Friday, July 4, 2014

I love Lagos Drivers: Always in a Hurry to NOWHERE! (so funny)

I had an interesting experience yesterday on Lagos road and it reminded me of the importance of patience. Enjoy!I
I woke up with a good feeling today and I cannot explain why. Maybe I should say is one of those days when I feel amazing for no reason. I get a phone call from the guy I have a meeting with in Apapa at 10AM reminding me of the appointment. “It is only 6:45AM”, I thought and decided to stay in bed some more but then I suddenly realize that I am in Lagos- a city that needs you to leave your house at least 3 hours before your appointment if you don’t want to be late. Bearing this in mind, the urge for more rest literally disappeared and I hit the shower. Few minutes later, I was ready for my appointment so I got into the car and drove off.

I drove through new garage and linked third Mainland Bridge. "Thank goodness the road is free", I said to my friend that was sitting beside me in the car. A free road and good music is all I need to escape the hustles of Lagos and that I had in the car so I felt like I was in a world of my own. My peace and calm was suddenly interrupted by sounds of different cars hooting from all angles and intimidating me to get off the road or drive faster. I am never in a hurry unlike everyone in Lagos who always seems to be in a hurry for some strange reason. So I stayed on my lane and refused to be bullied by anyone. Michael Bolton’s “one thing” was on loud in my car stereo and I couldn't help but move to the beat and sing along. That seemed to be very annoying to all the drivers who were driving pass me with speed because they couldn't help giving me the evil eyes.
I finally got off the bridge, drove through Carter Bridge and was on Apapa road, “that was fast Happy” I said to myself happily but my happiness was cut short when I had to reduce my speed because of the traffic jam. Trailers, trucks, buses and all sorts of vehicles were packed like sardines with none maintaining any lane. I managed to make my way to a lane that looked a little more organised and stayed there still dancing to my Michael Bolton. From my rear view mirror I could see a car with a lady driver constantly moving from one lane to the other and harassing everybody by hooting randomly. She finally settled behind me since my lane seemed to be moving a little faster than others but was still uncomfortable. Finally she got off the road and decided to drive through the space which should be for pedestrians and not cars. On seeing this, I was disgusted at her impatience and couldn't help but wonder what the hurry was.
Anyway, few minutes after she drove pass me, I noticed every passer-by complaining of something and people gathering somewhere. Out of curiosity, I finally asked a young man what the problem was and he informed me that there was an accident infront of me and my lane was blocked. I found my way out of the lane and on getting to the spot of the accident, to my surprise, was the impatient lady driver who had been harassing every driver on the road. “How come she didn't arrive at her destination?” I wondered with both shock and excitement. I was shocked that she didn't reach her destination and excited that she would have learnt a lesson on patience.
I drove pass her and told myself, “After all the hurry and rough driving, other drivers and I will still end up arriving at our destinations before her”. I appreciated my patience and wished every driver out there would just be a little patient on the road. I believe that everyone on the road is going somewhere that is why they are on the road and arriving safely at the destination should therefore be their primary concern and not being able to harass another driver off the road. “Patience is a virtue” they say and I think it is important because it protects you from a lot of things. If only she was patient, she would have avoided the accident and if only other drivers are patient too, the traffic in Lagos will not be as bad as it is today. I hope that this story teaches you a thing or two about how vital patience should be to you and you should exercise it in all aspects of your life whether it is in driving a literal vehicle or a metaphorical vehicle which is your life aspirations.

Don’t forget to remain happy and spread happiness around.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

That's how Lagos is, if you behave yourself, you never arrive at your destination. If you can't beat them, join them but be sharp.