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I'm 26 years old and last year after graduating from one of the Polytechnics in Nigeria, I couldn't get a job.I needed to travel out of the country to better my life of that of my family.I planned on going to Turkey but fell into the hands of dupes who gave me fake documents and I was thrown out of the Turkish embassy during my interview and almost got arrested.

Standing outside, I met an old acquaintance,a young guy I met through a mutual friend. I found myself telling him about my plight and how I had been duped into paying for fake documents.I told him how my dad sold his plot of land to ensure I traveled.How was I going to tell them their money went down the drain?

He then told me the best thing was to tell them I got the visa , so when my dad sends money for my flight ticket, I use it to go to Malaysia.He said he had an agent who would help me and also give me a job once I get there.He said several guys had gone to Malaysia too.

I told my excited parents that I got the Visa and would need money for my flight. I raised 600 thousand naira which was sent to the agent I had never met and was given a 1 month visa . I got to Malaysia expecting to see the agent but never did. It was 3 weeks, no job,and paying my hotel bill, I had exhausted all my money.The so-called agent I had been calling suddenly switched off his phone. It was one week to the expiration of my visa.

So I decided to step-out and find other Nigerians who could help me.I was unsuccessful as the two guys I knew way back in Nigeria were club bouncers and had no connections.Was shocked because they claimed to be big boys.

I was on my way back from one of my unsuccessful outings.I was wondering what to do when a short Indian man intercepted me."Hello my friend you looking for a job? I have a job for you.How will you like to earn 3 thousand dollars a month ? I was speechless"" He told me '"Lets go and have a drink and talk about it"

I was so happy..He took me to a spot not far from where we met.It was like a private house and I saw two other Black boys who the man introduced me to saying they were also beneficiaries of the job.I was just about to ask what the job was when a waiter brought me a drink and he told me to give him a minute to bring papers which would show me my job description.

I don't know what happened next .I found myself in an uncompleted building.I was confused at first and felt i was dreaming.But the cold was unbearable to be a mere dream and the sharp pain on the side of my belly was too intense to be real .I saw my shoes on the floor .I was confused. How did I get here? What about the job? Did I loose my chance by getting too drunk? Then I recalled I didn't drink alcohol.

I decided to put on my shoes when I noticed my legs were so swollen my shoes didn't size me anymore..

I left the place with no money in my pocket, didn't even know where I was.I tried to ask some Arabs to help but noone even listened to me. As I kept walking, I saw 2 security men and walked up to them.They were Nigerians and after telling them about my plight, they took pity on me and asked me to sleep in the factory where they worked for the night .They gave me some pain killers to relieve me.But advised me to go for a test the next day. The next day I told them I had no money to even go for a checkup and I was probably going to be deported as I had just one week for my visa to expire.

The elderly one told me there was a job opening as a life guard at some private beach. I couldn't be more grateful.

I took up the job but the reoccurring belly ache which I kept suppressing with pain killers was getting more intense.

Then after rescuing someone who almost drowned, the intense stress which accompanied that made me fall ill.And after several tests, they couldn't ascertain what was wrong with me.I had used up all the little money I earned from my job as a life guard and I had no option but to give myself up to the authorities so I could be deported since I couldn't pay for my flight ticket .

I returned to Nigeria seriously ill and my parents took me from one hospital to the other and they couldn't detect what was wrong with me.We went to several prayer houses even very popular miracle pastors who claimed it was evil people from my village chasing me.Destiny killers they said.I was ordered to fast for 21 days and four days later I collapsed .

Then my father ran into an old classmate who owned a hospital.He told him about my plight and he told my dad to bring me over.

He ordered a full scan to be run on me and while I was alone, he came to me and said" Young man, why did you have one of your kidney's removed?" I was shocked 'My Kidney? Sir I don't get". He smiled"At least if you want to have your kidney removed, do it well.You must have earned a few millions from it so what did you do with the money ? Why didn't you treat yourself properly?"""

I was confused and i insisted i knew nothing and he showed me the scan.Yes one kidney was missing.He also said the closure was perfectly done and skin was used to cover up the stitch.He said only Indians did such perfect cover-ups.After insisting there was a mistake somewhere ,the doctor said the fact was one of my kidneys was removed and he told me the dangers of selling my kidney which many Nigerian youths do these days to make quick cash

I was in tears and I told him I didn't know what he was talking about then I recalled the Indian man I met who told me he had a job for me .

It hit me that that man had me drugged and took me to an unknown place and had my kidney removed and then dumped me in that building.

