Lagos — For CHINWE OCHU, many Nigerians do not appreciate their country until they travel out and taste the bitter side of other countries. Her trip to South Africa recently exposed her to experiences that made her realise that despite the country's bad image abroad, Nigeria still has something to be proud of, even though she still has Soweto in her mind

"And they say Nigeria is unsafe . . ?" That was what ran through my mind when I first discovered that I had lost some items I bought in Johannesburg the previous weekend. I was standing there, in front of my hotel room in Pretoria, a day before I left for Nigeria trying not to scream in horror. I had spent a lot to get those jewelleries. I cast my mind back to the subtle innuendos and sometimes all-out attacks on the image of my country, Nigeria. The second "most corrupt country in the world," "the unsafe destination for investors in Africa," "a country of mainly dubious people," "419ners," "Internet scammers-all" in the bid to disparage Nigeria and Nigerians."

And yet . . . I had lost my belongings in a 5-star hotel room in a country that is about to host the rest of the world and in a hotel that is earmarked to harbour one of the prominent teams in the forth-coming soccer fiesta in 2010. What does that tell us? Your guess is as good as mine. Thank God Almighty for last week's Transparency Index. Nigeria's ratings show that the country might no longer be 'crawling' with the so-called corrupt scammers. What are we to believe?

All in all, my stay in South Africa, apart from the Pan- African Parliament and the incident at the hotel, was a memorable one. Soweto ranks top in my mind. I was even considering writing a poem like the Ray Charles'- inspired "Georgia on my mind"- mine would be "The Soweto on my mind."

Soweto has a population of between three to four million people. It became a township in 1904, thereby making it the oldest township in South Africa. Records have it that about fifty townships makes up this territory. The name Soweto, which means South- Western Territory, came about in 1962. From Soccer City- the magnificent stadium where the first and last matches of the first World Cup to be played on African soil in 2010, will be played; the Chris Hani Hospital- the largest hospital on the Southern hemisphere; the Regina Mundi Church that houses the original copy of the Black Madonna; the Hector Pieterson Museum to the amazing Wandie's Place and the Mandela House; Soweto was hard to leave behind. The out-pouring of human spirit was a great testimony of what this people experienced through the centuries.

Our tour guide, Ngugi Githiuka, a Soweto indigene, helped us through this journey as fears of the alleged insecurity that pervades this area lurked foremost in our minds. According to him, although it cannot be completely ruled out that cases of rape and violence can be sited there, it was not as bad as it is being portrayed in the media. Although there is no justification for acts of cruelty, Ngugi gave a convincing reason for that. He blamed it on apartheid- the emasculation of the black South African by the whites. For him, these men assert their manhood by 'conquering' women through forced sexual activities and shedding blood to vent their frustration. No judge will acquit anyone on those grounds, I know, but if you go to Soweto and hear the stories, you might as well wish you were a judge so that you can act on your own discretion.

Take the Regina Mundi (Queen of the World) Church for instance. It is a Catholic Church that was built in 1962. The Archbishop that laid the foundation of this place of worship went on to become the Pope John Paul II. This church served as a parliament for the people because according to Ngugi, in those apartheid days, it was treason for up to three black men to be seen standing and talking to themselves. They would be accused of plotting to topple the government. That was the extent to which they were caged. Therefore, the Church asserted their stance on apartheid- as a sin against God and humanity. Although a Catholic Church, Regina Mundi functioned as a non- denominational centre for weddings and funerals. Significantly, the Church is situated in the middle of Soweto and the road to the cemetery.

Tears came to my eyes, as in many of my colleagues' when Ngugi told a story that has reverberated all through the decades amongst millions that have visited Regina Mundi. It is a story of two policemen that came into the church, shooting on the roofs as they came in. That day, five hundred children were at the altar receiving their blessings from the priest after their confirmation-one of the pillars of Catholicism. Out of panic, the children pushed forward and literarily cracked the marble wall of the entrance of the altar, in their bid to escape through the side door.

We saw the crack as it was then. Some kids succeeded to run through the doors into the streets but the story of these two children stood out. The two brothers ran across the street to a butcher's store to hide there. To ensure maximum 'safety', they hid in the cold room. Unknown to them, one of the policemen saw them run into the shop. He immediately came in, threatened the shop owner with a gun and went ahead to tightly lock the door of the cold room with a key. The policeman subsequently took the key away. Later that evening, the door was forced open and the frozen bodies of these two young boys were discovered. Till this day, the remaining family members of the two deceased boys still worship in the church, with faith in God comforting them.

