20 years later, the magic has not stopped…

I may never win the lottery but I have won something that comes pretty close. It has been 20 years since the eight-year-old daughter of a civil servant got the chance to win a life-defining all-expense-paid trip to Dubai.

I was one of the 52 children from Nigeria and Ghana who were the lucky winners of the Bournvita Children’s Magic Flight sponsored by Cadbury in 2004. Of all my childhood memories, this experience ranks as the most magical. The tagline of the competition –Bournvita Children’s Magic Flight, the magic never stops– is imprinted in my brain.

To participate in the competition, we were required to write an essay about our mums and include the tin foil from a Bournvita can. Thankfully, a Proverbs 31 woman calendar that was a longtime member of our household made writing a short piece about my mum easy. I clearly remember writing: “She wakes up early to ensure we have a cup of Bournvita as a part of our breakfast” – a clear figment of my imagination.

Getting the tin foil wasn’t as easy, given my father’s salary as a civil servant. Thankfully, my aunt had just put to bed and received gifts that included a tin of Bournvita. Having no idea what her niece was up to, she had trashed the foil and my father had to retrieve it from the bin.

Nestled in an envelope, the foil and my essay found their way to the Cadbury office in Agidingbi, Ikeja, the Lagos state capital. My father joined the Lagos state staff bus at Abesan Estate Gate to the Cadbury premises – a detour from his usual commute to the Mushin local government area office where he was stationed. Weeks later, we received a letter saying I had been selected to join the trip to Dubai in August 2004. Our names were later published in a national newspaper; talk about a proud moment for my parents!

The days leading to the trip were a thrill for my 10-year-old self. We were regularly hosted at the Cadbury office while logistics for the trip (including immigration documents and necessary vaccinations) were sorted. The briefings at the Cadbury premises included regular visits to the staff cafeteria where we were fed more food than I had ever seen and treats like Eclairs, Goody Goody and Buttermint. The caramel yumminess of Goody Goody was out of this world; ask any ’90s kid and watch their faces light up with nostalgia.

Weeks later after receiving the letter on August 11, I was dropped off at the Cadbury office in Agidingbi decked out in the signature purple Cadbury merchandise which included a shirt with blue jeans, face cap, backpack and water bottles around our necks.

With excitement rushing through my veins, we boarded the white Coaster bus that took us to Murtala Mohammed International Airport. Not even my father’s teary eyes could stop me from changing my mind about the trip!

Takeoff anxiety was put to rest with Cadbury Eclairs. The KLM inflight staff ensured we were well-fed and occupied with toys and movies. The heat upon arrival in Dubai made us rethink wearing the Cadbury jacket, and we quickly adapted.

The days in Dubai were filled with fun activities from visiting a water theme park to boarding the Wonderbus which becomes a boat when it goes on the water and the indoor playground where we played with a snow machine. We also visited Palm Jumeirah which was under construction at the time. On my next visit to Dubai in 2016, I could not believe how Palm Jumeirah turned out.

The days flew by and we were soon handed over to our parents at the Sheraton Hotel in Lagos alongside several Cadbury products like sweets and seasoning that my mother joyfully shared with the neighbours and colleagues at the school where she worked at the time.

Sadly, the event ended with the 2005 set and Cadbury, like every other manufacturer in Nigeria, is now battling to squeeze whatever profits are left in Nigeria’s tough business environment.

That trip was my first chance to interact with the outside world on a scale that was bigger than my imagination. It exposed me to the possibilities that life has to offer and taught me to explore outside of my comfort zone.

This mindset has helped me to build a journalism career on the foundation of my membership of the Union of Campus Journalists at the University of Ibadan and transition to mainstream media as a business journalist at TheCable where I reported on major economic incidents and events in Nigeria and attended meetings of multilateral bodies like the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank and the African Development Bank (AfDB) in Washington, Bali, among others.

That journalism career has recently focused on tackling misinformation; first at Africa Check and now at the Agence France-Presse, the world’s oldest news agency, where I currently work as a digital investigations journalist with the Lagos bureau.

The audacity to dream and try out new fields has also earned me a masters degree in research and public policy from the University of Lagos. This has opened doors including being a member of the Election Analysis Centre of the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) for the 2024 off-cycle elections in Ondo and Edo. It also influenced my brief stint as a senior analyst with SBM Intelligence, consulting for international clients including the Big 4 and publishing policy notes about trends in Nigeria’s economic and geopolitical space.

I believe strongly that the journey can only get better.

Thank you, Cadbury. The little girl whom you gave a chance is going places and the magic from that first trip is now a part of me.