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Pope John Paul II Arrives in Kumasi, Ghana-Part 2-Short

After this historic event, those same government officials put us on that cargo plane back to Accra, where the following day I photographed the Pope with Ghanaian President Dr. Hilla Limann. My two nights in Accra allowed me to stay with my good friend Kwame and his sister Rosie, whom I hadn’t seen since my Operation Crossroads Africa visit in ‘78, giving us a chance to catch up with our lives. Rosie was a warm and gentle soul who still lives in my heart!

Because the government flights saved me some money, I was able to give some to Kwame and Rosie; however, she would have preferred I’d brought her foodstuffs from Nigeria. Rosie didn’t know my situation and by living in Lagos, where food was plentiful, I had no knowledge of a food shortage in Ghana.

I wanted to but couldn’t hang around in Accra because Sunday Concord’s deadline had to be met. The following morning found myself at the bus station on the way back, Papal images on film and heading to my darkroom for processing, printing and cabling it to Ikeja before the deadline. Dele’s letter was still working its magic. We left early enough to avoid all border closings. Togo was a charm, Benin again, no problem. Now this is where my lesson of internationalism took place.

Upon arriving at the Nigerian border from Benin, I was told by the passengers to talk to the driver about re-entry into Nigeria. Here is where fear took place. What if I had done all of this work, taken this great risk and couldn’t get back into the country? Prayer once again became my good friend. I approached the driver, who said I should render him my passport, along with 20Naira and follow that path over there through the bush, where he’ll be waiting for me on the other side.

Faith had me in its pocket. My cameras were left on my seat, my passport was in his hand along with 20Naira and I was making my way through the bush, with hope in my heart. As fate would have it, as I emerged from the bushy path, there he was. The passengers greeted me with happiness, knowing Lagos wasn’t far from the border and we would all soon be home.

‘I learned that day that the borders were run by Africans who had an affinity for each other and that they viewed me as an African worthy of mobility through their countries.’

I was too happy to see Lagos. I dropped down at Igamu, grabbed a taxi to #4 Kalajayie Street, hit my darkroom, made my prints, and was off to Ikeja. Dele and Basil Okafor were there when I arrived. I spread the prints out on the boardroom table to smiling looks and acclaims of approval. When the Sunday Concord hit the streets, Dele had given me the front page and inside full-page spread. I even had a photograph published in the Daily Concord.

I had used my own money for the trip; however, the amount of photographs they purchased made up for my expenses, plus! Fear had to take a backseat to faith, hope, love and prayer as they became the primary forces behind this achievement. The Sunday Concord newspaper was highly read, so when people saw the spread, they also saw my name, ‘this was a good thing!’

Now, remember in the first line I said this was all about me, well I lied. Everyone is faced with ‘defining moments’ in their lives; choices to stay in their same, comfortable lane or take a chance (risks) and move their lives on to another, hopefully higher level. Failure only occurs when you give up; otherwise, it’s delayed success because its lessons allow you to correct your mistakes and move forward!

Frederick Douglass once said, “There is no progress without struggle,” or in the words of Moms Mabley, “If you always do what you always did, you will always get what you’ve always got!”

Take your pick!

Blessings!