My America

By Deba Uwadiae

We were three kids dancing joyously to James Browns’ “Machine” song. The elderly, about five of them, were enjoying the “dancing competition” with great fun and excitement in their faces, cheering us on to keep rocking. The music came to an end, followed by clapping and more cheers. “You must go and dance in “America” for James Brown to know you,” one of the elderlies said to me, rubbing me on my head. It was my first time of hearing about a place called America, as one of the places over the seas. I was about five years old. But the picture of James Brown on the album, wearing the “afro hair” with tight fitting shirt and “labu” trousers as tagged, was capitative. The curiosity of a five years old!

Brother George, whose generosity we enjoyed in playing loud his music for us to enjoy, was a single man and one of the tenants in the two-story house with 12 rooms each on the three levels, and a room at the top of the building like a penthouse. There are other rooms at the side of the building, separate from the main building, making all 42 rooms in the house. We called the landlord, the Father Above. A generous man who will always come with gifts for the children of the tenants any time he came for his rent.

Over time, more tenants acquired record players and the “concerts” spread through other floors of the building. Then about three tenants bought television sets. In the evening, we will go to the room of anyone of them that is opened to the “public” and watch the movies. In one of the rooms, we watched the fight between one American, Muhammed Ali and another American, George Foreman. Then the American movies followed. The Wild, Wild West, Mission Impossible and others. More music and more sports. America of my childhood!

My interest in America became heightened when I became an athlete. I worked hard to get an opportunity to run in the Nigerian Olympic trials of 1988. My goal was winning the attention of the scouts and get a scholarship in any of the universities in the United States. I did the 800 meters but failed to qualify for a second round.

In 2011, I eventually arrived in America with my wife and three children on the Diversity Visa Program (Visa Lottery). The program provides for a class of immigrants known as “diversity immigrants” from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States.

We arrived at O’Hare Chicago Airport on June 7, 2011, and headed straight to Columbus, Ohio our destination to reside with our friend and his family. Columbus has become our home, Ohio our State and America our country after we became citizens in 2016.

I have witnessed more dancing, more sports and more experiences than I could imagine while living in Lagos, Nigeria hoping to come to “My America”.

Celebrating Joyce Beatty’s 10th Congressional Anniversary