Two Nigerian Passports, One Destiny.

Andrew and I chatted throughout the flight, at least almost. He is a graduate of medicine and surgery from university of Ibadan. He told me he hated everything about medicine but was forced into it by his domineering father and peer pressure. But he decided on a career change immediately after completing his compulsory national youth service, which he did at the General Hospital, Lagos.

His new career is in the financial services sector, banking to be precise. He had been working for five years in one of the new generation banks, with ‘trust’ as their middle name before he finally decided to 'check out' and leave Nigeria for good. On the few occasions that we weren’t talking and left to our own thoughts, I could not help liking this young man.

Out of curiosity, I asked him what he intends to do when he gets to London and if he has documents for securing a job. He looked at me straight in the eyes and said he has no clue what he is getting himself into but is determined to succeed anyhow.

Then, in a flash, he fetched his hand luggage, placed it on his laps and brought out two Nigerian passports. I was shocked but didn’t show it. He gave them to me and told me to go through them. I did and found that the passports are genuine; both have his photograph and almost the same details, except the date of birth. One of the passports is the correct travel document for that virgin flight and has two-year class-c visiting visa to United Kingdom. The other one is plain with no visa. I gave them back to him and asked what the second passport is meant for?

He explained that one of his friends or contacts in London told him to bring a second passport that will hold the work permit that is to be arranged for him. I quickly pointed out that if his luggage is searched by immigration officials and the passport is picked out, he will be in serious trouble. He said he is fully aware of the risk but has no other choice. At that point, I knew I must stay clear from him once we are in London. He put the second passport back in an envelope and neatly tucked it inside the pocket of a pair of trousers at the bottom of his hand luggage but kept his travel passport in the breast pocket of his shirt.
Our plane landed safely in Heathrow at about 05.30pm. As we queued up for immigration formalities, I quietly dropped behind in the queue by allowing a woman and her three kids to come between me and Andrew. There was tension all over his face.