I am cheating because it is actually a week later, but I didn’t want to write about today’s events as I was hoping for a happy ending. Now I must write before I forget anything although I doubt if I ever will.
A knock came at my door and a Nigerian called Joseph appeared. Do you know a Mr Alan and a Mister Miller of CIDA?” He asked. I said I didn’t. “That’s funny”, he said, “They are coming from Lagos to Kano tomorrow and they are bringing parcels for you from Alberta and also mail from someone called Heyes with a first name like Doris.” “That’s my mother”, I said. “But how do you know me?” Hoseph then told me that he and six other students were staying in Kano, waiting for these Canadians so that they could go with them to the experimental farm at Dambatta. He said that the students were from the University of Ife and were going to be based at Dambatta for a few weeks. He then told me that he was hoping that I could help them financially as they needed 28 Naira for two rooms for the night until their money came on Monday morning. He said that an Indian businessman had helped them out but couldn’t any longer. Then Joseph told him about me, the CIDA people and my parcels, the Indian then phoned the Ministry of Education and they had told him where I was.
I was fascinated by the story and the possibility of getting mail. Joseph even knew that I hadn’t ben here long and didn’t have much money but he promised to bring the money with the Canadians on. Tuesday. I loaned him about 30 Naira and then walked him to the road to catch his bus back to Kano. I told him I had to take him because of the recent instruction from the principal that strangers on the school compound had to be attacked and clobbered with the long poles we’d been given. I asked him if he had money for the bus and luckily he had. I waved him off and said I was looking forward to seeing him again.
