The end of Biafra is a significant event that I want to cover. I take the first plane to Lagos. And as I do not have a visa, I slip into the delegation of the OAU (Organisation of African Unity) led by its Secretary General Diallo Telli and pass through immigration formalities without a hitch.

In Lagos, the authorities chartered a plane to take a hundred journalists to the former Biafra. But all the seats on the plane are already taken – the world press is here – and they are expensive. I am penniless and the advance on fees from Jeune Afrique has been exhausted.

Regardless, I still go to the airport with the other journalists and head towards the bridge of the plane, as if my name is on the list that an attendant is ticking. When it is my turn, he pretends to look at his list, then beckons to me to enter. Up till today, I still wonder why he did that? I learn that luck is earned.