Dash Saved Me – the saga of an African Dash activist
BM G NI left my home in Tamale, Ghana on 15th August, 2017 at about 5:00pm on an international trip to promote Dash, the eventual destination being Cameroon. I spent a total of about 27 hours in a public transport bus to reach Lagos, Nigeria after crossing three borders (Togo, Benin, and Nigeria). I was exhausted and spent the second night at the last border town, Badagri, Nigeria.At about 10am on 17 Aug., I arrived in Lagos where I headed to Ibadan for my first Dash speaking engagement, a workshop arranged by Nathaniel Luz (and dubbed as the Liberty Writers Workshop), which went off successfully. Already short on energy, I still had to make it to Ile-Ife, a town some 3 hours drive from Ibadan, to spend the night at O.A.University for the next event the following morning: the event attracted over 60 lively participants as Nigerian university students are enthusiastic in learning about Dash.For safety reasons I moved back to Ibadan where I lodged in the Ayotoz Hotel, directly opposite the University of Ibadan, from 18 Aug. until 24 Aug. to wait for my next cryptocurrency event. The hotel cost around 5 000 Naira (100Naira = 30 US cents) per night (without food) and left me broke, particularly after having had to bribe the Nigerian border guards to make it into Nigeria. But I had no option as Dash advocacy is my passion: it makes me happy because I know what Dash can offer my African community and I cannot imagine giving up on it. I started posting updates of my trip in the Dash Slack forum which earned me good tips of tokens and the generosity of members of the Dash network afforded me accommodation and meals in the Ayotoz Hotel for 5 nights, to await a promotional event which was then cancelled.It was then almost another week to the Cryptocurrency & Blockchain Weekend conference in Cameroon where I was due to speak on Dash for young African entrepreneurs. This time I could not bear relying on tips from the Dash network because I don’t believe in a “free lunch” and, since the 24th August event was cancelled, I considered myself to be in debt to the Dash community. I shared my heart-felt pain, and my aspirations for Dash, with Dash Force Mastermind and Dash Force came to my aid with 1 Dash. This took care of my stay in Nigeria for 24-29 Aug., but no longer in hotels: Lilian David, a great friend in Liberty, was kind enough to offer me accommodation in her house for the week.On 29 Aug. I left Lagos with two others for Cameroon, of which we were totally ignorant. I was first met with corrupt immigration officials in Nigeria’s Anambra State where I had to pay 10 000 Naira before I being allowed to continue my journey. On 30 Aug. l arrived at Ikom, the border town, and I was denied a pass into Cameroon on the pretext of me having no visa. Not only was I tormented by the freedom of movement within my own continent, but I had been advised by Ghanaian authorities, before my journey, to obtain a visa upon arrival in Cameroon and not before leaving Ghana or Nigeria.The corrupt officials had taken all my money and I was left with nothing, no airtime nor good network to talk to anyone online for help, and I was testy and hungry. I knew nobody in the town and I had to sleep at the border. Waking up the next day fresh, but weak, I was able to share my story with the Dash network and received support from members. I got into a hotel, refreshed myself, and had a good sleep. I was able to settle my bill by selling Dash tokens from the Dash network.On 31 Aug. I left Ikom for Lagos, after paying 6 500 Naira for my ticket. This time around, I kept most of my funds in Dash on my mobile wallet, knowing full well I was going to encounter more corrupt immigration officials on the road: I only kept 8 000 Naira in my pocket. After only a few minutes on the road, I was singled out as a foreigner and asked to pay another 10 000 Naira. I quickly told the officer to search me and take any funds he found: I was tired of them and just wanted to be free. He could only find the 8 000 Naira which he took and let me go.I was never really broke because I knew I had Dash to help me with secure funds, beyond the reach of corrupt hands, until I could finally board the plane to Tamale on the 4 September.