Category: Sunday magazine

Italy’s biggest ship was in Lagos as part of a five-month mission. Joe Agbro Jr. and Precious Igbonwelundu were on board.

IT is not a daily sight, at least not at the Apapa Port where it graciously berthed on Friday, February 28. Hence, it was with a huge dose of curiosity that people turned out to see just what Italy’s biggest war ship looked like. Billed to have berthed at the APM Terminal by 2:00pm, it wasn’t there because a merchant ship was already there, occupying its space.

And, about 3:00pm, when it appeared on the corner on the waters from the Takwa Bay section, gradually making its way like a gentle dinosaur on water, it dwarfed every other thing around it. Its dull grey signified it was a machine built not for beauty but for efficiency. The white, red, and green Italian flag fluttered in the air. That was how the Cavour, Italy’s biggest military carrier, sailed into Lagos.

Standing beside the Cavour makes one realise how small even a giant human really is. Measuring 244 metres length, 33metres width, a draft of about 9.5metres, the Cavour has a displacement of 28000 tonnes.

The massive aircraft carrier, parallel to the pier, buoyed about 100m away. It looked magnificent. Slowly, it began a sideways journey to the pier. And for a ship built to move forward, the sideways movement felt a bit eerie. The tiny dots of sailors on board began to take shape.

Across, the several openings, Italian sailors peered out, taking in the sights just as we on the pier took them on with our eyes. Some men peered out with binoculars around what looked like guns. For a military ship, this was not unexpected.

Someone close by had said there would be no woman onboard. However, trim looking ladies started appearing. Later, the commander of the 30th Naval Group said the Cavour had on board 1,200 crew comprising sailors, marines and 100 women. And at exactly 3:00pm, a shot rang out from the deck on the stem. It was rope being fired to moor the ship.

After a little wait, it was time for guests to come aboard. And with jaunty salutes by the Italian naval personnel, Italian ambassador to Nigeria, climbed the hatchway, followed by others.

But why exactly is Italy touring with its naval arsenal? And speaking at a press conference on the ship, Rear Admiral Paolo Treu, the commander of the 30th Italian Naval group, said the naval campaign tagged ‘A country on the move’ departed Civitavecchia, Italy on November 13, last year. And its impressive itinerary would see ships and crew cover 18,000 nautical miles (about 36,000 kilometres) and visit 19 different nations with 20 port calls.

By the time the Cavour sailed into Lagos, ships from the group had extended a hand of friendship at Jeddah, Djibouti, Abu Dhabi, Manama, Kuwait City, Doha, Mascate, Mombasa, Dar-es-Salaam, and Antseranana. From there, the ships proceeded to Maputo, Cape Town, Luanda, and Pointe Noire before getting to Apapa.

From Apapa, the Cavour would head to Tema in Ghana, Dakar in Senegal, Casablanca in Morocco, Algeri in Algeria before it will return to Civitavecchia. By then, it would have covered 36,000 nautical miles.

The ambitious campaign according to Treu will include ‘humanitarian assistance, maritime security operations, training, confidence building, cooperation, Naval Diplomacy and promotion of the Italian entrepreneurial excellences, through a ‘Made in Italy’ Exposition on board the Cavour.’

Among companies exhibiting were AVS Group, Electronica, Angelo Investments, Berretta, and Federlegnoarredo. Others included Graziella, Finmeccanica, Fincantieri, and Vitrociset. One of the most intriguing stands was that of Berreta, Italian gun makers. Founded in 1526, Beretta is one of Italy’s oldest companies. Displaying its wares which included all sorts of guns, Jarno Antonelli, a representative of the company said in stuttering English, “this mission is about showcasing the best of Italy.”

 

Exploring the ship

It was time to explore the labyrinth of a ship. Climbing up vertical steps for five levels, we reached the flight deck. On the deck were sprawled EH101 and AB212 helicopters towards the bow. And towards the aft were parked the jets and rugged military vehicles. These prides of modern military stood meekly, belying their potency. And with seven take-off and landing spots, these beasts of the air could be deployed at short notices.

According to Luca Conte, the captain of the Cavour, the Italian Navy’s flagship, took four years to build and the Italian Navy got delivery of it in 2007. Conte said, “since 2008, we began like an operational phase just to become operational.”

The ship became operational in 2011.

However, apart from being an aircraft carrier, the Cavour can also be used for other roles. Conte said, “it (Cavour) is an amphibious ship because we have such a big hangar and the capability to lift from deck.”

