Lagos is a funny place to live in. But as the most populous state, every shade of human being is found in the state – from the good, to the bad and the worst. This piece is not to disparage the state and its government, but it is informed by my encounter with ‘fellow Lagosians’ on the road recently.
Reluctantly, I left school for home to pick up a few things that I needed. On getting to main gate of the University of Lagos, where commercial bus call passengers, I hopped into one of the buses going to Yaba, from where I would join another bus going to Iyana Ipaja, where my I live with my parents.
Luckily, I got a bus going directly to my destination at the school gate. I heaved a sigh of relief and told myself: “I will get home faster.” Unknown to the passengers, the driver of the bus had broken a traffic law for which he was being trailed by the police.
While we were waiting for the last passenger, the bus driver was arrested and we were ordered out of the bus. Then, the transporters’ union brought another bus – a rickety one. Hastily, we moved into the substituted bus. Some passengers exchanged words as we hopped in. But who cared?
Then, the journey started. A few minutes later, we all received the shock of our lives. The bus’ break system was faulty. The driver struggled with the break to slow down whenever we approach traffic point. To stop was a big task for the driver each time a passenger was alighting. Then, I began to think the driver was actually playing with people’s lives. “What if the vehicle hits another vehicle or a trailer…”
Perhaps, I was guessing right. The bus rammed into a car from behind and this made all passengers to scream as though, there was a serious accident. They were united in heaping insults on the driver for the delay he would cause. When the driver came down, we thought he was going to beg the driver of the car for what he did, we were shocked to see the bus driver checking his vehicle’s front guide if there was damage to it.
This is the height of selfishness, I told myself. Upon seeing that there was no damage to his rickety bus, the driver smiled and returned into the bus. Possibly, the car owner could have been someone who did not want to join issue with anyone, he decided to leave the scene. Then, I wished the car was owned by one of these retired soldiers, who go about with horse whip.
And while my mind in thought of possible scenarios that could have happened while in the rickety bus and the driver behaving like a retarded cow, I overheard the conversation of three Master’s students sitting at the back – two males and a female. They were chatting about the Nigerian situation – corruption and dilapidated infrastructure.
If given an opportunity to govern the country or a state, one of the male students said he would siphon all the public funds in his care. But the lady among them showed disgust for the misappropriation of money by politicians.
The other guy said there was no reason to be a saint in a corruption-infested system. “If you try to be saint, people will still say something bad about you and look every means to tarnish your image as being corrupt,” he said. Hence, he said he would rather be part of the corrupt politicians and make money, rather than being a saint while others corner the public funds.
I would not try to be a saint by condemning all of them. Somehow, they all have good points. They expressed their minds according to the way they feel the country should be. But Michael Jackson of blessed memory said, if there must be a change in the society, it should start from the man in the mirror. This is you and I.
Why don’t we want the change we desire start with us? I know nobody wants to be an example of an honest man in a country where honesty is no more a good value. But then, honesty is all that can help our country to surmount all its challenges.
If the officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) or Lagos State Traffic Maintenance Agency (LASTMA) are honest, the rickety bus driver, who put the lives of his passengers at risk, would not have had the effrontery to drive on the road. But because he could bribe (has bribed) some officials of the agencies, he boldly took his unsound vehicle on the road to transport people in a bus that had no functional break system.
An honest man never loses his integrity and respect. This virtue stands the test of time than any other worldly reward. If we must see the change that we all desire, we must endeavour to promote honesty everywhere we find ourselves.
My argument is that we must start to rebuild our society and make it free of corruption and dishonesty. Because the honesty men have shown indifference, this is why we have so many corrupt people at the helms of affairs. They change our way of life and promote misdemeanour in our national life. It is our society and how we run it will give outsiders an opinion of our being. We must all remember that the change we desire starts with us. If we show good values, our society will be a better place to live in.
Temitope, 300-Level English, UNILAG
