Nigeria was a very safe country at that time. Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo was the military ruler and an army was in full control of the security. People could move around freely at any time, even at midnight. There were armed robbery occasionally. If a robber is caught by the public, he would face mob justice. A tire necklace would be put around his neck, pour petrol on the tire and torched him. It was a very barbaric punishment. But that was the jungle law. Even today it is practiced in Nigeria. Elephant grass is grown wild in Cross River. In one month time the grass grows about five feet high. The students were to carry a machete (panga) along with their books to the school. It is their duty to cut the grass around the school compound, the football field and the area around the staff quarters using the panga. Workers hunt for grass cutter (rodent) when clearing the field for meat. In Nigeria people eat this meat due to its tenderness and delicious taste. Africans also eat fried insects like beetles, butterflies and moths, grasshoppers and crickets, and winged termites. They are packed with protein, fiber and good fats. They also eat stewed soya beans, and fried plantains. Dog meat was served in some restaurants.

One of the greatest local festival is the yam festival, which takes place in August to coincide with the end of the rainy season. The purpose of the festival is to thank the earth and the sky spirits for the good harvest. There will be lots of singing, dancing, drumming, eating yam fufu with soup and drinking palm wine. Before the festival they give offerings to the spirits of their ancestors with yam, chicken and wine. People will be camouflaging themselves as masquerades and will be dancing along a parade. Gari made out cassava is another staple food of Nigeria. Gari is a creamy-white, granular flour with a slightly fermented flavor and a slightly sour taste made from fermented, gelatinized fresh cassava tubers. Gari is soaked in hot water and consumed with vegetable or meat soup.

People from one tribe never trusted people from another tribe. Tribal markings called African tattoo is the permanent signature of each tribe. These are permanent facial markings initiated in the child's face at a very young age using a sharp ceremonial knife by cutting stripes on the face. They symbolize their heritage, tribe and clan, so that they are protected from kidnapping or killing. When people meet at a gathering it is customary that the host tastes the palm wine in front of everybody before it is served to show that the palm wine is not poisoned. It is also customary to feed the good and bad spirits by pouring little wine on the floor before it is served.

African burials are celebrations of lives well lived. According to their culture death is not an end to life, but only a transition to another world. There are no sorrow or sadness. But there is weeping, wailing and flaying of the bodies on the floor by the wife (wives) and other women relatives. There will be lavish entertainment arranged for the occasion. A lot of food, drinks, sodas and dancing goes on till the deceased is buried. This entertainment goes on for several days. There will be a masquerade who holds the spirit of the dead person. The dead are buried within the family compound so that he will be with the living. African burials are very expensive. A lot of money is raised for the burial. The people who visit the bereaved family contribute with drinks, yams, goats and money.

Harmattan season in Nigeria runs from December through February during the dry season. Harmattan winds blow from the northeast accompanied by a fine dust of sand from the Sahara. Harmattan winds bring higher temperatures, low humidity and a coating of fine, sandy particles as they travel across Cross River. It affects everybody, especially, the asthmatic patients. The visibility is poor during this period due to the dust storm. The skin, eyes and respiratory tract are most vulnerable to the effects of this weather. A lot of diseases are easily triggered due to this change in weather and people have to take a lot of care to protect them.

After six months I was made the Head of Dept. of Physics. I was also invited to teach Physics at the Federal Govt. College, Ogoja as a part time teacher in Physics. Every state had a Federal College under the Federal Govt. Mr. Igbe the Principal, was appointed as a board member in NNPC, Lagos and so he left the school. Mr. Adinya, a 1948 graduate from the Oxford University had replaced Mr. Igbe as the Principal. He held various political positions before he became the Principal of Mary Knoll.

While I began to explore Nigeria, a tragedy fell in my family. After joining Mary Knoll I send a letter to my father. He received the letter in time, read it again and again and went to sleep. The next day he had experienced a mild chest pain and developed it into a massive heart attack and passed away on the night of 7th January 1979 in the presence of my brothers Kochachen and Joymma. I got the information by post only after three weeks. An emptiness enveloped me. The feeling that I would not see him again to talk to him, to touch him and hug him had the most excruciating pain I had ever felt. That pain dripped into my heart, day by day and I was longing to visit his grave, to cry and to tell him, how much I loved him and narrate all my experiences in Nigeria. He was my role model, the pillar of my strength, the man who prayed silently for me all his life, a man who had found strength in darkness and poverty, a man of vision and saw the future and made everything possible for his children. After eighteen months I got my annual leave and went to India in July 1980.

Every day brought a new experience, every encounter was a phenomenon, every place was unique with rich culture, every tribe was diverse, every family was beautiful, every child brimmed with hope, every lesson was exploring, every student had high expectation and everything was a struggle. I enjoyed every bit of Nigerian life and loved every Nigerian I met.