Regina Mundi also houses the original copy of the famous Black Madonna- a depiction of Mary and little Jesus as black people. In 1973, this move raised international uproar, as the painting was termed as blasphemous. In his goodwill, Mr. Harry Oppenheimer paid an artist Lawrence Scully in South America, three thousand Rands to do the painting.

Ngugi said of it: "It's been there since 1973, not a scratch, although policemen have done hateful things here." Regina Mundi also served as the venue of the Soweto Truth and Reconciliation Commission headed by Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The tales of Soweto does not end with the famous Catholic Church; there is the Chris Hani Hospital. Known as the largest hospital in the Southern Hemisphere. It treats about three million patients on and out- patient basis per annum and has four thousand doctors of which two thousand are foreigners. Ngugi said that Chris Hani is reputed to provide best treatments for Emergency Room (ER) cases- gun shot wounds, knife wounds and the likes. According to him, "If you ever work here as a doctor, you can be employed in any hospital anywhere in the world."

The Hector Pieterson Museum also stands out for anyone who has visited Soweto. The museum is a few feet from where the June 16th 1976 uprising began in South Africa. There, about five thousand school children stood arm in arm and faced twelve policemen. Their grouse? Earlier, the apartheid government had insisted and added Afrikaans- a language invented by the whites-into their curriculum. The school children maintained that it was not their language and therefore, should not be forced to study and be taught with it.

The museum is full of symbols. The wild olive tree at the museum premises is a symbol of the firing lines of the police. The huge stones scattered around a body of water around the olive tree shows the weapons used by the kids and the water, a representation of the amount of tears shed by the South Africans during the apartheid regime. Inscriptions of quotes by both Hector's mother and other parents that lost their kids in that 1976 uprising were written on stone benches located at strategic places outside the museum. Ngugi said the older student that carried the wounded Hector to the clinic fled South Africa immediately after and went to Nigeria, which was the last they heard of him. Also, according to him, Hector's sister still work as a staff at the museum. We did not get to meet him, though.

For a long time to come, I would never forget the brick stones with names of the casualties inscribed on them, scattered at the back of the museum. These were real people, I realised. All the books and movies I had seen about the incident paled to insignificance and that humbled me. I realised that I know nothing of anything. These children should be celebrated more than the African Youth Day set aside to commemorate them every June 16th. For me, they caused the liberation of South Africa. Even Nelson Mandela is proud of them.

That led to the Mandela House at 8115 Vilakazi Street, Orlando in West Soweto. There, this great African lived for forty years with his wife, Winnie and their children. The house tells stories of their humble beginning and despite all that, their struggle for freedom. From the tiny bed where the, six-foot-four Mandela and his wife slept to his awards, pictures of the old. It was actual house, but it was tiny. It was quite an experience as I walked on the place Mandela walked and against the orders, sat on the bed. Ngugi said the great man actually came back to that house after his release in 1990, but left days after for security reasons. The crowds came in there hundreds of thousands; even pouring out into the adjourning streets just to catch a glimpse of the man that saved them. Mandela now stays in Cape Town.

We later found out that that street- Vilakazi is in the Guinness Book of World Records for harbouring two Nobel Prize for Peace winners- Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Ngugi showed us the house down the road where Tutu lives up till this day. Our last stop before going home that day was Wandie's Place. It's an unassuming eating-place that has entertained the world's greatest. From Mandela himself to sports icons, famous musicians, presidents, actors, businessmen and journalists from all parts of the world. They have all tasted the delicious delicacies of this Place. Wandie's Place is also tied to the history of the struggles in South Africa.

During the apartheid regime, blacks were not allowed to drink alcohol; for fear that they might get intoxicated and cause unrest. That was the extent of control the government had even on the people's personal lives. So, Wandie's Place ran an underground pub. Blacks would stream there and get respite while enjoying strengthening association with their comrades. Assorted foods were also served as a decoy. It's been there for decades and is now operated by Wandie's children and grandchildren, while he looks on. Evidences of visits from prominent people abounds- business cards, autographed personal belongings, varied currency notes in all denominations, pictures, and even mementos. I had to stamp my presence too- the new twenty-naira note with the inscription "Chinwe Ochu was here" pastes on a part of the wall.