MY JOURNEY TO EUROPE: 18 YEARS GONE

Exactly 18 years ago, on 15th September 2006, I landed in Europe for my further studies. My sister Oby and her husband mazi Mike brought me to the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja the evening before, 14th September. That was my first time of seeing an airport in my life.

The flight landed in Amsterdam Netherlands. From there we boarded a smaller plane to Brussels Belgium.

While in that flight a young Belgian man sitting beside me took interest in me. His name is Tony. He was working with an oil company and lived in Porthacourt. He told me that Nigeria is one of the most beautiful places to live on this earth. I will one day refer to this.

I was later picked from the airport by Rev Fr Benjamin Nwosu, a priest from my diocese who was studying in KU Leuven, the same university I was coming to study in. Fr Ben was helpful in securing the admission for my studies.

In Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, I startet my master’s studies. I later did my advanced master’s studies in the same university. In the University of Tübingen Germany, I did my doctoral studies. While a student in Germany, I was working in a parish.

I really thank God for the opportunity of meeting nice and interesting people within these 18 years. I remember my bishop late Anthony Ilonu of the diocese of Okigwe who sent me for studies. My parents and siblings were also there for me.

I left for studies before my 3rd priestly anniversary. I remember my parishioners at Corpus Christi parish Dimneze with whom I worked with for 22 months before my departure.

When I came to Europe 18 years ago, I was shocked by the ocean of difference between Africa and Europe. Why are we so backwards and poor as a people in the midist of plenty? I continued to ask myself.

To answer this question I went into a personal research. The results of the research gave birth to this noble family Fada Angelo Chidi Unegbu where we restore our brains to factory settings so that we can stop this backwardness by ourselves before we are completely doomed. No “messiah” except the one living in us can save us.

N.B: the pictures below were taken while I was a student in Belgium and Germany. The person in the second picture is not pope Benedict but his brother Fr. George.