Hear Word!

I think it is indeed true that when one sits in a dirty environment for too long he or she becomes numb to the dire reality of his or her situation.

I was on my way home from work. At a certain stop the taxi driver plied a different route to avoid a ‘hold up’. Whilst we were going past it, passengers in the vehicle could see more clearly the magnitude of the ‘hold up’. If we had plied the normal route, I estimate that we would have spent at least 20 minutes going through. The lady beside me exclaimed “this one na small sef, e no too long”.

I’m not sure if I rolled my eyes, I think I should have. I don’t mean to sound impatient or rude. How on earth can you ply a route that takes you 30 minutes and counting to get through, every day, for most days of your life, and the day you spend 20 minutes you rejoice as though a helicopter lifted you and dropped you off at your door step. You deserve to go through seamless traffic!

Now, while you might be thinking 15, 20 minutes is not a long time to spend going through a particular spot…after all, there are worse days. You my friend are part of the problem.

Don’t argue. Let’s go through this.

My frustration at this point is not with the government, or local government officials so to speak. My frustration is that in Nigeria, individuals turn a blind eye to the little misdeeds around, and then turn around to blame the government.

How is it that ‘Road Safety’ have to be deployed at almost every road just to get drivers to do the right thing, to park properly when picking up or dropping off passengers? How is it that the driver is more willing to pay the policeman 50 Naira, instead of parking his vehicle at designated bus stops? How is it that we would rather buy things from people who have spilled into the roads, than actually stepping into the market to get what we need? How is it that you encourage your drivers to ply one way when the ‘hold up’ seems too much for you to bear? ‘Smart driving’ and ‘Sharp drivers’ really have not done us any good because we end up still entangled.

So instead of thanking God that you spent less time in traffic today, how about we really look at the reason why we spend so much time getting to our destinations.

Or just like how Nigerians complain that the environment is not clean enough, drainages are blocked and roads/streets flooded.

You lot be looking for visa to check out to the abroad.

Let’s see. You drink pure water, you trash it on the road. You eat an orange or banana, you trash it on the road. You finish a can of soda, you trash it on the road. I can literally see trash coming out of car windows unto the road. Sigh! A driver I confronted once told me “madam leave that thing, we are Nigerians in Nigeria”. The audacity!!! Some who I confront have the curtsy to keep the empty cans with them till they get down (and I sure hope they eventually did right), others look me dead in the eye and still dump trash on the road.

The government is not off the hook. Really, they’re not.

Before you point fingers at almighty government, FIX YOURSELVES!!!

You know these drivers, you know these police officers, don’t sympathize with the market men & women, and caution those walking with you or in the same vehicle with you.

The orderliness in the abroad is possible here.

Please now, ehn, make we help each other.