From being among the selected musicians for the late Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, to embarking on a perilous four-year journey to America in search of a better life, only to be arrested and bundled back to Nigeria, Olatunji Thomas recounts his harrowing experiences in this interview with AYOOLA OLASUPO

Could you tell us a bit about your background and how you became the musician for the late Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade?

My stage name as a musician is Prince Remi Abiodun. I started as a choirmaster in a church over 30 years ago, and through my hard work, my talent for singing was recognised.

This led to me being chosen as a choirmaster by the late Reverend Yomi Akinfala. I took up the role of my brother, Pastor Olatunji Lawrence, who was a musician and also a friend of the cleric.

My brother had a band, of which I was once a member. Pastor Lawrence trained me, but when he left Ile-Ife, I stayed with his friend, Reverend Akinfala, who was also a musician.

In 1993, he started a church, and I was ordained as the choirmaster in 1994.

I was later called by my pastor to work with the choir inside the palace of the late Ooni of Ife, Oba Sijuwade, in Osun State.

He asked me to select four other choristers from the church, making a total of five, and we performed for the royal father.

After a year, my talent was recognised, and I was appointed as the choir coordinator for the entire palace. I also became the choirmaster for the youth camp in Ile-Ife.

Over time, Oba Sijuwade developed a liking for our music, so I assembled a band, which I named the Royal Band. We began performing exclusively for him because he refused to listen to anyone else?s music except ours.

In addition to the Royal Band, I also had a personal band. I have performed in places like Ekiti, Abuja, and Jos.

After the passing of Oba Sijuwade, I decided to continue pursuing my music career.

Could you narrate your experiences during the journey?

I tried to go to America but was deceived. I couldn?t get an American visa and so someone told me he had a link to take people to Oyotunji Village in South Carolina, and many of us paid for the package.

However, we later found out that it was a scam. The case was taken to court, and we learned that we had been duped.

I wanted to take action against those responsible, but they convinced me they had another package for Brazil.

Initially, I was hesitant, but they assured me that many people were doing well there. My younger brother, who was with me, advised me to give it a try. So we decided to go ahead with it. Eventually, we received our visas.

How much did you pay for the trip?

I paid N200,000 for the package, and this was between 2017 and 2018.

What motivated you to leave Nigeria and pursue a future in the United States?

My motivation was that, as a musician, I believed my music would be fully appreciated in the United States, and it would provide me with a better life. Since finishing school, I have never done any other job apart from music. I thought the opportunities there would be better, so I agreed to the trip. To raise money for it, I ended up selling two plots of land.

What happened when you got to Brazil?

Three months after arriving in Brazil, I got a job at a logistics company producing frozen foods. I later worked in another company and a supermarket, but the salary was very low. Despite working, I struggled to meet the financial needs of my wife, three children, and elderly mother back home. The money was too little to support all my responsibilities.

How much were you earning while working in Brazil?

When I worked with the logistics company, I earned 1,300 Reais. Sometimes, if we worked extra hours or during holidays, I would receive 1,350 or 1,400 Reais. At that time, this was equivalent to about N90,000 to N100,000 in Nigerian currency. However, I had to pay rent, school fees and cover other daily needs, which made life very difficult.

As a musician, were you also performing for people in Brazil?

Yes, I was well known in S?o Paulo. In 2018, I performed during the annual Oodua Day celebrations. I was paired with a Fuji musician, and we performed together.

That?s how I gained recognition throughout S?o Paulo. The Yoruba community there loved my music, but the situation was very different from Nigeria, where you could have multiple shows a month.

In Brazil, it was rare?maybe just once a year. I organised a show, and while people loved it and bought tickets, the financial outcome wasn?t what I had hoped for.

I spent a lot of money booking a large venue, but the turnout wasn?t enough. People started advising me to try Europe or the U.S., but I didn?t have the money to make that happen.

Didn?t you have any sponsors or promoters who could help fund your journey to the UK or U.S.?

No, there was no way to get sponsorship. I remember when Saheed Osupa came to Brazil for a performance, I sang on the same stage with him.

However, with time, things got tougher, and I was told about a country called French Guiana, which shares a border with Brazil, with its capital in Cayenne. Travelling there was risky. Instead of a three-hour road trip, we had to cross the sea in a small canoe and this took nine hours. We were at great risk the whole time.

How much did you pay for the canoe?

I paid 100 Euros for the canoe. Once we arrived in French Guiana, we had nowhere to stay for two weeks. We slept on the riverbank and went out during the day looking for work.

By 7 p.m., we?d sleep under a palm tree. After two weeks, someone helped us rent an apartment, which cost 300 Euros a month. We had little money and no documents to get better jobs, so life was very hard. Since we couldn?t afford a proper place, we stayed in a dangerous area where mafia groups lived, and we lived in constant fear.

How many of you were in that apartment?

Three of us left Brazil together, and we were very close ? like brothers. I was the leader because I had been in Brazil for over three years before they joined me. I spent one year in French Guiana. Eventually, I told my companions that we should move to America because life in French Guiana felt too dangerous.

The locals carried guns, and there were constant fights. We could die at any moment. With the little money we had?about 3,000 Euros each?we decided to embark on the journey. But to reach America, we had to go back to Brazil.

So, we took three flights to reach the Brazilian border with Bolivia and Peru. From there, we passed through Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia. In Colombia, we took a ship for a 45-minute ride across the sea. After the crossing, we met people who helped us to the other side and collected $100 each from us. They then organised us into groups, with a leader assigned to guide us through the wilderness. I had never experienced anything like this before.

How many hours did you spend walking through the wilderness?

We trekked through the wilderness for seven days. Each day, we would walk from about 6 a.m. until 7 p.m., setting up camp in the forest when night fell.

