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In a tiny shop in Egbeda area of Lagos, where 30-year-old Aminat, popularly called Mama Cletus in her neighbourhood, sat, selling petty goods, every day drags by with one thought on her mind, if the father of her two children was ever coming home.
At 30, Aminat had known her 37-year-old husband, David Esene, for 12 years.
Following the unfortunate turn of event, with two children, she now has to fend for herself with the help of her sister-in-law and other members of the family.
Aminat never imagined her life was going to turn out this way...
At 30, Aminat had known her 37-year-old husband, David Esene, for 12 years.
Following the unfortunate turn of event, with two children, she now has to fend for herself with the help of her sister-in-law and other members of the family.
Aminat never imagined her life was going to turn out this way...
The hardship in living the life of a single mom is not the worst for Aminat. “I don’t know whether to call myself a widow or not,” she said.
That has been the most agonising of Aminat’s thoughts in the last seven months since her husband, David, decided to embark on the treacherous journey through the Sahara desert to Libya.
In Libya, David, a native of Uromi, Edo State, hoped to join thousands of migrants, who crossed through the Mediterranean Sea to Europe in 2016, a year referred to as the deadliest for migration.
Around the time David undertook his journey, June 2016, more than 10,000 migrants were crossing the sea to Europe every week as an equally high number of them were dying in the process.
David, like many other Nigerian youths who undertake the journey, was desperate to leave the shores of Nigeria to seek "greener pastures".
But what makes his case different is that life was not unbearable for him, and neither was he without skills that could earn him a job, Punch correspondent learnt from his family and wife.
Aminat said that to avoid the “woman emotion” that could prevent him from embarking on his journey, David did not share his plans with her.
According to her, he simply left home and only informed her he was going all the way to Libya after he had already set off.
She said, “Our first child is six years old and has not stopped asking about his father. I don’t know what to tell him. I don’t know if he is dead or alive.
“He left Nigeria on May 23. That day, he came home from work while I was in the market. He called me on the phone to ask where I was. The next time he called, he said he was in Benin (the Edo State capital) on an urgent visit which he did not explain.
“The following day, I received a text message from him. He told me to pray and fast for him that he was travelling to look for better life. I was shocked because he told me nothing. He knew I would never agree to it.
“I informed his family and realised he had told them and they kicked against it. Few days later, I received a call from him. He said he was in a location from where they would start the journey (through the desert) to Libya. That was the last day I heard from him.
“I have been calling that same number ever since just to hear from him; just to know if he is breathing or if he is alive. I just want to know what has happened to my husband.”
Months went by with the expectation that David would call his wife. With each passing day, Aminat’s hope loses strength, but she holds on with faith that someday, a call would come through to bring her back from the limbo in which she and her children had been.
One day, she received a call from a relation.
She said, “The person called to condole with me about my husband’s death. I don’t know where the rumours came from. I was confused. People were calling to condole with me. Even my first child asked if it was true that his father was dead.
“If someone dies, at least I would know I am a widow and would resign to fate. But I don’t know whether he is dead or alive. That is the hardest part of my life right now.”That has been the most agonising of Aminat’s thoughts in the last seven months since her husband, David, decided to embark on the treacherous journey through the Sahara desert to Libya.
In Libya, David, a native of Uromi, Edo State, hoped to join thousands of migrants, who crossed through the Mediterranean Sea to Europe in 2016, a year referred to as the deadliest for migration.
Around the time David undertook his journey, June 2016, more than 10,000 migrants were crossing the sea to Europe every week as an equally high number of them were dying in the process.
David, like many other Nigerian youths who undertake the journey, was desperate to leave the shores of Nigeria to seek "greener pastures".
But what makes his case different is that life was not unbearable for him, and neither was he without skills that could earn him a job, Punch correspondent learnt from his family and wife.
Aminat said that to avoid the “woman emotion” that could prevent him from embarking on his journey, David did not share his plans with her.
