Chronicles of Sebastian - How a German Boy Ends up in Nigeria

Hiya everyone, last week I gave an introduction HERE to the new mid-week feature on 1 + The One about this guy who emailed me out of the blue some weeks back (the story itself is a testimony and I continuously give God all the glory!!)

Sebastian is a German guy who was an exchange student in Nigeria for 6months! He will be sharing some of the exciting, funny and interesting moments he had while he was here.. I hope you enjoy the read and please save all your questions for him, I'm sure he'll be happy to oblige :-)

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“Onyeocha!!!” This exclamation (meaning “white man” in Igbo) was either shouted (usually by children) or whispered (by adults) when I entered a remote village, a restaurant or a University classroom. People seemed astonished to see a young white student in their country, Nigeria. “Why did you choose to come to Nigeria?” was probably the question I got asked the most, straight after “How was your night?” and “How do you see the environment?” .

                             

In this ensuing blog series that Ayo graciously invited me to write, I’ll attempt to answer all of these questions and many more. In one of the many Nigerian choruses I’ve learnt to “Count my blessings one by one”, so rather than summarizing my experience in one single blog post, we will take on each topic and each blessing that I’ve received “one by one”. My goal is not to just write about myself, but to hopefully serve and help the readers of this blog with some personal and generals lessons that I’ve learnt along the way. 

Alright, without further ado, let us start with some of these questions. Concerning my night, I can join my Nigerian brothers in saying “We thank God” (I’ve learnt that this answer fits many questions!). Concerning to my coming to Nigeria, I need to explain a little more:

In Germany, I’m a student of both English and History, and in order to become a Secondary School teacher (I’m aware that this is not really the aspiration of most Nigerians, but don’t worry teaching has a slightly different reputation in Germany). Since all English students at my University are now required to go overseas for at least three months (unless they have a baby, which is not the case lol), I was forced to make a decision where to go. Going through the list of my university’s partner universities, I was surprised to find a university in Enugu-Nigeria. A few years ago I worked for nine months in Senegal and since then Africa 'had me'. 

Studying in Nigeria seemed liked an interesting idea, it offered me the opportunity to meet African students in a more natural environment, as opposed to the “helper-helped” hierarchy that volunteer work often brings along. 

So I’ve applied, prayed, got admission and now it was up to me to decide if I really wanted to go. I was not without doubts. A quick Google search on Nigeria presents you with all kinds of evil and dangers, be it Boko Haram in the North, kidnapping in the South or corruption everywhere. O yeah, I forgot to mention Malaria and all other kinds of tropical diseases. My parents were afraid my semester in Nigeria might be my last one and even some of my friends responded in amazement or disbelief when I told them about my plans. In hindsight, I’m glad back then God gave me the clarity and the courage to make my own decision to go to Nigeria nonetheless. I’m quite a people-pleaser and I know we’re to honor our parents, but I think part of growing up and maturity is, making a decision and stick to it, even despite opposition. 

Yet, making a decision does not really remove all your fears and worries. I was still wondering whether I will find friends over there, how my studies will be like etc… We Germans love certainty, we like to plan ahead and we like to sort out as many details as possible. One valuable lesson I’ve learnt in this process was that sometimes we just have to “to go for it” and trust God. 

There is always some level of uncertainty in life, whether you’re about to enter marriage, a new job or, as for me, travel to Nigeria. Prayer and remembering God’s faithfulness in the past definitely helped and gave me a deep sense of peace and confidence that it will be alright.
My five months in Nigeria have been so enriching, encouraging, “warm” (not just in terms of climate :-)) and plain funny, that I’m so glad God walked me through all my doubts and pushed me to go there. It was an adventure I’ll never forget. :)

In the upcoming posts, I will talk about certain aspects of Nigerian life, such as Nigerian Christianity, love and relationships in the context of Nigeria, Nigerian slang etc.. Next week we’re going to look at my impressions during my first weeks in Nigeria and how God helped me with His “small-small guidance”. If you have any special topics you want to hear my take on, please leave a comment below.

Sebastian aka Sabba Sabba

Thanks a lot Sabba Sabba! :-D

I hope you enjoyed reading and smiled at different points of the post like I did..

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May God guide us all every step of the way and give us the grace to make right decisions at every cross-road :-) xx