And so on this present mission, the Cavour performed humanitarian and commercial role. It was to the hangar which stood at about 143 metres that some Italian companies staged an exhibition, a pre-taste of what to expect at EXPO 2015 to hold in Milan.

There is also a high-class medical facility aboard the Cavour which has a 32-bed hospital, 12-bed Intensive Care Unit (ICU), surgery rooms, Pharmacy, blood bank, CT Scanners, and the centre is capable of other types of treatment.

“You heard about operation smile,” Conte said of a mission to restore cleft lips in children by the NGO Fondazione Francesca Rava with help from volunteer nurses from the Italian Red Cross/Red Crescent. “Those are specific plastic surgeons and they come on board and operate in our two surgery rooms.”

The foundation also seeks to treat children susceptible to blindness and donate eye glasses to them.

It was time to get to the Bridge, where the ship is ‘driven’ from. That would take about three levels from the flight deck. We continued on the steps. “I want you guys to feel what we do every day,” grinned Ferazzoli, as he egged us on to climb the vertical steps.

Unlike what one might expect, the Bridge is actually a small place, cramped if you may say, for tthe purpose it serves. But, with about 10 men seated at different posts in a space with about 270 degree view around, one could tell it is a very important section of the ship.

“From here, we get visuals on all the aircrafts,” Ferazzoli said. It is also where the ship is steered from. Occupying a place of pride is the oar. But Ferazzoli said the oar is just for the sake of maintaining tradition. What really does its work on the Cavour is a small joy-stick, very similar to those being used in many arcade games. There was a battery of other screens controlling different parts of the ship’s movement, including the thrusters, which Ferazzoli said is used to move the ship sideways. For fuel, the Cavour uses gas which is gotten by converting one million litres of diesel into gas. Such fuel gives the ship capacity to travel about 7,000 nautical miles.

It was time to see the hospital. This time, Ferazzoli agreed we could use the medical elevator. This elevator was wide, with capacity to take about three gurneys and about 24 persons at a time. This, Ferazzoli said, was so that evacuation of ill or injured people could be swift in the case of an emergency. At the hospital level the naval personnel here wore blue uniforms. And to take us around the hospital was C U Fabrizio Bambabioni, a medical personnel in the ship.

Speaking in Italian which was translated by Ferazzoli, Bambabioni prattled on about how the ship’s hospital is a very modern one. “We can handle complex medical situations here,” he said. “You can see all the rooms.”

Of course, with a mix of technology available latest medical equipment, medical resources and qualified personnel, medical care aboard the Cavour is top notch. CT scan, blood banks, surgery, dental care, and laboratories are all available. On our ward round, a personnel with his leg hung on a string was seen, most likely a fracture case. But other types of care such as burns can be treated.

It was time to return to the flight deck again. As the elevator needle raced through numbers, the sense of space seems eluded. On the deck, a personnel was jogging around the deck between the space which had the helicopters and aircrafts. With a deck length of 243, more than double the length of a football field, there was more than ample space for that. In fact, on previous missions, the deck had hosted high profile basketball matches, Ferazzoli said.

This time, the aircrafts, bathed in dusk light, looked menacing. “They can do vertical take-off and landing,” Ferazzoli said, though the planes don’t do vertical take-off because that consumes so much fuel. Hence, a short 12 metres inclined runway is take-off point for the jets.

To say the Cavour is like a small town is an understatement, but why would it need three other ships to sail with it?

“An aircraft carrier never moves alone,” Ferazzoli enlightened the group which had by now thinned. In the case of the Cavour, it was accompanied by supply ship ETNA, frigate Bergamini, and patrol ship Borsini. However, the Borsini did not sail into Lagos as it was detached to co-operate with the Mozambican Navy for two months.

And as night fell, the Cavour deck shone with light while at the top, a basket-like contraption whirled around slowly. Upon enquiry, Ferrazoli said, “that is the TACTNA” or tactical navigation. According to him, the TACTNA can communicate with any aircraft with a 250 miles radius. Though he said the pilots never used auto-pilots but with the TACTNA, a pilot could just click in some data and the plane can bring in ‘home.’

It was great seeing Italy on the move. It was also incredible touring the Cavour. Its size leaves one mesmerised and when Ferazzoli was asked how he knew his way around the ship, he jokingly replied, “I have a TACTNA.” But for a man who has worked on the Cavour since September 2011, perhaps, such knowledge should be expected.

And as we were led towards the hatchway to again be part of the bustle of Lagos nightlife, the Cavour remained, grand on its turf. No doubt, by the time the Cavour sailed away, Italy would have offered part of its best.

