A story of a certain view

For you, this might be another corny pose with bad lighting in front of an otherwise picturesque background.

For me, this view represents my 18 months of struggle for justice in front of Nigerian, Polish, and international courts and prosecutors.

I have just asked the driver to stop by the car park and was staring at this view for more than a couple minutes without any movement. The first time I did exactly the same was in 2014. I came to Cape Town while still living in Lagos, Nigeria. I stopped at this very spot and consumed the view. I knew at that moment that I belong to Cape Town, I belong to this mountain and it’s energy. I finally moved there in 2016.

In January 2018, the corrupt Nigerian Police, The Red Notice, and the abuse of Interpol happened. I spent a night in jail and after release, I was told that most likely I will never be able to leave Poland again. Never visit Africa again, where my life, my business, my heart was. My life collapsed and I had to rebuild it. The first thing I did after I moved to my new house in Warsaw (a house arrest if you will), where I was supposed to wait for the decision regarding my extradition to Nigeria, was to hang this printed photo of Camps Bay and 12 Apostles mountain above my bed. So it could give me the energy to get out of bed every morning to fight. I was also able to fall asleep looking at it, always keeping my eyes on the prize.

It’s June 2019. The Nigerian Justice System via the Nigerian Federal Court has admitted the wrongdoing of the Nigerian Police and stroke down all Nigerian arrest warrants. The Polish Justice via the Polish Prosecutor Office stroke down the extradition request. Finally, The Global Interpol’s Secretariat admitted the Red Notice should have never been issued in the first place and ordered its deletion from all member countries’ systems.

I’m back in my fav spot. Stronger than ever. Wiser too, I hope at least… When the black PR happened, I went through social detox, I learned the hard way who the hidden haters, and most importantly, who the real friends were. I’m also happier, calmer. I’m actually grateful for that Red Notice.

Cape Town, I’m back. The World, I’m back 🙂