Man recalls traveling from Lagos seaport to Spain in ship engine
A Nigerian man has opened up about his harrowing journey from Lagos to Spain in 1997, during which he and 19 others hid inside a ship’s engine room.
The emotional confession, shared in a TikTok video posted by user @yomilistens, recounts how seven of the travelers died during the voyage and were thrown overboard to avoid detection.
The man, identified as Mr. David, said his journey began after an engineer working on a ship offered to smuggle 20 people to Europe for $1,000 each.
Desperate for a better life, they raised the money and boarded the vessel, surviving on Agege bread and sachet water for over a month.
“I spent one month and three weeks inside that ship, from Lagos to Barcelona seaport. Seven of us died. They threw the bodies into the water so the ship’s crew wouldn’t find out,” he said.
Mr. David revealed that his first regret in life was not attending a higher institution. He explained that during his youth, his father, a wealthy fisherman in Port Harcourt, insisted that only one of his sons would go to school while the other learned a trade. David chose to forfeit his chance at schooling so his brother could attend.
“I don’t know why my dad did that. He had the means—five speedboats, canoes, and was supplying fresh fish to the biggest hotel in Port Harcourt. Yet, he denied me education,” he said.
His second regret, he said, was returning to Nigeria after making it to Spain. After arriving in Barcelona, the group scattered, and Mr. David found shelter with a kind Spanish family.
However, he was eventually caught and deported when he visited a Nigerian restaurant that was raided by authorities.
“I was the reason I got caught. I saw a Nigerian guy and asked him where I could get Nigerian food. The day I followed him to the restaurant, immigration raided the place. I was arrested, taken to the Nigerian embassy, prosecuted, and deported.”
Upon returning to Nigeria, he used his remaining money to start a small aluminum business, which he still runs today.
In addition to his regrets about education and returning to Nigeria, Mr. David also shared his heartbreak over not having a male child.
He said doctors later confirmed he was impotent and could no longer father children.
“I’ve tried. Women are important, but not having a son is my third regret,” he said. “One thing that still brings me joy is that I’ve stopped drinking.”
WATCH VIDEO:
I only asked for one, but Mr. David opened up with three regrets that still weigh heavily on his heart to this day.