WHEN last did you walk into a post office to send or receive a letter: a year; two or three years ago?

To some, it feels like eternity; almost as if they never did.

Technology has almost erased that part of life for many of the younger generation. In the past, students required post office box addresses or house numbers to receive exam results or when seeking jobs.

However, with a touch of the button these days, messages can be passed across the world; interview and examinations are now written on line. In addition, pictures and other heavy materials that could not be sent before by mail can now be done effectively through the Internet.

Mails, birthday messages and cards, appointment letters and examination results have now been replaced by emails, text messages and chats.

Technology has reduced the world to a tiny tablet which throws up the question of the relevance of postal services where text messages and emails are now heavily relied on to communicate all kinds of messages.

In the case of Nigeria, ineptitude and allegations of corrupt practices by post office staff who steal valuables concealed in letters have made their fate worse.

 

A throwback to the past

But then, there was a time when there was a means of sending messages from one person to another, from one state and country to the other.

The arrival of the postman usually wraps the community with excitement, especially if a loved one is in a far away state or country.

The postmaster acted as courier in those days between lovers whose love messages had to go through several miles to get to their intended.

Then there were also people who were in charge of delivering mails from one door step to another: the postman. He is a public servant whose duties involved: sorting mails and small packets and then delivering these to their respective addresses. Other tasks include picking up mail from post boxes, post offices and offices within their work area.

He is a familiar face delivering telegrams, parcels, money orders and gifts. He brings joys for some while for others he may have sad news. Some ride bicycle, but several go on foot to deliver their wares. The ‘gring-gring’ sound of their bicycle bells announced their presence.

 

From door to door

A day in the life of a postman begins when he is called on duty at the post office. He has his own area where he delivers the letters. At the post office he is given a bundle, which he arranges and then sets out.

It is a tough job and he knows the neighbourhood as much as he knows the back of his palm. He wakes up early and knows his onions. He delivers letters at the addresses, according to their house numbers. This keeps him very busy till dusk.

This is the story of Pa Anthony Dike, a former postman, who told The Nation the story of his journey. As a child, he had a fascination for professionals who wore uniform and dreamt of joining one.

According to him, “I was a child, I do not know how and why, I developed a fancy for uniform and, people in uniform fascinated me. I wished that any profession in which a uniform is mandatory should come my way when I grow up.

“God did hear my prayers and fulfilled my desire of belonging to a force of workers in uniform, but what I got was not quite exactly what I had desired. Having passed the secondary examination, I got a job as a postman. Every day I go to the office on a bicycle to distribute letters, money orders or parcels to recipients.”

On how he came to be a postman, Pa Dike said he often wondered why it was what he got of all uniformed professions. “God did hear my prayer and granted me a job but this was not what I had expected or worked for. I wondered whether I had studied for this, whether my parents had spent all that they did for this. However, what came my way was the only offer, so I had no option but to accept it. The job I do is well known to all and sundry. It is a very tiring job as I am on the move for almost the whole day.”

He continued: “The redeeming feature of my life is that people of all classes and ages look forward to my arrival in their homes and neighbourhood. As soon as I step into any street or lane, beaming faces with hopes written on their faces welcome me everywhere. This makes me forget my tiredness, but, alas, when I do not bring a letter expected for long, I am cursed also.”

He said most times he was always at the receiving end of people’s bitterness and disappointment. “I do not at all understand why. How can I bring a letter for you when your friends and relatives do not write to you at all? Where am I at fault? Anyway this was one of the constraints of my job. It is a pleasure and a good study to see different expressions on the faces of different people when I deliver letters to them.

“At times, the letters are a call for an interview; appointment letters or call for marriage proposals. With such letters, the faces of the recipients just beam with excitement when they see their names on them. In turn, I also get a feeling of achievement at the very thought that I have brought some good news.”

 

The postman as a loner

Going down memory lane, he continued, “While on the job, I got married and have become the father of three sons and a daughter. I lost my parents long ago. I have no relation who might write a letter to me some day. For the last ten years, I have been delivering letters to hundreds of people, but not a single letter came in my name that could be stamped with the postal seal, and placed into the postman’s bag for delivery.

“Sometimes, I feel if I had even some distant relative or a friend, who suddenly thought of my existence on this earth, and mercifully wrote a few soothing words in a simple letter to me, even spelling my name, may be, wrongly, and writing my address with incomplete code number, still I could make out the addressee and there would not have been any difficulty to deliver the letter to the proper person, that is me.

