Galloping Horses

It was on a beautiful Monday morning and as early as 5:30am, I was already up and dressed for work. My industrial training was becoming more and more interesting and I had begun to gather a great deal of confidence from my line manager who was impressed with my last task on Friday. I was even more determined this week to make better and more beautiful applications. Seamfix framework has been so excellent. A company which started in 2007, has gained so much, handling high profiled projects in the country for multinationals, government agencies, private sectors and other non-governmental organizations. The early bird can without reservations boast of a net worth of $1million (am joking right? you dare!).

The journey (as I often call it) from Isolo to Lekki soon began, once again I found myself like every other morning at the back seat of my brother-in-law's favourite car. Bro Kelvin was next to me and in front was my sister, all set for work. The day was beginning to get busy and for Lagos city it was not too early. In fact, it seemed everyone was on a chase (not Big Brother Africa 7 though). If you have a car in Lagos you will have most of your worries sorted but for some who don't have (maybe as an excuse)  it is a freedom you enjoy from the hassles of having one. Whatever it be: with or without a car, Lagos has its own way of giving you a feel of every action. I had my own fair share the first day I entered the big city in the early 2000 with my beloved mother (of blessed memory), the buses hardly stopped for you to board or alight. Stopping to carry a passenger was considered a waste of time; I wonder what the business was then!

After driving for 10 minutes, not quite long, we got into it! All I could see were flashes of red from the rear of four wheeled iron animals. The galloping horses were brought to a halt. Was it a terrible accident? Are gentlemen of the night still on patrol in the morning? Or has another bridge collapsed again? Oh! Boko Haram? These were the class of thoughts that ran through my mind. I could not help it, what was going on? Then I heard the siren of a white tundra Jeep whistle from behind. Atlast! I said to myself, “these robbers are in trouble”. then the cars started making way for the competent military men. They drove past and soon the traffic cleared up and cars started moving faster. I kept on gazing through the window to see what caused the hold up. To my utter dismay it was nothing but nothing! honestly nothing happened and the cars cleared up for the men in uniform to pass because it was an entourage of one of the politicians in the state. To have given way to them was cowardly but on second thought it was wisdom;  "if soldier slap you, you go know say the police na your friend".(This expression simply means that the policemen are less brutal than the military men, and one should avoid engaging them 'negatively').

On my way from work I also witnessed another scenario. This time it came from the other camp of democracy. Like a wounded lion, it yelled from behind us. The sound could almost rip off the louvres of a building. It was a Lagos state emergency ambulance, but what could this be? another death? or accident? I almost concluded that it was another death as it was becoming a ritual for some days now. But I was wrong. Some commuters have just been involved in a ghastly auto-crash. They needed serious and urgent medical attention. And there before the white Hiace minibus, was a dense traffic. The motorist hooted the horn of the bus and even had to use a loud-hailer to plead with motorists to clear up so the accident victims could be conveyed to a clinic as fast as possible.......and no one batted an eyelid! I felt a cold breeze rush through my veins, there was little I could do from the commercial bus I boarded. If not for the good character exhibited by a truck driver to hold a section of the lane to a halt, the accident victims would not have received care earlier than they did. I looked on and I kept on thinking. Which was the right act?

If you are in the category of people 'privileged' to have escorts to clear up traffic; keep enjoying that but very soon, you'll be clearing the air for an entourage of planes. For those who are blessed to be patriotic enough to maintain high sense of decency and not provided with traffic clearing facilities (the category which i belong), we have to solve this problem. The roads might be bad, you might not be able to sponsor a road construction project. But you can help keep the roads free of traffic by observing traffic rules. If you are educated, show that by your acts on the road. Patience is a virtue, let us exhibit this while plying through different routes. If you feel you might not get to your destination early enough, why not try rescheduling your take off time? Let us solve our challenges before turning to the government to ask them to solve theirs. Nigeria is getting better, I believe.