“The US Was Expensive And Didn’t Seem Like A Safe Or Healthy Place For Us”-Couple Shares Reasons They Left America For Nigeria With Five Children

A couple; Pablo Segun and Aanu, popularly known on social media as Familia PablAnu, speak with AYOOLA OLASUPO about their love story, their relocation to Nigeria, and how the move has brought them closer to their culture, family, and identity after years of searching for a sustainable life abroad.

Tell us about yourself.

My name is Pablo Segun. I was born and raised in the United States. I studied in Spain and became a professor, teaching Spanish-language linguistics for almost a decade.

What part of Nigeria are you currently based in?

We’re based in Ondo State, South-West Nigeria.

How did you and your wife, Aanu, meet?

When I met Aanu, I was teaching. We have five children together and have experienced a lot in the US, which led us to look for other ways of living and places where our children could thrive. The US was expensive and didn’t seem like a safe or healthy place for us. We wanted a sustainable life with more time for our children.

We didn’t want to only work, work, and work. I also had colleagues from Africa, including Tanzania and Nigeria, who told me that farming was their side job, even after earning PhDs in the US. That aligned with what we wanted, so we looked at East Africa and eventually went to Uganda.

We wanted to settle there, but finding land was difficult. While working on that, we decided to make a film, ‘My Love from Another Land’, our first feature film. We wrote, produced, and acted in it. It was Aanu’s idea, and we connected with a filmmaker in Uganda who helped us develop and produce it.

We later visited Nigeria. For me, it was a great experience finally coming to the continent and trying to assimilate into the culture.

What made you believe that the relationship could become something lasting?

We met in the same university town where Aanu had completed her professional degree. She was working, and I was teaching at the university. We met at a social gathering, and I was a bit shy. I wanted to talk to her but didn’t know how to approach her.

She was with an older woman who called me over and asked who I was. I said, “Yes, ma’am,” because in my culture, when an older person calls you, you come. I sat down and learnt that Aanu was from Nigeria. I asked, “Are you from Lagos?” She smiled, then her face fell when she heard how I pronounced Lagos. She said, “You mean Lagos?” I had never heard it pronounced that way.

I wanted to see her again, but I had to leave for Mexico for the summer. Unfortunately, I forgot to get her number. I spent the whole summer thinking about her and wondering if I would ever see her again. When I returned, I thought she was gone, but she showed up at another gathering.

I tried to play it cool. When she walked in, she lit up the room. It was like a bright light had come in. We started talking again, and I invited her somewhere. She said she couldn’t come because she was slaughtering a rooster for soup.

I thought she was a city girl, very prim and proper, so I was surprised. She even sent me a photograph. I had never talked to my mother about girls before, but when she was visiting, I told her, “Mum, you’ve got to meet this girl. This girl’s amazing.”

As I got to know Aanu, I wanted to do things properly. I knew she was living away from her family, so I asked for her father’s number so I could help her with things like airport rides and be an extra pair of eyes. She was hesitant, so I couldn’t get his number.

As we got closer, I told her I didn’t want to play around. After a few months, I knew she was the one I wanted to be with. I proposed, and we got married about six months later. It was roughly one year from when we first met to our wedding.

How many years have you been married to her?

We’ve been married for almost 10 years, and we now have five children.

Source: Punch

Email: elora.akpotosevbe@yahoo.com