By Owei Lakemfa
A dozen years ago when I first lodged at the prestigious Corinthia Hotel, Khartoum overlooking the confluence where the White Nile River and Blue Nile River are in eternal embrace, a waitress approached me. She was intrigued by my dressing and as such, could not place where I came from. I told her I was wearing a unique Nigerian dress. She told me I have a Nigerian brother working in the hotel who is always excited to meet Nigerians.
She gave me his name and the floor his office was located, and I checked him on my way downstairs. When I enquired about him, this Sudanese emerged from his office and when I introduced myself as a Nigerian, his face lit up. I told him he looks every inch a Sudanese. He said he was born Sudanese but that his father had migrated from Kano. As a Muslim trying to fulfil his religious vows to visit Mecca on a pilgrimage, his father had travelled by road to Sudan trying to reach Mecca. Unable to continue, he had settled in Sudan and raised a family. However, his father always told the children they were originally Nigerian.
