It is true that anybody can die anytime, but it Lagos, you could literally be minding your business and Lagos will find ways to kill you.
Of course death can come at any time. Some people even say when it is your turn to die, you die, and nothing you do can prevent death. Okay, I have no arguments against those supernatural things. But my problem is what of those unnecessary deaths people die due to lack of infrastructure and laws that do not work in this country? Especially in this crazy Lagos.
The other day a house was burgled in one estate. Residents of the estate decided the culprits must be living inside the estate because it had tower fence, electrified barb wires, patrolling security men etc- it is a big estate. As law abiding citizens, the residents as a unit invited the police to come do investigations. Police showed up, what did they do? Pulled down doors of all the single men that live in the estate. Where did they see money to live in such lush estates? Not minding some of them rented BQs o. They roughed them up so bad, then threw them into their cars and zoomed off. Bail was not below N100,000. The boys paid up because people have died for far lesser crimes in the hands of the police in this Lagos.
Then is it commercial bus drivers and okada riders? I was trying to cross the road the other day on my way home from work when an okada riding on the wrong lane almost ran into me. I had only a split second to move out of the way. While I was still recovering from my shock the man said, “you no dey look where you dey go? Ashawo!” Then he drove off.
There are many other ways this city, our mega city plots to kill us every day
Remember that time I wrote about a bus I was in that suddenly caught fire? A few days later that bus was patched up and put back on the road. This week another danfo burst into flames around Jakande roundabout. As the bus burned, people went about their activities like it is a normal sight for a bus to be burning in the middle of the road. LASTMA officials were a few feet away breathing in the bad smoke as they tried to control traffic. I looked at the burning bus for a while, yes someone’s means of livelihood is gone but I was so glad the bus burned thoroughly. Yes, at least another vehicle that should not be on the road is gone.
Is there no way our government can regulate the fitness of the buses on our roads? What am I saying? Government ke? Anything the Nigerian government gets involved in becomes a huge mess.
So have you registered to vote in 2019? Have you collected your PVC? Click HERE to see centres where you can register across Nigeria.
Happy weekend, fam!