Now I'm a 26 year old man who put my parents through hell and I'm now living on one kidney and very ill.I keep hoping this one doesn't develop a problem .I want youths to be careful of where they go to and who they interact with.I just found-out its a cartel and several African jobless youths have been trapped and have their kidneys removed without their knowledge ..

Somewhere ,someone is living on my kidney not knowing it was stolen....I wish that person well..It's a wicked world..

She has made a name for herself in the yoruba movie industry.Iyabo Ojo is one of the ladies who brought glamour to yoruba movies.The 35 year old mother of two,through Bimbo Akintola and Keppy Ekpeyoung was able to join Nollywood in 1998 and since then she hasn't looked back.She has risen to the peak of her career going on to become a movie writer and a producer.

Do you agree with those who say English Nollywood is superior to Yoruba Nollywood?
No. Never.
But people seem to prefer English Nollywood.
Yes, the English sector might be preferred because we do Yoruba and they do English that cuts across every other language, Hausa, Ibo, Efik. But we are promoting our own dialect.
And I assure you it’s more difficult to act in Yoruba because English is a general language that you can speak easily while it’s not easy to speak Yoruba because it is deep, broad and wide. So I don’t believe they are superior to us because we’re also comfortable. Not everybody is doing well here but not everybody is doing well over there too. Yoruba movies have stepped up. We shoot with a lot of glamour now.
The only difference is the language. Different people, Ibo, Hausa, Calabar even tell me that they appreciate watching Yoruba movies because it’s our own thing.
Have you achieved the goals you set yourself as an actress?
When I joined Actors Guild of Nigeria in 1998 through Bimbo Akintola who actually brought me into the industry, my goal then was to become a very big actress, a popular figure, go round, cut across, go foreign, every actress wants to grow big and win an Oscar.
But later, when I left acting and came back in 2001, I just wanted to be a producer. So I joined Odunfa Caucus in order to become a Yoruba movie producer. But along the line, people were like, Iyabo, you can act now.
But I said I just wanted to be a producer. And they said it goes both ways. Then, my Yoruba was not that good, and I was wondering how I could cope with speaking Yoruba.
Why was your Yoruba not good when you’re a Yoruba girl?
I grew up with my grandmother who is Ibo. Though I don’t speak Ibo, I understand bits and pieces of it. My upbringing was basically speaking in English. I only learnt Yoruba in secondary school. So I didn’t understand Yoruba deeply. But when God says something will be yours, it certainly will be.
Because when I came back into the industry, those I knew in Actors Guild of Nigeria were all in the East, movies were being shot in Enugu, and I didn’t know many people before I left, so it was difficult for me to get roles.
I would go to auditions and get no role or just get a waka-pass that I knew I was bigger than. I couldn’t have the patience and I decided, let me go to where I can learn to produce my own movies, because then I had my salon and a boutique, a video club and other things fetching me money. I was travelling to Dubai to buy goods so I had money to do my own movie but I didn’t want to do just any movie.
How did you get the capital to start your businesses?
My father died and left me some capital that I invested. So Odunfa Caucus used me in one or two movies. Then I met Muka Ray and told him I wanted to be a producer and he also told me to get the fame from acting first. So he started using me in most of his movies.
Did he pay you, because we hear that most of you act free, especially when you are just coming up?
Yes he did, but not as much as we’re getting paid now. Finally, I started producing my own movies in 2004.
So you’ve achieved your goals?
I haven’t really achieved them. I still have a dream that is bigger than me and I hope to achieve it in time. I’m very patient about it. Our market is not that good, piracy is really killing us. We spend a lot of money to produce movies that we don’t make money from because piracy doesn’t allow the marketers to buy them like they are supposed to. When you produce a movie with N2m, you’re supposed to make like double that money, but at the end of the day, you don’t make up to one-third of it. So that’s the only problem I’m having.
Why is there always juju in Nigerian movies?
Juju is part of our culture. It’s something that exists and people should not run away from it because it’s real.
If you were a man and your wife is on location for five weeks, how would you feel?
No. No. We don’t do five weeks. You cannot do five weeks without coming home.
Okay. Two weeks? Three weeks?
Maybe I’m different. I don’t know about other people, but for me, acting is not a door- die affair. And I’m not too carried away by it. And I don’t believe I have to be in every job. I take time out. If I go on location, I spend a week, come back home, and I won’t take another job for another week or two. That’s how I do it. I’ve never been out of my house for two weeks. It’s never happened.

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