Homecoming!

Unlike mailboats, which docked at the Lagos wharf on fixed days of the week, cargo boats were most predictable. So when MV Sasa arrived, there were no friends waiting at the Atlantic Terminal for her passengers. On mailboats days the beautiful and airy waiting-room would be full of gaily dressed friends and relations waiting for the arrival of the boat and drinking iced beer and Coca-Cola or eating buns. Sometimes you found a little group waiting sadly and silently. In such cases you could bet that their son had married a white woman in England.
There was no such crowd for the MV Sasa, and it was quite clear that Mr Stephen Udom was deeply disappointed. As soon as Lagos had been sighted he had returned to his cabin, to emerge half an hour later in a black suit, bowler hat and rolled umbrella, even though it was a hot October day.
Customs formalities here took thrice as long as at Liverpool and five times as many officials. A young man, almost a boy in fact, was dealing with Obi's cabin. He told him that his radiogram would be five pounds.
'Right,' said Obi, feeling his hip pockets.
Write a receipt for me.'
The boy did not write. He looked at Obi for a few seconds and then said: 'I can be able to reduce it to two pounds for you,'
'How?' asked Obi.
'I fit do it, but you no go get Government receipt.'
For a few seconds Obi was speechless. Then he merely said,  'Don't be silly. If there was policeman here I would hand you over to him.' The boy fled from his cabin without another word. Obi found him attending other passengers.
'Dear old Nigeria,' he said to himself, as he waited for another official to come to his cabin. In the end one came when all the other passengers had been attended to.

Extracted from Chinua Achebe's book, No Longer at Ease.