David Nwamini was working at a market in Lagos when he was given the chance to start anew in the UK. He had no idea what was expected of him in return
• The summer issue of the Long Read magazine is out now. Click here to order
David Nwamini arrived in Lagos for the first time in 2016. He had come from a village in Ebonyi, a state in southeastern Nigeria. He was 15 years old, the eldest of nine siblings and his parents were farmers. When he was a boy, his father became sick and David started working to assist his family, helping to cut trees and clear land. A few years later, he decided to seek his fortune in Lagos.
In Nigeria’s commercial capital, David spent his days in the open-air Ikotun Market, where thousands of people shop every day for everything from tomatoes and fabric to suitcases and electronics. He sold cellphone accessories out of a wheelbarrow under a wide umbrella, making less than £10 a day. After living with a relative, he moved into a room with two friends, Chukwudi and Friday, who also worked in the market. David had grown up in the same village as Chukwudi. A photo from their early childhood shows the boys together, David in a red sportswear shirt.
