Don’t you just hate it when people with power run you off the roads with their convoys and sirens?
You see people, especially men in uniform, who we all know are not going anywhere important, use sirens just because they can. I have seen people use official cars, escorts and sirens to attend weddings. It annoys all of us (well, unless you are in the convoy/siren vehicles).
So that was how I and fellow passengers in a bus became annoyed at a LASEMA-Lagos State Emergency Management Agency – convoy that consisted of two bikes, a small ambulance and a Hilux van blaring sirens to clear traffic somewhere along the Lekki-Ajah axis.
Passenger 1: See as them dey blow silen (yup, she said Silen) as if na better thing dem dey go do.
Passenger 2: No mind them, small power dem get dem go dey use am do anyhow.
And so the conversation continued in the bus, everyone was sure and annoyed that these people were using the state vehicles to run around for their personal errands. One man added, “and if you call them wey better emergency happen you no go see dem, useless Pipo”.
We laughed. People began to share stories of how they had fire issues and called fire service, who arrived hours later without water. Another shared a story of a robbery, how police, and vigilantes they employed disappeared until hours after the robbery. The atmosphere in the bus changed somewhat, although it sounded like people were amused, they were only laugh-crying at the Nigerian condition where your name is OYO – On Your Own.
Well, some metres ahead of us, we saw the LASEMA vehicles parked by the side of the road. There had been a horrible accident between a danfo and a small truck. The officials, because of the siren and convoy they used to clear the roads, had arrived on time, and removed people from the mangled bus.
They were administering first aid to some by the road, while the seriously injured had been bandaged, put in the ambulance and I assumed being taken to the hospital for proper treatment. Our bus slowed down, we ahhhhed, and hayyyed.
Then we remembered how we had bad-mouthed these guys just a few minutes ago, but you know how hard it is for Nigerians to accept that they did something wrong. The bus remained quiet.
It was later that a woman said, “so accident really happened and LASEMA went to rescue people? Hian. Lagos don dey better, we thank God.”
And everyone else joined in, looking at the sky, and raising hands towards heaven to thank God for Lagos, because LASEMA went to rescue accident victims. Because as Nigerians, we have to thank God for every little good thing that the government does even when it is its job to do it.
So yeah, we thank God for LASEMA.