At home, I worked in business and journalism. Ireland is a completely different country today than it was when I first arrived. My first impression of Ireland was that there were hardly any immigrants; that's all completely different now of course.

There were very few black people in the country at all; I was here for days before I saw another black person.

Some people stared at me in curiosity and others in ignominy. A lot of people came up to me and asked me questions about my homeland. Many people here are very educated about Nigeria and came up to me in the street and asked me questions about the Biafran war.

Another popular question was whether we drink tea in Nigeria. I think Irish people have a very curious nature.

Since I arrived, I've always lived in Dublin. At first, I did some voluntary work with the Irish Missionary Union. I found it very hard to find a job in the beginning. I have a degree in social studies, a national certificate in education and a diploma in mass communication. I kept getting refusal letters for every job I applied for. Then a priest I know told me that employers might feel threatened by all the qualifications on my CV and advised me to include my school cert details. It worked . . . I began to get job offers. My first job was in an office in Bray in 1999.

A couple of years later, I did a masters in ethnic and racial studies at Trinity College and as part of the course, I did a work placement in The Irish Times.

After the placement, I wrote for their online service, as well as freelancing for the main paper.

I also worked for the Irish Catholic newspaper and the Garda Review magazine. I wrote a lot about multiculturalism, racism and religion and was regularly attacked in articles by columnist Mary Ellen Synon.

In 2000, I founded the multicultural newspaper Metro Eireann, www. metroeireann. com, while still working for The Irish Times. It was set up for ethnic communities to understand the host community as well as for Irish people to learn more about the ethnic minorities. The reception from the very beginning has been great and we still have a lot of support and great interest in our publication. At the end of the month, we'll host the Media and Multicultural Awards (MAMA); they recognise companies and groups embracing cultural diversity. We're also involved with the Ethnic Entrepreneur Awards.

There are some problems with racism here and I have experienced it myself. Ireland is not the worst or the best country in terms of racist feelings.

I really believe if all the immigrants were told to leave the country tomorrow, the economy would collapse.

I think Ireland could really be a model for how integration can work if active policies are introduced. The appointment of Conor Lenihan [ junior minister with responsibility for integration] was a very positive step.

But to do his job effectively, he'll need political commitment and finance. I know him well and I think he's the right man for the job but he'll only succeed if he's given the support he needs.

Lenihan is the only politician who commands respect from the immigrant community; he's been in dialogue with many different groups for many years.

Coming to Ireland was my first trip out of Africa. Despite that, I didn't find it too hard to adjust. I got a generally warm reception and it didn't take me long to adapt to the food at all.

In 2000 the huge influx of immigrants and asylum seekers became noticeable. I was pleased to see it and it was great to meet more people from my country. Between then and now, people's attitudes have changed massively. Before the country's population became so diverse, a lot of Irish people were silent on the issue of multiculturalism. But it suddenly got to a point where it couldn't be ignored by anyone and it needed to be widely discussed. Some people's opinions are well-informed while others are narrowminded. On the whole though, I think there is a greater level of awareness when it comes to other cultures now, which is very positive.

As far as I'm concerned, Ireland is my home and so is Nigeria. Ireland is where I live and make a contribution to society. I met my wife four years ago at home in Nigeria and she came back to Ireland with me. We have a young son, Chidozie. Nigeria is where my parents and extended family and friends live. I try to go home about once a year but I've been getting so busy with work it's getting more and more difficult.

I didn't arrive here as an asylum seeker, I was always able to work here. I feel for asylum seekers, most of them genuinely want to live and make a contribution. If you work, you are proud but if people cannot work, they can feel useless and it's not good for them or the country.

One thing I miss about home is the fresh fruit. The bananas you buy here taste completely different to fresh bananas. It's simple things like that I miss the most.