an Italian gentleman who was somewhat
connected with the Mafiosi in Sicily.
To be continued.
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