According to her, he simply left home and only informed her he was going all the way to Libya after he had already set off.
She said, “Our first child is six years old and has not stopped asking about his father. I don’t know what to tell him. I don’t know if he is dead or alive.
“He left Nigeria on May 23. That day, he came home from work while I was in the market. He called me on the phone to ask where I was. The next time he called, he said he was in Benin (the Edo State capital) on an urgent visit which he did not explain.
“The following day, I received a text message from him. He told me to pray and fast for him that he was travelling to look for better life. I was shocked because he told me nothing. He knew I would never agree to it.
“I informed his family and realised he had told them and they kicked against it. Few days later, I received a call from him. He said he was in a location from where they would start the journey (through the desert) to Libya. That was the last day I heard from him.
“I have been calling that same number ever since just to hear from him; just to know if he is breathing or if he is alive. I just want to know what has happened to my husband.”
Months went by with the expectation that David would call his wife. With each passing day, Aminat’s hope loses strength, but she holds on with faith that someday, a call would come through to bring her back from the limbo in which she and her children had been.
One day, she received a call from a relation.
She said, “The person called to condole with me about my husband’s death. I don’t know where the rumours came from. I was confused. People were calling to condole with me. Even my first child asked if it was true that his father was dead.
HE HAS ALWAYS WANTED TO TRAVEL OUT
Details about the life of David revealed that there was probably nothing his wife could have done to prevent him from embarking on the journey. The seed of living and working abroad was first sown in his mind in 2009, his sister, Caroline Diolulu, said.
That year, after encouragement from friends who painted rosy tales of life in Europe, with savings and money from family, David decided to embark on the journey to Libya.
Just before crossing the desert, he abandoned his trip and came back home. The road was too dangerous, he said.
But his restless spirit was not done.
By 2015, David set his eyes on Dubai.
Hoping to join a pastor in his church who was working in Dubai, David sought the help of someone who facilitated his visa.
But again, things turned awry once he got to the United Arab Emirate.
His sister, Diolulu told Punch that, “The person who helped him with the visa told him that if he stayed for three months, he could get a work permit.
“When he got there, he started misbehaving and no longer listened to the man who took him there, he made friends with other people who he thought could help him faster. But they could not help him until his visa expired.
“He came back to Nigeria and again got another visa and travelled back to Dubai. I don’t know how he did it. Again, he could not get an employment until his visa expired.”
David’s family thought that he would finally settle down at home. After all, he was not doing badly.
But they were wrong.
He got a job as a supervisor with a company servicing some of the facilities of telecommunications company, Globacom. His contract soon ended. He got another job from which he was laid off thereafter.
While looking for another job, his Europe dreams came back and he started making overtures to his sister, Diolulu, to help him financially in order to embark on the journey.
“He said he wanted to go to Libya and I told him flatly that I would never support that. I reminded him about the danger on the road which made him abandon the same dream in 2009.
“But he told me all his friends had crossed to Europe. They were the ones encouraging him. He blocked his ears to every advice we gave him.
“His friends in Europe would always call him and say ‘What are you still doing in Nigeria?’ I always told him not to listen to them because his destiny might be different from theirs. But he never listened to anybody but his friends.”
In mid-2016, David finalised his plans to travel through the desert to Libya and onward to Europe without his wife’s knowledge.
Few days after he left Nigeria, a company he applied to finally called to offer him a job.
“He actually gave my phone number on his application. I was the one they called when they told him to come. I told them he was no longer available,” Aminat said.
Unknown to Aminat, her husband had run into trouble after successfully making the journey from the desert to Libya.
Rather than call her, he called his sister, Diolulu, whom he believed could help him raise money.
Diolulu said, “When he got there, he started calling me to send money. He said the person that wanted to take him across was demanding N170,000 (about $560)
“He was very desperate; he said everybody he arrived in Libya with had all gone. I refused to send him any money because I told him I was not in support of his trip.
