Dubai is a beautiful place. That is only to be expected, as Dubai was designed as a tourist haven. And that is deliberate. As could be seen from the famous quote by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the vice president, prime minister, and minister of defence of the United Arab Emirates as well as the ruler of Dubai – which can be seen on billboards and on some building walls: “We do not wait for things to happen, rather we make them happen”.

Dubai boasts many tourist attractions. They include but are not limited to the Burj Khalifa, an 830m-tall tower which dominates the skyscraper-filled skyline, Dubai Fountain, Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo, Dubai Mall with its multiple attractions, Bur Dubai Grand Souq (Bur Dubai Souk or Market), Desert Safari, and Dubai’s artificial islands, among others.

I toured some of these tourist attractions alongside 13 other visiting African journalists sponsored for a five-day visit (September 4-9, 2022) by Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism. (For details, please see the travelogue, “Five crazy days in Dubai”, published by News Express on September 20, 2022).

At two of those tourist attractions, I ran into hardworking Nigerians making an honest living in Dubai. The first was Mordi, whom I met barely hours after our arrival on Monday, September 5. After an exhausting tour of the expansive multi-story Dubai Mall, I had decided to catch my breath on the fourth floor. I chose a table at Mammamia fast food restaurant, relaxed in one of the seats and ordered a cup of hot chocolate. Lo and behold, the young man who served me looked every inch a Nigerian!

I teased him, telling him that he looked like a fellow Okoro man (Okoro is slang for Igbo, one of Nigeria’s three major ethnic groups besides Hausa and Yoruba). “I am a Lagosian,” he replied. From there we struck off a conversation. He turned out to be from the Igbo-speaking part of Delta State in South-South Nigeria but prefers to claim Lagos, the country’s economic hub in the South-West, where he was based before relocating to Dubai.

The next day, upon arrival at the Grand Souq, I was momentarily taken aback when I saw someone who looked every inch a Nigerian beckoning on us to come and buy from his shop. “Okechukwu!” I hailed. “Kenechukwu”, he replied. It turned out that he is from Nnewi in Anambra State, South-East Nigeria, but now hustling in Dubai Market. He took us to a shop of gold, silver, diamond and fabrics being managed by people who are either Dubai natives or Indians.

Apart from the likes of Mordi and Kenechukwu, there are several Nigerian expatriates making Africa’s troubled giant proud in the pearl of the UAE. They include Segun Ogunsanya, Group Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director, Airtel Africa; Emeka Oparah, Vice President Communications & CSR, Airtel Africa; and Joe Osawaye, proprietor of the wave-making African restaurant, KIZA.

Of these three, Emeka is an old friend – our friendship dating back to the late ’90s when he was Media Relations Manager at Cadbury Nigeria Plc and I was Deputy Editor of THEWEEK Magazine published by famous businessman and politician, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, a former Nigerian Vice President and presidential candidate of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the 2023 polls. A pioneer staffer of Econet, Emeka acquitted himself credibly as the company’s chief image maker as it transformed into Vodacom, Vmobile, Celtel and Zain before finally becoming Airtel Nigeria. As a reward for his hard work and faithful service for over 19 years, Emeka was promoted Vice President Communications & CSR, Airtel Africa, which saw him relocating to Dubai to assume his new role from February 1, 2022.

When my trip to Dubai became confirmed, I informed Emeka and expressed a desire to see him while in Dubai – if his busy schedule would permit. We arrived in Dubai on Monday, September 5, but were so busy that I could not contact Emeka. I reached him the next day and he enthusiastically invited me to dinner the next day since we would be extremely busy on Thursday and return to Nigeria with early morning flight on Friday. “Let’s eat dinner at KIZA tomorrow evening,” he said, asking me to come along with my two friends and professional colleagues – Ajayi Titus Omeiza of Vanguard and Ali Adoyi Abah of Daily Post and Afripost – two of the 13 other African journalists on the trip.

Emeka was very happy to see us when we turned up for the dinner. He hosted us at the VIP section, inviting KIZA chief Joe Osawaye to join us. We ate and drank and talked about Nigeria late into the night. It was as if we should never part, but – of course, we must! When it was time to retire to our 25 Hours Hotel lodge, we reluctantly took our leave, walked outside the imposing Emirates Financial Towers, where KIZA is located on the ground floor, hailed a taxi and were soon back at our hotel.

Our meeting that night turned up some surprises. One of them is that Emeka, a popular ‘Lagosian’ with many ‘disciples’ in Nigeria’s economic hub, does not miss Lagos. Nor does he miss his Mbaise hometown in Igboland, South-East Nigeria, where he is reputed as a silent philanthropist. “I like it here in Dubai,” Emeka told us. “Life here is less stressful and you don’t have to worry about bandits, terrorists and unknown gunmen.” Emeka, however, vowed to continue his philanthropic endeavours back home and prayed for Nigeria to get it right during the 2023 elections, noting that this is critical if Africa’s troubled giant is to be on the path to economic and social rebirth.

I can understand the speed with which Emeka has embraced Dubai. For the five days we were in the jewel of the UAE, I did not see a single report about bandits, terrorists and unknown gunmen. I also did not see even one report about armed robbery, kidnapping or needless murders. Coming from Nigeria where such evils are an everyday occurrence, it was too good to be true.

Even more surprising was the fact that I did not see a single policeman or soldier throughout our trip. I craned my neck during our journeys, hoping to catch a glimpse of at least one military or para-military personnel but was hugely disappointed – there was none! Hmm!!!

As we were driven from place to place I looked out for potholes but saw none. Though I saw no single traffic warden, traffic flowed as people obeyed the traffic lights without being forced to do so. What is more, everywhere was clean – I did not see dirt or refuse littering the environment.

One more surprise: In Dubai, they still gladly accept coins, and often reject payment in the ‘mighty’ US dollars – preferring that you change your dollars to the local currency, Dirham.

And, lest I forget, in Dubai, I did not see many private vehicles but rather saw clean, efficient taxis everywhere – with a transportation system that works and expensive car parks, why bother to acquire and put cars on the road?

Back home to the harsh realities of daily life in Nigeria, I now appreciate why Atiku and others who can afford it have relocated their families to Dubai and made the place their second home. But it would have been better if they did the right thing and made Nigeria something close to Dubai. After all, how many Nigerians can afford to “jappa” (run away) to Dubai or other climes where things still work?

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