This book tells the story behind a typical Nigerian youth—how he reasons, his entrance into crime; how religion, diplomacy and international relations influence his decisions; the resultant, global electronic exclusion of Nigeria from sensitive platforms and how the government responds. Sochima, the protagonist, leads you through the lifelike imagery of it all. In the end, there is hope that we can all make informed decisions. No matter who or where you are, you need this book.
Excerpt:
“Police! Open this door now!”
Sochima was unlucky this time. At other nights when it became obvious that the government of Malaysia was out on a mass-arrests of migrant Nigerians to the frightening extent of breaking into their homes with no regard whatsoever to their rights of privacy, he would be with many others in a nearby forest behind an estate of condos in a remote area of Nilai, one of the nearby Seremban towns—hiding away from the shackles of the combined team of Police and immigration officers as they bulldoze their way through the hideouts which serve as one of the cocoons to several Africans whose legal residence/student permits had expired.
This night, however, he was indeed unlucky. It was almost as if a death sentence had been passed upon him when he, while trying to convince his first would-be internet dating victim to pay in the sum of one hundred thousand dollars (USD100, 000.00), had thought that it was his only window to leave the country and the compelled business of fraud for good. This money, he had tried to convince her, was the amount requested by the courier service to release and forward to her an undeclared six million, five hundred thousand dollars (USD6.5 million) which he was forwarding to her before being intercepted. His plan was to transfer his wealth to his ‘white’ fiancée and move over to her after he had finished with his last. Then they would get married and live happily ever after. The problem was that, he lied to her, he had intended to beat the anti money laundry agencies and avoid all the grilling it could bring from the authorities, especially the British authority. But the money was discovered, and for her to receive it secretly, a hundred thousand dollars tax must be paid to the corrupt courier service. He had told her that he needed her to raise and the money and send to the courier service's supposed bank account number to enable them release and forward his life's savings to her. He was out of his country, United Kingdom, on a contract work and would not be back on time to deal with the courier company himself. He needed his fiancée to play her part, after all, he had sent to her a copy of his international passport and all documents to collaborate his story. He had even made sure the courier service company called her from their UK and Malaysian offices to authenticate his claims and inspire sympathy. As she was made to believe, he would come over and live with her as soon as he's done with his multi-million dollar contract which took him from his country to Malaysia. And together, they can plan on how to invest and spend the dollars.
“Gbim, Gbim, Gbim!” On and on went the banging on the door for a few seconds—returning him back from his drifty dream. He then decided he was going to try his luck through the window of his room at the fourth floor of the 18-storey apartment block where he lived. He was never going to let these wicked men who don’t know where life is sweetest arrest him when he's not got anything to show for all the money his father had invested into his journey. No! He was going to justify the trust his father reposed on him when he agreed to sell his large portion of land to offset every necessary bill his son would encounter as he prepared to travel abroad. They had both hoped that all would be well for their family if he eventually leaves the shore of the cursed country to the land of unending green.
