My Experience Entering CMS To Ajah Bus In Lagos - Conductors Are Indeed Crazy

I’m excited as well as pained writing this interesting piece. Knowing that an average citizen of Nigeria like to blame the political elites in whatever is happening in the economy, I think most of those blames should be accorded to 90% of the citizens. We are indeed our own problem.

I encountered an interesting situation yesterday when I was going to Ajah – Island, Lagos. I boarded a bus in CMS, all those “green and white buses” (just for those who haven’t been to Lagos Island before..lol), Lagos State banned all those normal “Yellow Damfo” Mainland buses from entering Island. They normally collect N250 from CMS to Ajah but this time, they insisted on N300.

As you may imagine, and a lawless country like naija, we had no other option than to enter the bus, moreover, the sun is already setting and time is of essence. We left around 6:30 pm and the traffic was “mad” so much so that we got to Ajah around 10pm. If you know, you know. That is not even what I want to talk about. I want to talk about the conductor and the driver.

When we got to Marwa junction and to Sand-field, the conductor began to shout all other junctions and none of the passengers responded to him. We passed Lekki Phase 1 and he was still shouting other junctions and yet, none of the passengers responded. When we now got to Igboefon and nobody alighted from the bus, the conductor began to “para” (getting agitated). 

He started saying and I quote:

“watin dey happen self,

I no understand these passengers o,

We no carry charter oo

We no carry charter here oooooo

We no carry charter ooooooooooo

I was worried cuz I don’t understand the conductor again and his noise is getting too much. So I told driver to control his conductor now. Before the driver could respond to me, a passenger now told me what is really eating the conductor up. Fellow passenger said;

Don’t mind the idiot, he is pained because nobody have alighted the bus yet so that he can carry other people on the road before he reach Ajah to make more money.

Hahahahahahha, I burst into laughter and like a former street naija guy, (you can take a man off the street, but you can’t take the streets off a man) I began to torment the conductor; so you collect Ajah money from us and you wan make we come down for road before you reach abi, so that you go carry another passengers and make more money ba? Ntoor, hahahah. He became crazier as we approach Chevron and yet nobody don come down.

Now I ask myself, what is wrong with Nigeria and Nigerians? Is it that things are not meant to be followed accordingly in Nigeria? How can a conductor collect money from its passengers from CMS to Ajah and yet expect the person to come down before he or she reaches his or her destination? It doesn’t make sense at all. That is greediness.  

During December 2018, around 23^rd to 29^th, this same bus people were charging people N600 from Ajah to CMS and N700 from CMS to Ajah. This is outrageous. There was no single cue in the filling stations, no fuel scarcity, no fuel increment and yet they increased their transport fair.

I think we should look at ourselves and ask this question; Is the government really our problem or are we a part of our problem. I mean, my girlfriend called me this morning and said she wants to come weekend and I said “by all means” but I also told her I will have to go and cast my vote on Saturday o. She said I can’t leave her alone in the house that Saturday and told me to choose between her coming around and going to vote.

I know what you are thinking but guess what, I didn’t choose her, and I chose voting. I told her voting was just for a day and her on the other hand, I will be seeing for years. She hanged up. It seems am dumped….lol. Again, we are part of the problem.

Have a lovely day guys.