Aborted trip: Pathetic story of fortune seekers duped by travel agents

TIRED of having to strugg
l e
everyday to keep hunger
and poverty at bay, three
young men decided to take
their fate into their own hands
by seeking to relocate to Switzerland
in search of fortune or
the proverbial greener pastures.
They had reckoned that
on getting to this European
country, they would settle
down, pick up whatever available
jobs that would bring in
dollars or pounds which they
would subsequently repatriate
to their respective families. It
was a dream, beautiful as it
was comforting. But what they
did not reckon with
was having that
dream rudely aborted
through the
t r e a c h e r o u s
machination of some
dubious travel
agents.
But to actualise their
dream, they needed a
helper. So entered
Mr. Uchenna Ulojiofor
who volunteered
to link them up with
one Mr. Joshua, a
Switzerland based
business man, who, it
later emerged, had been running
a thriving business of
helping people to secure free
visa to Switzerland as long as
they were willing to help him
with his drug pushing
business.
Speaking with Vanguard
Metro, VM, Mr. Abumchukwu
Obiaguru, said: “ I was in the
village when Uchenna came
and said he wanted to help me
get visa to Switzerland at a
cheap rate. He explained he
was an agent to Mr. Joshua
and that everything I needed
had been provided. All that
was required of me was a token
amount of money to make up
the required amount for the
purchase of the flight ticket. I
ran around and was able to
raise N50,000
which I gave him.
Unknown to me, I
had kissed my money
goodbye. But believing
it was a genuine
deal at the time,
I called my best
friend and told him
about the whole arrangement
and also
advised him to try
and raise some
money for the same
purpose. In fact, I had
to lend him N20,000
because he was unable
to complete the
required sum of money.
“After paying the money into
Uchenna’s account, he told me
and others who equally paid to
find our way to Lagos because
that’s where we would take off
and as well as collect our visas. I
travelled with my friend from the
East to Lagos. We were happily
waiting for the day we would bid
Nigeria goodbye which never
came up till now.”
Also speaking, Mr. Maxwell
Ifemme said that it was his friend
who convinced him to buy into
the idea of travelling out of the
country. “Abumchuckwu came to
me and told me about the
planned trip to Switzerland.
Initially, I had mixed feelings
about it. But then, I also didn’t
want to miss out on a great
opportunity in case it turned out
to be genuine. I succumbed and
gave him the only money I had
and asked him to lend me the
rest. I promised to better the lives
of my mother and my siblings
as soon as I reached
Switzerland. Unfortunately, all
my hopes and plans have been
dashed in the mud.
“When we got to Lagos, we
called him(Uchenna) on phone
and reminded him about our
passports. He said that all the
passports were in his possession
and he would give them to us on
the day we would be travelling
out. So on the appointed day,
we all came to the place he told
us to come and waited for him.
We waited from morning till
evening to no avail as he didn’t
show up. I tried calling him but
he switched off his mobile
phone. We all went home that
day. But two days later, he called
us and informed that it was because
of Ebola that prevented
us from travelling.
Prevention from
travelling
Now Ebola has passed and he
kept on postponing the date.
And now, he’s nowhere to be
found and his two lines are not
available. The only option left to
us now is to report the matter to
the Police and have him arrested.
But the problem now is that we
don’t know where he ran away
to.”
For another of the victims, Mr.
Onyeka Mmadu: “I couldn’t
have been in this mess if I had
heeded my cousin’s advice. My
brother told me that it was not
possible to use such amount of
money to travel outside the
country. But I ignored his advice
because I thought he was
envious of my great opportunity
of hitting big money. If that guy
fails to show up to refund my
money, I will probably have to
commit suicide because I gave
away the entire amount that my
Oga used in settling me to start
my own business. And now the
money is gone. I don’t have
money to feed myself right now.
My cousin is now laughing and
calling me a fool. God save
Uchenna if I set my eyes on him.
He won’t be alive to tell the story
if I see him.”If that guy fails to refund my
money, I will probably have to commit suicide