A Little Piece of Us

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By Lucky Igbomor

It was sometime in 2005. We had no worries, and no fears. In our eyes, we were the kings of the world and we made the rules.  Life in Uniport had a lot of troubles, but as long as we stuck together, we were untouchable. People often thought that there had to be something behind our surefootedness. We were cocky and confident. We often went places and did thing we shouldn’t have done, not because we were ‘blended’ or connected but because we were blissfully ignorant.

I remember when Chinedu (not the real Chinedu, the other one) brought those AIESEC forms for us to join the group. We laughed and teased him. It wasn’t until he told us about the travelling that we got interested. What did we have to lose? All we had to do was go for the conference, ignore the so called plenaries and catch our trips. The next conference was just a few days away, in Zaria, Kaduna state. For those of us who had never been to the north, this was a golden opportunity. Stanley and I signed on and convinced Danikeyz, Uche and Chinedu (the real one) to come with us. Hassan was already a member. Mikky was sceptical.

I remember the trip perfectly. It was the day Liverpool played AC Milan in the Champions League final. We got lost on the way and spent about 16 hours travelling from Port-Harcourt to Kaduna. By the time we got to the hotel, Liverpool had equalized and the penalty shootout was about to start. Danikeyz (he was a rapper then… lol!), fell in love with Liverpool that night. You see, every event in a football fan’s life can be linked to one football game or the other if you think properly. And some people say it’s just a game! Ha! The Zaria conference was a blast! Four full days of learning (yes, we actually got around to learning a few things) and fun. By the time we returned, we were drained from having so much fun. Mikky wished he had come with us, so there was no way he was missing the next one. This time, it was back home in Lagos; Badagry, to be precise.

Badagry was even better. We were fresher, crazier and more prepared. As the conference kicked off, Stan and I made our way out of the hotel. He was showing me the town where he spent his secondary school years when we saw a bike with two white girls heading in our direction. As it zoomed past, the girls turned to us and yelled; ‘Hey AIESEC! We’re going to the beach! Stan and I couldn’t believe our luck. We called the other guys and soon were all in Badagry beach looking for the girls. Did we find them? Yes we did, and it was worth the effort. One of them was Minnie. She was beautiful, blonde haired, and had the body of an African woman. We bonded instantly. Minnie was so cool that we completely forgot about the other girl. By the time we were done we were covered from head to toe with sand and salt-water, but we enjoyed it.

When we returned to the conference, we were infamous. We were the Uniport boys that took the white girls to the beach. They were looking for ways to kick us out but we stuck to our guns. We weren’t done yet. We took a break, ate, bathed and met up at the bar. Minnie was truly Swedish. She drank beer like a true descendant of the Vikings. She taught us how to do a toast in her language. She even teased Uche about how his name sounded like a chant by warriors about to go to war. Uche! Uche! Uche! She yelled, pumping her fist in the air. It was hilarious. She said he didn’t think she would meet people like us here. She had been in a village in Abeokuta for the last three months, fetching water from wells and eating Amala like no man’s business.

That night, Danikeyz and Mikky finally arrived. They had lost their way and almost ended up in Benin Republic. The crew was complete, along with our new honorary member. We kept the same schedule on the second day, and then the third. But then there was a twist. I had forgotten to take the hotel room keys out of my pocket before jumping into the sea-water. By the time we were ready to leave, I realized that it was lost.

When we returned to the hotel, the conference organizers couldn’t hide their delight at seeing us in a bind. They chuckled as they explained that all costs would be borne by us, including punitive fees. We spoke to the hotel management and they revealed to us that we would have to pay a total of N50K! Now that surely wasn’t going to happen. We simply went back to the final party of the conference. It was on that last night that I finally made my move. While dancing, I grabbed Minnie by the hand and took her to a quiet, secluded place. I told her that I just had to take this chance to kiss her because I didn’t want to leave Badagry wondering what could have happened. As we stood there, face to face, I felt that maybe I had been a bit forward. But I thought there was a connection between us. I just had to know if she thought so too. Thankfully, she did. We kissed.

You might be asking how we got out of Badagry without paying the fine. Well, after all the partying, we went to the back of our hotel room which was on the first floor of the building. Hassan climbed up to the balcony and opened the lock (don’t ask me how). We all followed, climbing like a bunch of Ninjas in a Kung Fu movie. By dawn we were out of the room and out of the hotel. Goodbye Badagry!

That wasn’t the last we saw of Minnie. In 2006, she came all the way to Port-Harcourt to see us. She stayed with us for two weeks. We really got to know each other and I found out just how amazing this girl was. She had a way of connecting with everybody. She never looked down on anyone. She was really cool. Never in a bad mood. She would walk into a room and scream Lucky my man! (yeah, that’s my name) and her infectious spirit would fill up the place. I remember back in Badagry when we were driving back to the hotel. She looked at all the run-down homes and the rustic ambience and said that it was beautiful. I looked around and I just didn’t see what beauty she was talking about. I guess beauty to me meant sophistication, but she saw things differently. There was nothing superficial about Minnie. That girl loved Nigeria more than most of us.

After Uniport, Minnie stayed in touch. She would usually shuttle different countries, but no matter where she went, Nigeria was like her home. Whenever she was around, we would hang out and catch up. At one point she was staying with a boyfriend in G.R.A. She then settled in Nigeria, got married and had a baby. It was no surprise, Minnie was a Nigerian at heart. Soon after, she moved back to Sweden.

Minnie’s list of travel destinations included The UK, South Africa and Kenya. In all those places she had the same effect on other that she had on us. Minnie was the first person that told me that I could write. It was after Hassan died (that’s another story altogether). I had problems dealing with losing someone I had seen only a few minutes before he got hit by a car. To ease the grief, I put it all in writing. She was the only one that got to see what I wrote. Amidst tears of grief, she told me I should consider writing as a career. I’ll never forget that.

How was I supposed to know that I would be writing to ease the grief of losing Minnie only a few years later? Minnie had settled back in Sweden and had a baby girl. But the marriage hit the rocks after a couple of years. They divorced and her ex returned to Nigeria. In January 2014, she showed me pictures of her cute little girl. She told me she would be in Lagos in a few months but in the back of my mind in knew I would be unable to see her. It was a very busy time in my life. She came and left after two weeks. I didn’t even call to say hi.

A couple of days later Daniel (he’s not a rapper anymore) called with the horrific news that Minnie had been found murdered in her flat in Sweden. Apparently, she had been killed by someone suspected to be her ex-husband. Her young daughter was in the house when it happened. I still can’t believe this. Does death deliberately seek out the kindest of souls? Is misfortune the fate of the good? How could somebody kill our Minnie in such a brutal way? It just doesn’t make any sense! Minnie’s death has been hard to swallow. As I write, hundreds of her friends and family from all over the world are feeling the same kick in the teeth that I feel. Death has robbed us of someone we were all glad to have in our lives. Minnie has taken a little bit of us with her.

Rest in peace, Minnie.