Two years ago (in 2015), when I
returned from a function I attended in Johannesburg, South Africa, I
landed in Lagos and I was in a dilemma because I had to attend another
function in Ibadan just a day after. The choice was either to return to
Abuja that day and go back to Ibadan the following day or spend the
night in Lagos and proceed to Ibadan the following day. I chose the
later option.
Since there was no flight, I had three options when I set out for Ibadan from Lagos; I could join my colleagues in an air-conditioned official car; I could take a 'drop'; or I could take a bus. I decided on the later just for the fun of it. I have always seized the opportunity to mingle with simple, common people whose way of life has always been fascinating to me. I had not travelled by road in a commercial vehicle for more than two years then and I thought this was another chance to see whether things had changed for the better.
Since there was no flight, I had three options when I set out for Ibadan from Lagos; I could join my colleagues in an air-conditioned official car; I could take a 'drop'; or I could take a bus. I decided on the later just for the fun of it. I have always seized the opportunity to mingle with simple, common people whose way of life has always been fascinating to me. I had not travelled by road in a commercial vehicle for more than two years then and I thought this was another chance to see whether things had changed for the better.
The bus was a 12-seater Toyota Hiace. Though not quite rickety, it was
far from what you would travel in by choice. But since my aim was not
luxury, I didn't mind. At the time I was taken to the motor park, only a
few passengers were needed for the bus to be full.
An official of the transport union, who was loading the vehicle, took one look at my two bags, mentally assessed me and said I should pay two thousand naira, including the fare for my baggage. I asked him how much the fair was without my baggage and he said eight hundred naira. I looked at him and said, "How come I have to pay more for my bags than for myself?" He considered my question and said, "Okay, how much do you want to pay?" I said I would pay the eight hundred naira for myself and two hundred naira for my baggage, making one thousand naira, but he disagreed. In the end, we settled for one thousand three hundred naira; five hundred naira being the fare for my baggage. All this was very amusing and fascinating to me. It made me recall travelling as a child.
I recall in the early '70s, the mode of transport then was a Bedford with wooden benches as seats and passengers facing each other or a 404 Peugeot Pick-up van with seats inserted in the back, facing each other. Because of its speed, it used to be called, "Kaduna bayan É—aki". It was much later that Ford buses became popular as the means of transport. The slogan then was, "Fodu-Fodu kura a dawa"...
😀😀😀
funny, isn't it? Those were the days when you would see women holding
polythene bags in case they had the urge to vomit. In those days, you
hardly travel in a commercial vehicle without seeing someone vomit
because they didn't like the smell of petrol.
Every now and then, I am tempted to travel in a commercial vehicle and mingle with common people, and I sometimes do...may be one of these days, I will join, "Borno Express" or "Yobe Line" or "Kano Line" buses and travel from Maiduguri to Kano just for the hell of it...
An official of the transport union, who was loading the vehicle, took one look at my two bags, mentally assessed me and said I should pay two thousand naira, including the fare for my baggage. I asked him how much the fair was without my baggage and he said eight hundred naira. I looked at him and said, "How come I have to pay more for my bags than for myself?" He considered my question and said, "Okay, how much do you want to pay?" I said I would pay the eight hundred naira for myself and two hundred naira for my baggage, making one thousand naira, but he disagreed. In the end, we settled for one thousand three hundred naira; five hundred naira being the fare for my baggage. All this was very amusing and fascinating to me. It made me recall travelling as a child.
I recall in the early '70s, the mode of transport then was a Bedford with wooden benches as seats and passengers facing each other or a 404 Peugeot Pick-up van with seats inserted in the back, facing each other. Because of its speed, it used to be called, "Kaduna bayan É—aki". It was much later that Ford buses became popular as the means of transport. The slogan then was, "Fodu-Fodu kura a dawa"...
😀😀😀
funny, isn't it? Those were the days when you would see women holding
polythene bags in case they had the urge to vomit. In those days, you
hardly travel in a commercial vehicle without seeing someone vomit
because they didn't like the smell of petrol.Every now and then, I am tempted to travel in a commercial vehicle and mingle with common people, and I sometimes do...may be one of these days, I will join, "Borno Express" or "Yobe Line" or "Kano Line" buses and travel from Maiduguri to Kano just for the hell of it...
