Boarding a bus in Lagos is like getting into an unknown world because you can't be too sure of what will happen during the trip and many times, I wonder if it's the same thing in other states.
I haven't been to many places in Nigeria but I remember the last time I went to Osun state. There, you can easily tell a cab man that you will alight at a particular place and he will stop for you properly but it's the other way around here, if drivers are not avoiding the police, they will be running away from thugs and if you don't want to be taken past your bus-stop, you must be screaming your destination five bus-stops away or else, you might end up trekking or boarding a bus back to your destination.
When I was new to the road, I always had this issue and had to adjust before Lagos drivers drove me crazy. Moving around Lagos can create beautiful memories when you board the right bus but when you board the wrong one, you would wish you never went out that day.
Imagine a bus conductor insisting that you have not paid when you paid or a situation where a driver takes all the passengers to a different destination just because he was avoiding something. They won't apologize and would still curse people if they start complaining or ask for a partial refund. I boarded one to Oshodi one evening and because there was heavy traffic due to road construction work, the driver pretended the vehicle got damaged halfway and wasn't ready to refund. While people were dragging him back and forth, he said the cash wasn't with him. He claimed that the conductor was holding the cash and he had gone to look for a mechanic to fix the bus.
Passengers became impatient and started removing the side mirror, rear mirror, and speaker and the conductor whom the driver claimed to have gone in search of a mechanic came out of hiding immediately. I couldn't stop laughing as he gave a partial refund and immediately we all stepped away from the bus, the driver turned the vehicle around and drove back to where we were coming from so if we had just kept quiet, these guys would have just absconded with our bus fare.
Honestly, it is impossible not to see at least one drama in a week if you are the type that uses the road every day in Lagos. I have stayed hours in the traffic and still had to trek home, I have had worse experiences but wouldn't be using any of them as the major story for this post.
"Life is about good and bad," this saying applies to not just me but everyone with road experience. While thinking about the bad memories, it would be unfair of me not to mention that I have had a nice experience even though it came with huge inconvenience.
A few weeks before the COVID lockdown was enforced, I was coming from Oshodi to Ikorodu and boarded the red BRT bus. While waiting for the bus to fill up, some women who were going to a party came and occupied almost half of the bus. They came in the same attire and had food coolers.
They filled the bus and we moved around 11 am. One of them sat with me, she was young and seeing her grumbling made me speak to her because something was definitely pissing her off. We started talking and she claimed that the bus they hired didn't show up and the new buses they got were asking for too much so they had to carry stuffs after making-up and others which she didn't like.
I tried making her laugh and succeeded with my petty jokes. We chatted about other things until we got into traffic after Ojota and it was a standstill type on both lanes. We didn't know what was happening and to cut the story short, we didn't get to Mile 12 even after four hours; the bus only moved for thirty seconds max and stopped for another 15 minutes.
By the time we got to Owode, it was evening already and the people going to party wouldn't stop complaining. They were pissed because they still wanted to return that day and it was a different scenario for me because I lived in Ikorodu so I didn't have to worry.
At past 5 pm, we were nowhere near Ikorodu and the party people started giving second thoughts about abandoning the party and just returning home. They deliberated about it because it was pointless to continue the trip since there was a high possibility that the party would be over before they got there.
Disappointment was written on their faces and I really felt for them. It can be very annoying to have prepared for a party and eventually not make it to the event because of road issues.
Due to how concerned the passengers on the bus were about the women's condition, they decided to share some of their food with us. I have heard cases like that but it was my first time experiencing it. The lady who sat with me said the food was prepared very early that day and some might even get bad before they returned home.
Food started flying here and there and the aroma of their food even got the attention of people in other buses while we were stuck in traffic. They shared the food with other buses just to reduce the weight of what they would be going back with.
That was how I ate on the bus and even got a takeaway. To cut the story short, I got the lady's number and alighted the bus when they did because it was pointless sitting there. Some of us helped them cross to the other side of the road with their coolers.
I joined other trekkers and discovered a fallen tanker caused everything. It had spilled its content on the road so everyone was going through one way and even the fire service couldn't get there since everywhere was blocked.
Despite the horrible experience, lunch and dinner came for free. Honestly, I wouldn't want to have such an experience again on the road but for the free food, I wouldn't mind getting them in buses.