Home Is Where The Heart Is

It’s Sunday afternoon. Olukunle Elukanlo is still in a dream world. Back from what might be euphemistically described as an unplanned trip to Nigeria, he can scarcely believe the weekend he’s just had.

Since his return to Ireland late on Friday morning, the shy twenty year old has been the subject of an intense level of media interest, culminating in an appearance on The Late Late Show only hours after he arrived in Dublin Airport. He’s also been celebrating. In fact, the weekend has been one endless party – and by now he’s understandably knackered.
“I’m wrecked, really wrecked,” he says. “I haven’t been back to my house yet. I’ve had to stay with friends the last couple of days because some people were disturbing me, wanting to catch up, talk and party. They won’t let me sleep! I have to sleep (laughs). Fucking hell, it’s mad. Even last night, after the party, they brought me out to a club. I was like – let me sleep! I think I’m going to have to run away from all my friends now, to get away from the celebrations.”
He collapses with laughter.
Two days back, however, and Kunle is still overwhelmed by the rapturous welcome he received at Dublin Airport. It’s a lot different from the way he felt on his initial arrival here, three years ago. At the time, he believed that he had landed in the US. Until then, he had never been outside Nigeria; he was smuggled out of the country, destination unknown and ended up in Dublin. Many asylum seekers will be familiar with the experience of being swept up on a random shore, completely uncertain what the future might hold. His return was different, like the beginning of a new life that holds much more in terms of hopes than fears.
“I will never forget that day. Oh man, I couldn’t believe the reception,” he says, a hint of Dublin flowing through his accent – and his expressions. “I was thinking ‘what the fuck is all this, man’. There were three, maybe four fucking hundred people there. You know what I mean?
“The media, as well, man. They were fucking killing each other to take my picture! To take a picture of me! I couldn’t get over that. I was really really shocked.
“On the flight back I just kept saying to myself ‘I’m going back, I’m going home’. I thought alright that a few of my friends would be there but that that would be it. When I walked out, I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe it.”
He is grateful to all his friends and fellow students, who worked so hard to secure his return. “When I was first deported and arrived in Nigeria, they rang me and said ‘Kunle we miss you and we are going to try our best to get you back’. That’s what they did. They were great and I thank God for what they did. They had strength, and gave me hope. They were fantastic. I was so happy and chuffed to hear I was coming back. I thought I was dreaming.”
His deportation is not something he wants to talk about. He says he was treated well by the Irish authorities, in that he co-operated without any fuss, when they told him he was being sent back to Nigeria. He is conscious that all eyes are on him. He doesn’t want to say anything which might anger the Government or draw unwanted attention. In order to remain in Ireland, he feels he needs to keep his head down and stay out of trouble.
“Everyone wants to talk to me and get me to help other people in my position by protesting for a change to Ireland’s asylum policy. I don’t want to get too involved though. The government are watching me now. I have to take things easy and not do anything stupid. It’s not like I don’t want to help the campaign. It’s just that I want to give those in power time to think. I know that the Minister for Justice will be worried about the press. I don’t want to annoy him now. He has been good to me and I am grateful. I just want to keep my head down and get on with my studies.”
Kunle says that he would like to meet with Minister McDowell. He would like to thank him – and perhaps to discuss some of the issues that his story has raised about Ireland’s deportation policy.
“I hope I can meet the Minister,” he says. “I want him to meet me so he can hear my story. I’d be very very happy to talk with him and to thank him. That’s what I’d like. Everything is up to him. I think that this world is a free world and I think that if you are in a country for a long period, which is going well for you, I think they should allow you to stay. Once you have no criminal record and are a good person, you should at least be considered to stay.
“I was so surprised at the time I was deported. I felt it shouldn’t happen to me because I had done no wrong. I just wanted to study and work. The Government should not treat people like that. They should give us a chance. That is all we want in life. Some people just want to work, just want to help the country and themselves. The Minister needs some time himself to think over things. He could change his mind about deportations and immigration if people allow him to have time to think. We don’t have to pressurise him.”
Last Monday, three days after his return, Kunle’s life got back to some sort of normality. He went into school for half a day, to thank the students of Palmerstown Community School before going to the Garda National Immigration Bureau to collect his six month visa. Now he has to get his head down to study for the Leaving Cert. As Pat Kenny noted on The Late Late Show, Kunle must be the only student in Ireland looking forward to the exams.
“That’s true,” he laughs. “I just want to move on in my life. I’d like to go to college, perhaps to study something related to the construction industry. It all depends on money, though. I’ll have to work for a while and save money to go to college.”
This is another barrier Kunle faces. Non-nationals are not eligible for ‘free’ third-level education. Kunle isn’t concerned by such potential future difficulties.
“At least I’m back,” he says looking at things as positively as ever. “At least I am here and am in the position to talk about having a chance to go to further education. I’m so happy. I thank everybody. I love the people of Ireland. Ireland is my home. It is in my heart now. Thank you all.”b