“I will not call even my family until after 2 years in obodo oyinbo”, Nigerians planning Japa react to the Influence of Village People 

Nobody is as secretive as a Nigerian travelling abroad – Abrahim Lancoln***

Like me, you may have also wondered why Nigerians travelling abroad are always secretive about their journey and even the process. Is it the fear of jazz from village people, like they say, or is it just a decision to keep private issues private? 

In this issue of #KBJapaStories, we scan through Twitter to see how Nigerians react to close associates who keep their emigration process a secret until it is done.

1. “A foreign number called me on WhatsApp. I did not pick up because I thought it was one of those scammers”.

If you took the screenshot above as a standalone tweet, you may assume that the person who tweeted and the one who travelled were not necessarily close. Perhaps, they were probably the meet-and-drink kind of friends. But then, there goes the shocker.

They had been ‘friends’ for 16 years?! This one is strong! 

Do Nigerians who keep travel plans private so as not to ‘jeopardise’ their Japa plans do so because they do not ‘trust’ others? If they keep such information away from those they consider friends, what does it say about the level of trust in that friendship?

A friendship of 16 years appears to be a whole lot, and some people would argue, rightfully, that if you can’t trust a person you’ve been friends with for 16 years, then, what’s the point of the whole friendship?

2. “My friend told me when his sibling was travelling. He told me when he was too. Maybe it varies from person to person”.

Perhaps, another reason people your friends don’t tell you when they are travelling is not trust. It may be that they rate you but they think that you are that friend whose mouth is always running like tap water. 

Anything your friends tell you, the whole of your street don hear am the next day. Indeed, it is really bad to be that friend with a running mouth. If you know you are like that, here is your cue to look inward.

Have you read JAPA REALITIES: Food In Nigeria Can Never Be Compared To Food Over Here – Philip of United Kingdom?

3. “Left to me. I will not even call my family until after 2 years in obodo oyinbo”.

Phew! 

Are there really dark forces somewhere ready to strike evil the moment you want to get out of this country? Twitter user @RasheedTorriera thinks there are.

Well, you could say Shooooo?! On top this travelling abroad too? and be justified cos this one is strong. However, when you consider the report of a lady who was poisoned by her friends in Ghana in an attempt to prevent her from travelling to the UK, you may understand his paranoia.

There have also been cases in which family members are alleged to have hidden the visa and international passport of a family member, so as to prevent them from…? travelling abroad. 

If these stories are true, indeed, the heart of man is desperately wicked and the inability to know what’s on another person’s mind may be a valid enough reason for people to decide against sharing their travel plans with people who ordinarily should be trusted.

Do you agree that it is possible that @RasheedTorriera’s japa plans stalled because he told his friend about it? Are village people real and do they actually have powers to affect the success of a person’s relocation? What makes you sceptical about sharing your japa plans with close friends or family? Share your thoughts with us in the comment section.