Mr. Bepo’s passport had expired two years earlier, but since he was not keen on relocating at the time, he ignored it. Now that moving abroad was unavoidable, he had to renew it. He was reluctant because of the many stories he had heard about the new stressful process. Bribing an officer was an option, but that would cost him about two hundred thousand naira. Another option was to travel to a neighbouring state. He eventually chose Ibadan.

Although the law stated that passports could be renewed easily online or manually, he soon discovered that this was only true on paper. In reality, most people had to go through agents. He contacted an agent named Tai, who demanded one hundred thousand naira for a ten-year renewal instead of the official seventy thousand.

On his way to Ibadan, Bepo enjoyed the smooth journey, which reminded him of an excursion he once had with his students years ago that had taken much longer. Along the road, he observed the many churches and mosques and reflected on how Nigeria seemed to have many religious people but very few truly godly ones. He was also impressed by the growing number of businesses and admired the wide, beautiful Ibadan landscape, which reminded him of J.P. Clark’s famous poem Ibadan.

The next morning, he arrived early at the Immigration Office. To his surprise, Tai turned out not to be an immigration officer but a business centre operator working secretly with officials. Tai prepared his documents and handed them over to one of the officers. Within minutes, the officer validated them and told Bepo to return for data capturing in three weeks. Bepo was shocked at how fast it was, but the officer explained that this was exactly why he had paid extra. Grateful, Bepo gave him a small tip before leaving.