The day started on a wet note so to speak as I woke up at about 4:30 am. The first thought that came to my mind was how I would get to the office? Rain is good for our land, crops et al. so they say, but I personally hate the rains. Everywhere is all wet and soggy; the grounds become slippery and muddy, the drainages overflow. Of course, rate of accidents are usually on the rise in this season. The list is endless..
Navigating Lagos traffic on a wet day like this is usually a herculean task. To make things worse, there was fuel scarcity. Double wahala indeed. I won’t want to be caught in it, so I rushed to the bathroom and in less than 30 minutes, I dashed out of my house, hoping and praying that there would be a bit of sanity on the road.
I got to the bus-stop and was surprised seeing such a large number of commuters so early and was asking myself whether Lagosians sleep at all. It was as early as 5:30am. Thankfully, I got a bus going to Iyana-Ipaja. Though filled with scary faces, I still boarded the bus.
I alighted at Egbeda. Initial thought was to take a bike to make the journey faster, but after I carefully considered how drenched I would be before getting to my destination, in addition the slippery roads at that moment made it very unsafe. If I fall down, what will happen to my fine tender skin? Yes, my fine, tender skin. With all these thoughts swimming in my head, I decided not to.
After much deliberation, I took bus to Ikeja instead. It was like the driver was psychic and he immediately put on a warmer in his bus and I was warm for a while. The road was free and I was glad I would arrive office ahead of schedule, but it seemed like I rejoiced too soon because bus-stop, we were confronted with the usual “mad” gridlock.
A danfo driver hit a woman’s car. Though there was a little scratch on her car, she was hell bent on dealing with the driver. As usual, the silly argument that ensued worsen the traffic situation. It took various interventions to placate the woman and restore peace.
At Ikeja, getting Keke NAPEP wasn’t easy also. The other alternative, okada, has been banned around Ikeja by the state government. Eventually, I got to the office at 7:40 am and was surprised seeing some of my colleagues outside. The guy with the office key, apparently due to the wet day, wasn’t around yet.
I was sorry for myself. After going through all the stress, I still needed to stand outside for God knows when. Luckily, the waiting wasn’t for too long. What a rainy day.