Dubai, and the Making of a Dream

Introduction.

As originally written, this essay was more than ten pages. I abridged it a few days ago for my Facebook audience, following some disturbing videos that were trending in social media at the time. One of them was a video showing the son of a former Governor, frolicking in absurd opulence in Dubai, UAE. And a few days earlier, there was another video showing the invasion by the Police Force of an apartment that belongs to a Nigerian student in Europe. In the video, every locked cabin that was opened by the Police was filled with Dollars and Pounds. These two developments gave life to the essay that you are about to read. Please, if in the beginning, the story appears to you as if it is my story or a reenactment of my background, rest assured that it is not. My background is merely a catalyst - it creates the urge and excitement in him to share with me the reasons for his mission to the United States of America and the future he was asked to bring to fruition with three blank checks (cheques) he got from the head of his Kingdom. But for his intense and enthusiastic interest in who I am, where I am coming from, and where I am going, his story would not have been told, his disclosure would not have been made, and this essay would have been written. (I apologize for the passive tenses). 

My Accidental Accounter with the Man Who was About to Change the World of Hospitality and Property Development in the Middle-East.

Like most Nigerians who came to the U.S. in the 70s, 80s, 90s, and early 2000, I drove Taxi. Yes, I did. And in the process of doing that, I came across so many different characters. Some with great appeals, like the gentleman I am writing about, and some, just like regular folks.

I picked him up at Logan Airport in Boston on a Sunday evening, and his destination was Hotel XYZ in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Why Cambridge, and not Boston? I asked myself. Unless, of course, he has some business around the Harvard Yard, or visiting a family member on campus. Anyway, I didn't ask him any question.

The moment he sat down, he asked me the usual question. "Where are you from originally?" I told him, Africa. That answer was deliberate. The enlightened ones would say, please, Africa is a continent. Where in Africa exactly? Most of them would simply ask, "how is it over there?" Or, "how long have you been in the States?" Or, "do you like it here?" That's how you distinguish the knowledgeable folks from the morbidly domesticated ones.

My passenger was different. It started as a discussion, then it metamorphosed into an interview - an inquisition kind of. And it ended as a friendly dialogue.

"You must be a Nigerian," he declared. And I replied, yes, I am a Nigerian. "I have met a lot of Nigerians. You guys are very smart." He added. 

Then, he asked me, "how long have you been in the States or driving a Taxi." I told him not quite long. Then he asked 'what have you been doing before then." I told him that I was working in the IT sector as a Desktop Support and Network Analyst during the Dot Come boom. He asks, "where did you learn that?" I replied, "here in the US." The Windows NT stuff, he asked. And I replied, yes. I took the class for about eleven months and later got the certification - MCSE.

His next question was, "why are you driving a Taxi and not working in the IT sector?" I told him I was, but now I am back in School full-time. Driving Taxi offers me flexibility because of my classes.

"You are in School as a full-time student, and driving a Taxi at the same time?" He asked, and I replied yes - Friday, Saturday and Sunday. "Most immigrants in the U.S. do that," I added.  "Besides, I need extra income to support some of my family members at home, my student loan is strictly for my education."

Which school, he asked? Harvard University. "And what are you studying? I am doing a graduate program in Administration and Management. I responded. "So, you're very familiar with where we are going," he said. "Yes, I do. Cambridge is my territory," I replied.

He paused for some times and didn't say a word.

Then, he asked, "but you said earlier that you came to the US about four years ago, meaning you have gotten your bachelor degree in Nigeria, given that this is a Masters level program you're doing." I replied yes. "What did you study in Nigeria?" He asked. I told him Law. "You are a Lawyer?" I said yes. "You mean you are a lawyer in Nigeria? "Yes," I replied again. And you are a Certified System Engineer in America, and presently undertaking a graduate program at Harvard?" I told him, correct.

He followed up by asking, why Admin and Management and not Law, your original field. I told him Lawyers all over the world, most often, have difficulties working with numbers. Besides, the majority of them cannot distinguish a Balance Sheet from an Income Statement. If my goal is to head an organization or institutions, I should at least be conversant with basic Accounting and Financial terms or principles. He didn't ask a follow-up question.

After a long pause, his next question took me by surprise: "Alex, would you like to work in the Middle East?" I said nope. The answer came unforced. Why? He asked me. 'It has never crossed my mind to work outside of Nigeria or the U.S. My focus has always been to go back home and help to manage the affairs of my country, and that is the reason I went for Administration and Management." I declared emphatically as if the answer was rehearsed.

He said, you know, "I think it is providence that brought the two of us together this evening. Your story is very compelling, your dream or ambition is closely related to the journey that brought me here to the United States."

He continued, here I am in America, to meet with some Consultants and Professors within the Harvard community, and the driver who picks me up at the airport is a part of the Harvard institutions, preparing for the journey I have begun. And I jokingly said, that means it is a good start for you. He said that's precisely what's on my mind. And then, he opened up.

He said, Alex, I am from the United Arab Emirate, as I told you earlier. And my King gave me three Blanck Checks. He paused and asked, "you know the meaning of a blank check, right, and its implications?" I told him of course I do.

Then, he went on. "One of the Checks is to bring Harvard to my country. What do you mean by bringing Harvard to your country? I asked. In every respect imaginable - reputation, prestige, academics/programs, lecturers, just name it - everything about Harvard, I want to replicate it in my country." You want to build a University in the magnitude and reputation of Harvard, you mean? I asked. And he replied, correct.

