One of my many alter-egos is a lyricist called Triple X and on Wednesday 19th of December 2007 as Triple X, I flew to Ghana for the second time. I boarded the now defunct Virgin Nigeria Airline flight at about 9am and was psyched it would last just an hour. I had been booked for a show in Kumasi on Boxing Day as the main act, the pay wasn’t much but it was a start. This time I was traveling alone, I had no planned itinerary save for the show and a few promotional radio interviews.
I was met at the airport by my friend Ololade Adewuyi who now worked for Ovation magazine and I stayed with him for the duration of my trip. He had a room at the back of the magazine’s offices. Coincidentally, it was he who had chipped in my name when they were compiling the list of acts performing at the pool party in Kumasi.
Ololade was very instrumental in making my trip more enjoyable. I had a radio interview at Vibe 91.9FM at about past 7pm that first day. The presenter who had a rich British accent played my music and asked me for details about the show I had flown in for. His listeners received my music rather well and wished me luck during my stay.
Then it was on to Bus Stop Restaurant & Bar where we had a drink and a good game of snooker. I also went to Frankie’s in Osu where I had dinner with Ololade who graciously continued to act as my guide and buffer. It was also Ololade that took me to Aphrodisiac nightclub and it was still as intense as I remembered.
We would spend the weekend lounging and club hopping. He showed me a restaurant somewhere behind the rail tracks in our estate, the name escapes me now but I literally became addicted to their jollof rice with peppered chicken and shito. Just a few houses down the street from where we stayed was the house of self-exiled Nigerian CEO Mike Adenuga and two streets away was the private residence of John Kufour the serving president of Ghana. I was in esteemed company by proximity.
Ghana’s 50th independence anniversary was on the 6th of March 2007 and by the time I got there in December the entire citizenry still had their flags on display. Supermarkets, hotels, restaurants, schools and every other lamp post on the highway had a flag prominently featured. It gave a visitor like me a sense of how much pride the people had for their nation. By comparison when we celebrated our 50th anniversary in Nigeria the government printed commemorative fifty naira notes. I guess you see where my people’s priorities lie.
Knowing my predilection for charitable endeavors my resourceful friend introduced me to Shaida Buari; a former Miss Ghana who ran an NGO. We met on the morning of my second day while Ololade finished interviewing her for an article he was writing about her charity work. She asked if I would like to help in giving out some items she had collected on behalf of the needy some days before Christmas, of course my response was a resounding YES. Shaida and I became fast friends and I even met members of her family, her mum was super nice to me.
And so it was three days after my arrival, on Saturday 22nd of December; Shaida, her cousin Remi, her friend Philomena, some cameramen and I made our way to an orphanage somewhere further inside Accra. It was an Islamic Orphanage, the girls sat separate from the boys while receiving instruction. I helped Shaida and the others distribute the meal packs and chocolate treats, bags of rice, kegs of vegetable oil and of course there was some cash the NGO had managed to put together as well. Even though my only contribution was my time, it felt rewarding to put smiles on those children’s faces. I would remember that feeling for years to come.
I haven’t been to Ghana since then but I intend a follow up visit to the orphanage when next I go to Accra. Purely by coincidence on the 22nd of December another edition of the Night of a 1001 Laughs held at the Conference Center. My countrymen Klint the Drunk, Jedi Ayo and Julius Agwu were among the acts that left the audience in hysterics and I hung out with them at the after party. It was a really full day for someone with no itinerary.
Ololade and I took walks around the area in which the Ovation offices where located and on the 23rd of December 2007; during one of many such familiarization walks, he showed me around the Accra Mall where I met a nice Nigerian couple who owned a photo studio at the Mall. It turned out they were big fans of the 2006 Big Brother Nigeria show. They took several of photos of me and framed one especially for free. It was the same night I asked my friend to take my photo with the mall’s giant Christmas tree and of the different nativity scenes made from straw and wire.
Finally, on Christmas Day it was time to make our way to Kumasi on a four and a half hour journey by bus. When we arrived at Ghana’s second largest traffic hub, the venue of the pool party; Miklin hotel, was already fully booked. And so we shared a room at another hotel down the road. The next morning I met the organizers for the first time, I remember the leader Kevin asking if I was comfortable. I was! I made only one request and that was: that they should arrange for me to have backup dancers. I am a big guy and I need something to distract the men folk when I am performing.
The event kicked off by 1:30pm was packed and performances started from the afternoon well into the night. Ololade was on ground, hard at work interviewing random people and taking photos for the magazine. Meanwhile, back at my hotel I met the two girls the organizers had arranged to be my backup dancers and I played them all the songs in my set. I also gave them an idea of how I wanted them to dress and we planned to rendezvous at the venue.
Much later at about 10pm it was time for me to get on stage; I offered up a silent prayer to God and hopped up. I said hello to the crowd and asked the stragglers to come forward. Then I did what I do best – entertain. I’ll always feel that initial case of nerves but when they start taking photos of you and the ladies are going a little berserk, your confidence soars. The backup dancers did their thing and left the men in the audience wanting more. I was joined on stage by some Kumasi based Nigerian students who were feeling very patriotic.
I gave it my all for nearly twenty five minutes received serious applause for my efforts and after my performance I met an American couple (the Butlers) in the lobby who said they had thoroughly enjoyed my set. Apparently I reminded them of their son who was as tall as I was. We took several pictures together and exchanged contacts and they invited me to join them for dinner at the Golden Tulip hotel when they returned to Accra. Two inebriated Japanese travelers also wanted to join in the photo session and we obliged the happy duo.
I hung out with some members of the crowd afterwards; taking pictures, then we went to a club for the after party where I networked some more. It was a few hours to dawn the next day, Ololade and I decided to check out early and head for Accra; I slept for most of that ride. He would leave for Nigeria two days later as he planned to spend the New Year’s celebration with his family.
I was still reveling in the euphoria of my performance and decided to stick around for one more week. During that time I joined Asma and Mahari also known as the Butlers, for dinner at their hotel (the Golden Tulip in Accra). We had a good meal and great conversation. They ran a school in Jackson, Mississippi called Adhiambo. The very afro centric couple came to Ghana regularly for the ambiance and to shop for the Kente fabrics which they used as part of their school’s uniform. I promised to visit some day and I still hope to surprise them.
I had exhausted most of my funds including the money I had earned from my performance. So when I finally returned to Nigeria on Sunday January 6th 2008 I did so by road on an ABC Transport services bus. It was a nearly twelve hour journey through Togo and Benin Republic. One of the Togolese border guards during a routine check of all passengers’ passports; said I was a lot handsomer than my passport photo. “What happened since you got the passport?” he asked cheekily. I shrugged and we continued our long haul along the coastline.
We finally arrived at Badagry toll gate around 3pm, with the intense traffic I got home a little after 8pm. I was squatting with a friend at Jakande estate in Lekki at the time. There was no electricity and no water and I suddenly missed Ghana with a deep yearning. The whole time I was in Accra, the electricity went off just four times and not for more than an hour each time. There had been no heavy rains in a awhile and the water level of the dam that powered their grid had gone down. I prayed for my country to see better days and regaled my friends with tales of how pretty Ghanaian girls were.
I would not see Ololade for the next six years during which he had returned to Nigeria and was working for a different media outfit. He was getting married on November 2nd 2013 and sent out an open invite via Facebook and I made sure I didn’t miss it.
Ah my friend, you’ve taken me down memory lane with this one. I love the fact that you did make selfies way back in 2007 before they became the rave. Perhaps you were ahead of the time?
I look forward to reading more of your travels, keep awakening the memory.
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