“But the pity in my life is that I earned my daily bread by delivering letters to others, and no one ever writes to me. I am really an unfortunate, friendless unknown, a forgotten old lonely fellow on this vast earth, who has never received a postal letter in his life.

“But suddenly things changed for me. My children got out of school and are doing fine in their respective endeavours. The day I was given a small Nokia torchlight phone was the happiest day of my life. When such good tidings are received, some people even give me tips and even gifts as I have been the messenger of the good news. Their face, full of happiness, is the only source of inspiration for me in this otherwise mundane job. Oh! Yes, let me tell you of one lady who gives me great happiness at least once every month.

“She was a widow who lived alone in a big house, and she got money order from her son every month, from somewhere in America. She lived all alone and this money was her only succour, and a few letters that came to her from this same son of hers gave her great satisfaction. She always gave me some change, though I heard she is late now.”

Today, Pa Dike is a very happy and contented man who lives with the satisfaction that though his work as a postman may not have been very rewarding, he understands that ‘what cannot be cured has got to be endured.’ That lesson of a lifetime kept him going in the face of all hassles of the job.

Luca Conte became Captain of the Cavour at Capetown, South Africa, while on the 30th Naval Group’s mission tagged ‘A Country on the move’ which saw the Italian Aircraft Carrier berth at ports in the gulf and a circumnavigation of Africa. He spoke with Joe Agbro Jr. and Precious Igbonwelundu. Excerpts

YOU set out last year on this mission, how has the journey been so far?

The journey has been great. As you know it is a halfway humanitarian and halfway commercial journey. As a matter of fact, the humanitarian portion of it, especially all around Africa is what is enthusiastic to the crew members. And a matter of fact, it is where we make lots of friends. And as far as success of our mission, we feel the success in Africa more than in the gulf countries. Just because of the humanitarian mission, we are carrying on.

You’re to berth in 20 ports. How many of those ports have you been to before?

Actually, I have been in only a couple of ports in the gulf area. I haven’t been to any port in Africa, south of the Mediterranean. So, it’s been a great experience. This is true for many of the crew members because it’s been quite a few years that we have been in such a long journey with the carrier, except for operational. And this is one of major journeys for our navy in the recent years.

Can you share some memorable moments?

The latest one has been two days ago when we crossed the equator. And as a matter of fact, it is a tradition in the Italian navy and I think in all the navies, that when you cross the equator for the first time, you come up with a party. And all the crew members are going to party for that event. And we stopped on the way here from Congo on the Island of Sao Tome and Principe. We had all the local fishermen and they came along our ship and said hello. And it was a beautiful moment. I think it was memorable for all our crew members.

Do you miss home?

I do miss the family, I do miss friends, I do miss my home town. But actually what happens as a sailor, (is) you see your ship, your crew friends, as your family. And I think this is the best feeling you can develop that helps you to carry on every day.

How long have you been in the navy? And how long have you been in this your current position?

I’ve been in the navy since 26 years ago. And to tell you the truth, it’s only one week I’ve been captain of this ship because I relieved my previous captain in Congo. What I did in the first half of this tour was I was in a team that was called ‘Advanced Party.’ I reached all the ports prior to the Naval Group just to arrange for the ship. And once the ship arrived, I left for the next port. And in Cape Town, South Africa, I jumped on the ship and I continued with the ship from there. And I became the captain of the ship last week.

So, you were not on board when the Indian captain was rescued from the ocean?

No, I wasn’t. As a matter of fact, this is something that happens quite often because those are the types of rescue that happens at sea. And we are always open; we are always in touch with all the ships that we cross by. Not only Italians. So, when there is a military ship with this capability, as soon as you receive one help request, you’re going to launch all what you have. Sometimes, we do launch a helicopter just to winch up some sailors that are sick that they need help. And we take them on board. As a matter of fact, the Italian navy has been running one patrol that is south of Italy. So, it’s an ongoing job we do at sea.

Have you been in wars? What has your experience been like?

There are no specific experiences. Nowadays, there are no fights up in the air that you think of like you see in the movies. So, now, you have t think of an aircraft as the long arm sensor of the ship. By sensor, I mean that you can go and have sensors that can look, that can survey some areas. You can stay up in the air and protect troops on land. Those are the kinds of mission that we accomplish. There is no like fights in the air, especially with the weapons you have nowadays, the distance you maintain from your possible enemy. Plus, we always fly around the ship and the ship is well-protected. So think about it like a sensor, like a camera that is on the ship. Think about the aircraft that stays up in the air and it protects all the battalion around your naval group that is moving.