By A well-travelled carry-on bag has finally been reunited with its distraught owner after a spontaneous three-month adventure to Somalia, thanks to a tagging mishap at Addis Ababa airport.
Sanusi Dantata, who shared his ordeal on X (formerly Twitter), described the saga as a mix of faith, perseverance, and possibly the greatest test of patience in aviation history.
Sanusi Dantata
“It was my trusted companion!” Dantata lamented. “That bag had been with me for over a decade, through countless journeys. I wasn’t just losing luggage; I was losing a piece of my soul!”
The trouble began last December when Dantata, en route from Toronto to Kano via Addis Ababa, entrusted his carry-on to Ethiopian Airlines for a last-minute tagging. Instead of being labelled for Kano (KAN), it was mistakenly tagged for Hargeisa (HGA), the capital of Somaliland.
“As Allah will have it, my bag went off to Somalia,” he said. “Meanwhile, I was blissfully unaware, boarding my flight to Kano while my bag set off on its own pilgrimage!”
A Game of Patience, Prayer, and Near-Desperation
Dantata spent the next three months in hot pursuit of his missing luggage, engaging in what can only be described as a cross-continental game of ‘Where’s Wally?’—except with significantly higher stakes.
“I considered flying to Somalia myself to launch a rescue mission,” he admitted. “At one point, I pictured myself storming into Hargeisa Airport like Liam Neeson in Taken. But I held onto faith.”
After countless emails, calls, and perhaps divine intervention, the bag miraculously found its way back to him.
“I still can’t believe it. My bag has returned! God knows what it has seen in Somalia, but it’s back!” he exclaimed.
The Great Chocolate Catastrophe
While most of his belongings remained intact, one tragic casualty of the three-month detour was his chocolate stash.
“Some of my last-minute-purchased chocolate melted,” Dantata confessed. “But I still ate it. And honestly? It tasted great!”
The adventurous bag
Lessons Learned (Besides Avoiding Melted Chocolate)
Dantata’s luggage ordeal has left him with some sage advice for fellow travellers:
1. Always double-check your baggage tags. “Unless you want your suitcase to tick ‘Somalia’ off its bucket list before you do.”
2. Never underestimate the power of patience and prayer. “They can move mountains… and, apparently, lost luggage across continents.”
3. Melted chocolate is still edible.
Despite the ordeal, Dantata remains grateful for the experience. “I’m still in shock, but this has taught me that even when things seem impossible, persistence pays off.”
Meanwhile, fellow inanimate sources close to the luggage say it has refused to comment on its unexpected Somali adventure, citing “trauma and confidentiality agreements.”
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