“But he raised money and got to Libya. When he got there, he became stranded. The pressure was too much. Every now and then, he would call. He was always calling me. He said he was about to die in Libya and needed the money desperately. I finally sent him N180,000.
“The day he confirmed that he had got the money, he told me that he had paid the person who was going to take him across the sea. He told me he was leaving the next day.”
“I told him that if that was his wish, may the Lord see him through. That was my last statement to him.”
And that was the last time anybody would hear from David.
Despite the misgiving the family had over his decision to travel, over the last six months, they had tried every means possible to find him without news.
His friends already in Europe, who encouraged him to make the journey, have heard nothing from him. People who knew him while in Libya said they have not seen him since the day he said he was going to cross the sea.
No one knows the fate that has befallen David and this has increased the apprehension of his wife and other members of his family.
That year, after encouragement from friends who painted rosy tales of life in Europe, with savings and money from family, David decided to embark on the journey to Libya.
Just before crossing the desert, he abandoned his trip and came back home. The road was too dangerous, he said.
But his restless spirit was not done.
By 2015, David set his eyes on Dubai.
Hoping to join a pastor in his church who was working in Dubai, David sought the help of someone who facilitated his visa.
But again, things turned awry once he got to the United Arab Emirate.
His sister, Diolulu told Punch that, “The person who helped him with the visa told him that if he stayed for three months, he could get a work permit.
“When he got there, he started misbehaving and no longer listened to the man who took him there, he made friends with other people who he thought could help him faster. But they could not help him until his visa expired.
“He came back to Nigeria and again got another visa and travelled back to Dubai. I don’t know how he did it. Again, he could not get an employment until his visa expired.”
David’s family thought that he would finally settle down at home. After all, he was not doing badly.
But they were wrong.
He got a job as a supervisor with a company servicing some of the facilities of telecommunications company, Globacom. His contract soon ended. He got another job from which he was laid off thereafter.
While looking for another job, his Europe dreams came back and he started making overtures to his sister, Diolulu, to help him financially in order to embark on the journey.
“He said he wanted to go to Libya and I told him flatly that I would never support that. I reminded him about the danger on the road which made him abandon the same dream in 2009.
“But he told me all his friends had crossed to Europe. They were the ones encouraging him. He blocked his ears to every advice we gave him.
“His friends in Europe would always call him and say ‘What are you still doing in Nigeria?’ I always told him not to listen to them because his destiny might be different from theirs. But he never listened to anybody but his friends.”
In mid-2016, David finalised his plans to travel through the desert to Libya and onward to Europe without his wife’s knowledge.
Few days after he left Nigeria, a company he applied to finally called to offer him a job.
“He actually gave my phone number on his application. I was the one they called when they told him to come. I told them he was no longer available,” Aminat said.
Unknown to Aminat, her husband had run into trouble after successfully making the journey from the desert to Libya.
Rather than call her, he called his sister, Diolulu, whom he believed could help him raise money.
Diolulu said, “When he got there, he started calling me to send money. He said the person that wanted to take him across was demanding N170,000 (about $560)
“He was very desperate; he said everybody he arrived in Libya with had all gone. I refused to send him any money because I told him I was not in support of his trip.
“But he raised money and got to Libya. When he got there, he became stranded. The pressure was too much. Every now and then, he would call. He was always calling me. He said he was about to die in Libya and needed the money desperately. I finally sent him N180,000.
“The day he confirmed that he had got the money, he told me that he had paid the person who was going to take him across the sea. He told me he was leaving the next day.”
“I told him that if that was his wish, may the Lord see him through. That was my last statement to him.”
And that was the last time anybody would hear from David.
Despite the misgiving the family had over his decision to travel, over the last six months, they had tried every means possible to find him without news.
His friends already in Europe, who encouraged him to make the journey, have heard nothing from him. People who knew him while in Libya said they have not seen him since the day he said he was going to cross the sea.
No one knows the fate that has befallen David and this has increased the apprehension of his wife and other members of his family.
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