From Crossing Borders as a pilot to Crossing Borders as a writer.
If we had to pay for every dream we had as kids, a lot of us will still be indebted today. Whenever I reminisce about childhood, I can't help but laugh about some unrealistic dreams I had. Aside from being a kid that understood nothing about life, dreaming was free and I can dream as much as I can.
Dreaming was so cheap that I can wish to become a footballer today and something else the next day. Many of us didn't really know what we wanted out of life until a certain age and despite me changing my dream profession every now and then, there was a particular one that was stuck in my head.
As a kid, I lived at Mafoluko Oshodi (somewhere very close to the airport) and watching aeroplanes fly over our building was fascinating. I was really interested in planes because it baffles me how an object as big as that would fly in the sky without flapping wings like birds would do. Being curious made me want to be a pilot and as I grew, I discovered that it was one of the cool and high-paying professions in the world.
Whenever I told my peers, they were always like Pilots don't live long, what the plane crashed and other silly things but I wasn't bothered. This dream of mine was so intoxicating that I started putting captain before my name and it even became a nickname for some friends who love the profession.
I was passionate about becoming a pilot and at that point, I told my parents about it. My dad agreed to send me to an aviation school but when the time came, he didn't for reasons best known to him. It would cost a lot and mom couldn't do it alone so I checked other ways to achieve this but couldn't find one.
My environment wasn't the type with many scholars and it wasn't the smartphone era so I just stayed alert for any opportunity that came my way.
I accompanied my mom to the bank at Muritala International Airport then and luckily for me, I meet a pilot. He was so respected by the bank staff and it made me crave more for the profession. I sneaked away from mom presence and found myself standing face-to-face with the pilot.
"Good morning, sir" I greeted him and he attended to me pretty well.
I asked how to become a pilot without going to aviation school and he told me that he studied piloting abroad. I felt sad because travelling out wasn't an option except a miracle happened.
He advised that I join the Nigeria Air Force and that was perfect. I told Mom about it and applying for Airforce through the Nigeria Defense Academy was affordable, the form was between 3-5k then so I picked it up when it was on.
I studied hard but didn't make the list when the result was out and I didn't give up. I wrote the exam three times before my mom's uncle who was in the force told me that NDA requires having a strong connection in the government or force. A lot of people in power have slots in each state and at the end, they might choose only five out of thousands of applicants.
I eventually gave up and accepted that I wasn't meant to be a pilot. I felt very sad because finding out about NDA gave me hope and it vanished suddenly. With this passion, I would bring one of the best pilots Nigeria has produced but life happens.
Image from Canva
Although I didn't achieve the aim of flying around the world as a pilot I am doing that virtually. After all, I have been through in life, I eventually settled down to become a fish farmer and a writer even though I am not a professional yet.
Writing on different platforms since 2019 has taken me across the world and I have met a lot of people. I find so much comfort in writing and it doesn't make me regret much about not becoming a pilot because of how it has helped crossed borders virtually. Through Hive, I have met amazing people from the UK, USA, Pakistan, Spain, Indonesia, Australia and many more.
The feeling is different though, to be there physically is different from doing that virtually but I am happy doing what I am doing now which is what matters. Writing has given me wings to fly and being on Hive has taken my visit to other countries to another level.