How were you coping with the situation in terms of eating and bathing during the seven days in the forest?

Bathing wasn?t an issue because we were constantly passing through bodies of water. Whenever we crossed one, we would find another soon after, so we adapted by figuring out how to pass through together. As for food, I had brought a powdered beverage called Suco with me, and that?s what I drank throughout the journey. One man in our group was from Delta State. His wife was heavily pregnant, and they had a small child. He asked for my help, and that?s why I spent the seven days helping them. We couldn?t walk as quickly as we used to, so we took the journey slowly. After seven days, we reached Panama, where immigration received us. I had many injuries?cuts in my mouth, severe leg wounds, as well as bruises and scars all over my body. In Panama, we were given medical treatment before being taken to Costa Rica. From there, we travelled by bus to the capital and stayed there for three days. Afterwards, we continued to the border with Honduras and then started the next leg of our journey to Guatemala, which was very challenging because we had to crouch in the bus the whole time.

Did you not encounter any authorities or checkpoints while moving from one country to another?

Yes, we encountered checkpoints everywhere we went. When we reached Peru, I went to the immigration office and obtained a document. This document allowed me to travel through Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia.

When we arrived in Panama, we were able to continue without encountering any checkpoints. However, in Honduras, we were stopped at a checkpoint and initially turned away. We feared they might harm us, but in the end, they pardoned us and escorted us back. It took three hours before we could catch another bus. Once we reached Guatemala, we had to be extra cautious about the checkpoints. If we were caught, we would be turned back, so we found a way to bypass them.

In Guatemala, we had to crouch inside the bus to avoid detection, and eventually made it to the border with Mexico. From there, we crossed into Mexico, paying people along the way to help us. These assistants charged between $250 and $400. Our first stop in Mexico was Tapachula, where we had to get a year-long permit. Without this document, we couldn?t travel to another state. I waited a week to receive it. Once I had the permit, I was authorised to travel to a place called Agua Caliente, which is located about the same distance between Ibadan and Maiduguri in Nigeria. The name ?Agua Caliente? means ?hot water? in Spanish.

How did you know the meaning of Agua Caliente? Do you understand Spanish?

I understand Portuguese, and since Portuguese and Spanish are similar, I could figure out the meaning of many Spanish words.

What happened after you collected the document in Agua Caliente?

After obtaining the document in Agua Caliente, I continued towards the Mexican border with the United States in Texas, specifically Acu?a. When we arrived, the border patrol asked if we wanted to enter America, and we said yes. They took us onto their bus.

When you were asked if you wanted to enter America, weren?t you scared that the immigration officers were trying to trick you into arresting you?

We had been briefed about what to expect at each location before embarking on the journey. The orientation gave us the impression that they weren?t deceiving us, so when they asked, we answered truthfully, and they took us to a camp. We were kept in the camp for three days in freezing cold conditions. They gave us a duvet, but the food was basic, and we had to endure the harsh cold. After three days, I was called for a brief interview, during which I explained my situation. Following that, I was taken to a facility where people were detained. Before we were transferred, they handcuffed both our hands and legs and put us in prison clothes. That was when I started crying. I was taken to a facility in South Texas called Piazza Correctional Centre. After two months, I was moved to Michigan, where the conditions were still harsh, and the food was awful. I couldn?t bring myself to eat their meals.

Did you arrive in the United States with the three other people?

Yes, we arrived together, but we were separated at the camp. Eventually, everyone found their way. One person is now in America, while another is in Canada.

What happened when you were at Piazza?

At Piazza, I had another interview with a lawyer. I could hear the lawyer?s questions but didn?t see the interviewer. The lawyer wasn?t satisfied with my responses, and I received a negative assessment. I didn?t realise that their accent would be a barrier because I answered in English. The accent affected the way I was understood, and after the interview, the attorney overturned everything I had said.

Do you think you could have won if you had answered the questions in your native language instead of English?

If I had insisted on answering in my native language, they would have needed to find an interpreter. Usually, they would bid for one, and if they couldn?t find an interpreter by the interview date, the person would be considered to have passed with a positive assessment. Unfortunately, I messed up by using English.

What questions were you asked during the interview?

I can?t fully remember all the questions, but the main one was why I came to America. Some people had the chance to do the interview twice, but I only had it once. The second time I appeared was before a judge, and someone advised me not to use English but to request an interpreter. However, the judge insisted I use the same English as before, promising that he would treat me fairly. I didn?t realise that he was simply going to follow what had already been written down in the records.

How did you feel when you first entered the USA after such a long journey?

When I first arrived in America, I never expected a setback. I had hoped that, by the grace of God, I would succeed. However, things took a turn for the worse. I was moved from Piazza to Michigan, where I spent another two months. From there, I was taken to Virginia, Louisiana, and finally Dallas in Texas, before being deported back to Nigeria.

Can you share some of the experiences you had in prison?

It was a very tough experience, especially in Michigan, which was a facility for inmates with more serious offences. In Piazza, on the other hand, it was mostly people with minor offences. But no matter where we were, the conditions were harsh.

What reactions did you get from family and friends after your deportation?

When I arrived back in Nigeria, I had no money. My family was initially sad, but they were also grateful that I was alive. Only my wife, children, and brothers truly knew what had happened. My wife really tried her best, running around to help me.

Would you say that you regret the journey?

I can?t say I regret it because I was only trying to find a better life. To become someone in life, you need to make an effort, and I simply tried my luck. Unfortunately, it wasn?t successful. I spent a lot of money on the journey and endured a lot of hardship. After four years abroad, I lost most of my clients who used to call me for shows. Now, I?m trying to rebuild, but I need people?s support to get my career back on track. (Sunday PUNCH)

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