And I said, "in that case, your children will no longer be coming to Harvard." He said no, that's not the competition we intended. We are not building it for our children or to compete with Harvard. Our goal is to extend the Harvard culture to the rest of the world, especially those applicants who cannot secure a visa to the US or afford the exorbitant fees reputed of Harvard.

The Second Check, he said. is to build hospitals, ten times the size of your Hospital District on Longwood and Brookline Aves in Boston. Hearing that, I matched my breaks and looked back at him. In my mind, I said, in your dream.

Then, I repeat, "ten times the size of ..." And he replied yes. At that point, I began to count the hospitals, Harvard Medical School, Harvard Dental School, Brigham and Women, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, he interjected, and name the rest hospitals for me. And I said, you mean, you want to build ten times, the size of all of them combined? He said, exactly.

What about the third Check? I asked. A BRAND NEW CITY He responded, enthusiastically.

You want to build a brand new city? I asked him. He said yes. "Something the World has never seen before. It will come in stages, but it will change the World in terms of architectural marvel, Hospitality, Medical facilities, Shopping Malls, Property Development, name it."

We arrived at his hotel, and I parked my vehicle. He was still taking. And I realized that he was not in a hurry to say goodbye. So we continued chatting.

You are not an Engineer, I asked. He said, correct, I am not an Engineer. You want to build a University, the size and reputation of Harvard. You want to develop a Hospital District, ten times the size of the Hospital district in Boston. And you want to Build a brand new city from scratch. How? I asked.

And he said. I don't have to be an Engineer to execute the projects. And that is the reason I am here - to meet with your Professors and Consultants.

"I am creating a diverse pool of talents and experts of various fields, that would ensure the sustainability of the project during completion and after completion, he told me. (At that point in my academic career, I was not conversant with the concept of sustainable development, until I got to the University of Denver, Colorado for my LL.M in Energy and Environmental Law and Policy about seven years later). So, I didn't ask a follow-up question.

And he continued, "we are ready to acquire the best brains anywhere in the world, convinced that the investments will pay off handsomely in no time."

Not done yet, I asked, "you have three blank checks, without a budget, in other words, the issue of accountability is ..." He interrupted me before I could complete my question or say the word "mute." Typical Nigerian; my mind was on corruption and squandering of riches.

He said, my friend, "accountability is not the issue, focus on the task ahead ... the project to execute. That is my concern ... and that's my budget. The absence of a demarcated fund is irrelevant. My focus is on accomplishing the imaginations of the one who gave me the checks.

Hearing that, I said, you have the wealth, why not create in your country something better and richer in content down what you gravitate to overseas. He said, exactly. 'You wouldn't want to fail if you are trusted with such an assignment." That is what the dream of Dubai is about. And that's my principal reason for writing this essay.

The more he talks and dissect numbers and statistics, the more he appears stupefying. To me, it was more of a utopia - an Eldorado - a picture that he was painting.

What about Medical Doctors and Technical Expertise. I asked. Least of my concerns, Alex. There are millions of qualified Medical Doctors and Scientists all over the world who are not fully engaged, he added. 

This dude has ready answers to all my questions, I said to myself.

Looking at the wristwatch on his hand, I asked, "why didn't you take a Limo from the Airport?" He smiled and said, It didn't cross my mind. At that point, both of us started laughing. I used the term earlier in the discussion when he asked me if I would like to work in the Middle-East.

Then, he added, "I would not have met you if I had taken a Limo. It is like you and I have known each other for years. You're one of the most exciting guys I have met in recent times."

He grabbed my hand firmly and said, my friend, if you change your mind, let's meet here tomorrow at about 1 p.m. for lunch. I like your confidence, and I would like to work with you, he added. And I said thank you, adding, the feeling is mutual. I released my hand, knowing in my mind that I won't honor his invitation. We shook hands again, and I drove off. Working in the Middle-East at the time was the last thing on my mind. There is no way I could have fathomed the magnitude of his mission and the possibility of their realization. 

Looking at him, tall, handsome; he was like about four years older than me - meaning he was in his early 40s at the time. There were no traces of wealth or aristocracy about him. Yes, he took a Taxi and not a Limo. He was sitting on top of Billions of Dollars, ready to change the World, yet, he was very comfortable in the company of a graduate student, who is driving a Taxi on the side, and only dreaming and hoping of an opportunity to join hands in the development of his country. Yet, and yet he was excited, friendly, happy sharing with me, his visions and the future his Kingdom beckons on him to make real.

In less than a year after our meeting, stories and pictures and videos of a new wonder on earth happening somewhere in the Middle-East started flooding the local and international news media. The most stupefying one was of a community like the shape of a palm tree created out of the water. Each time I read or see pictures of the developing wonders at UAE, I would just smile and say to myself, wao, he told me all these, and he has accomplished them. "I want to bring Harvard to my country," was his opening line. And I will never forget that declaration. He was a man on a mission - "the project is my budget, the absence of a demarcated fund is irrelevant." He told me. And he did. And the whole World is made richer. 

I am not going to write any conclusion. I want you to do that for yourself in light of the numerous Dollars and Pounds Nigerian politicians are stock-pilling at uncompleted buildings, sewage, and cabinets all over Lagos, Abuja, and Kaduna. And I would also like to draw your attention to what Yakubu Gowon said a few years after the civil war, to wit, our primary problem is not how to generate revenues, but how to spend it. Friends, that problem still persists today. The profligacy of the children of our Governors, President, and influential political leaders attest to that. The UAE is now bringing the whole World into its homeland, instead of chasing and squandering their wealth on expensive items and exotic properties overseas as was the culture about twenty years ago. Thank you.