It was a very hot sunny afternoon! The sun was merciless as it unleashed a tremendous amount of heat that left everyone sweating and uncomfortable. There were two lines of people facing the two bank doors. The bank premises were filled to the brim yet, there were still lots of people outside the fence, trying to gain entrance into the premises, not to talk of entering the banking hall.
The security men at the doors were only allowing five persons at a time to go in after five others had gone out. That was taking a lot of time. So, tension and anger were written very boldly on people's faces.
This bank was not an exception. Other banks in the country had a similar story of desperate customers struggling to gain access to their banks. What worsened the situation was that no ATM was dispensing cash which means that your ATM card was virtually useless. In addition, electronic channels were out of order, implying that you must go to the bank to do any transaction physically.
The situation was caused by the newly introduced cashless policy where citizens were allowed to be in possession of only a small amount of cash, and use electronic transfers to carry out other financial businesses.
The policy may have some economic advantages which most people do not know about, and so people were full of condemnation of the policy. Whatever the policy was all about, it was poorly managed because the electronic transfers were not even working. So, everyday, people will gather in front of banks to try to get whatever small amount of cash they could get for their daily needs.
It was under this stressful condition, where everyone in the queue was complaining bitterly that a reverend gentleman walked from nowhere to the bank's gate (bypassing everyone), and wanted to enter the bank.
While he walked on, someone said softly, "Sir, the line is back here".
Apparently deceived by the influence of the aura of his pastoral regalia or, assuming he was a man of God that none could challenge, he pretended not to hear, and continued. Or, could it frustration that was pushing him on? Whatever came over him could better be explained by him alone.
The crowd was outraged, shouting at him for displaying such an impunity without regard to others in the queue. People were just shouting their objection but, being held back by the reverence attached to the office of a reverend.
This was not the case with a young man who was very likely to be an undergraduate who rushed from behind to stop the reverend from entering the bank.
"Oga, come back and...", he shouted in fury, and was yet to complete his sentence when he pulled the reverend at his black cassock.
The security men seemed to be taken unawares as they appeared helpless and in shock.
The reverend looked back to see his attacker. He raised his short staff which had a silvery cross on it. "I ..."
He had not completed his sentence when the angry young man shouted at him again to go and join the queue.
At this instance, those who couldn't summon enough courage to stop the reverend, woke up from their slumber and rushed to him, telling him to his face that he was not fit to be a reverend.
As the reverend raised his hand again, he fell down for no clear reason. Maybe he felt dizzy.
The security men now regained their senses, and rushed to hold the young man back. Then, they led the reverend away.
On the lips of everyone was condemnation for the reverend. "That serves him well", they chorused. "He thought he was in the midst of his church members who worship him based on his outward appearance", one woman said.
The noise generated by this drama drew the attention of people inside the bank who trooped out to watch. For a time, banking activity stopped as everyone was analysing the incidence from their perspective.
At this point, the bank manager himself came out to address the crowd. Hello, our esteemed customers, we are sorry for the situation we all found ourselves.
"Certainly we're not happy with the situation, and we know you're not as well. All we request is that you bear with us as we struggle to do the best we can of a bad situation. All we . ."
The crowd who would not take anything apart from immediate answer to their problem shouted him down, accusing him of favouring some personalities behind the scene.
"Please, just hear me out", he begged amidst shouts of disapproval. "All we know is that this situation will not last for too long. It'll soon be over. Just a little more patience".
As he kept talking, only a few tried to listen to him. Majority had already made up their mind, believing that nothing beneficial will come out of his speech.
Meanwhile, the reverend gentleman was led out by security men into an ambulance to be taken to the hospital. The crowd booed as the ambulance drove away.
