The traffic light at Itam Junction in Uyo had been faulty for weeks, sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't, most people had stopped paying attention to it.
On that particular Saturday afternoon, the road was busy as usual, the cars were everywhere, and keke riders were competing with buses, and street vendors moved from one vehicle to another all trying to make sales before the light changed again
Twenty two year old Daniel stood by the roadside waiting to cross to the other side,and beside him was his friend, Chika.
"Omo, this sun no be here," Chika complained, using her hand to shield her face, Daniel laughed.
"You say that every day."
"Because every day hot."
They both laughed.
The signal ahead suddenly turned red.
Vehicles stopped, People began crossing, As Daniel stepped forward, something caught his attention.
An old man was standing at the edge of the road, he looked confused, like cery confused.
The man kept looking from one side of the road to the other but wasn't moving, Daniel stopped.
"You see that man?" he asked.
Chika looked, "Which one?"
"The old man near that bread seller, "Oh, I see am."
The signal turned green again.
Cars began moving,The old man remained where he was, Five minutes later, the same thing happened.
Red light.
People crossed.
The old man stayed, this time Daniel became curious.
He walked closer.
"Baba, good afternoon."
The old man looked at him.
"Good afternoon my son"
"You want cross road?"
The old man nodded
"Yes"
"Why you never cross?"
The old man sighed, "My eyes are not too good again, and yhese cars are moving too fast, I can't tell when it is safe"
Daniel exchanged glances with Chika.
The old man looked genuinely worried, "Where are you going?" Daniel asked.
"The hospital on the other side." "Hospital?"
"Yes. I have an appointment." Daniel checked the time.
The old man was already late, the signal changed again.
Red.
Cars stopped, without saying much, Daniel gently held the man's arm.
"Baba, come. We go cross now."
The old man smiled.
"Thank you."
As they started crossing, a bus suddenly ignored the signal and sped through the junction, people shouted immediately.
"Driver! Are you mad?"
"See this one o!"
The bus narrowly missed another vehicle before disappearing down the road, The old man froze.
Daniel held him firmly, "No worry Baba. We don almost reach."
A few moments later they got safely to the other side, the old man looked relieved.
"God bless you."
"It's nothing Baba."
"No, it is something."
Chika smiled.
"You would have crossed eventually."
The old man shook his head.
"Maybe, Maybe not."
He thanked them again before heading toward the hospital, Daniel and Chika continued their journey.
For a while neither of them spoke, then Chika suddenly said,
"You know something?"
"What?"
"Life be like traffic signal."
Daniel laughed.
"How?"
"Sometimes the signal tells us to move but we are too afraid."
Daniel nodded.
"True."
"Other times it tells us to stop but we refuse to listen."
"That is also true."
The conversation stayed in Daniel's head long after they parted ways, That night, he sat outside his house thinking about it, the old man wasn't really struggling with the road.
He was struggling with uncertainty, He couldn't trust his eyes anymore, He couldn't trust the timing, He needed help.
And maybe everyone was like that sometimes People waited for signals in life too.
Signals to start a business
Signals to go back to school
Signals to leave a bad relationship
Signals to take opportunities they were scared of.
Sometimes the signal was clear but fear kept them standing in one place, Other times they ignored every warning sign and rushed into trouble.
Daniel smiled to himself, Funny enough, the traffic light that most people ignored had taught him something important.
Life wasn't just about knowing when to move.
It was also about knowing when to wait, and sometimes, when somebody else could not see the signal clearly, the best thing to do was help them find their way across.
Because truthfully not every signal was meant for traffic, you see some were meant for people.
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