Exactly a year ago, immediately after FG lifted the ban on interstate travel, I was on my way back to Asaba from Abuja, and I experienced drama!
The last two passengers to board the bus were a man and a fine lady who were a couple, I supposed.
“Everybody wear your face mask. This bus no go comot unless everybody wear face mask o,” the driver announced.
I looked round. Everyone in the bus was wearing a face mask, except the fine girl.
“Wear your face mask nau,” I told her.
She ignored me initially. But after about two other passengers shouted at her, she said she didn’t have a face mask.
“Where is the one I bought for you just before we entered the park?” The supposed boyfriend asked.
Silence.
The guy alighted, went outside the park and bought two face masks. This was when one face mask was sold for about N400/N500. He came back and gave one face mask to the girl. She held the face mask over nose instead of wearing it over her nose and strapping it behind her ears.
“There are many police checkpoints for road o. Dem go check for who no wear face mask. Abeg, nobody should put us in trouble,” the driver pleaded as he drove out of the park.
Just before we left Abuja, we were flagged down at a police checkpoint.
“Shebi everybody wear face mask?” The driver asked as the bus approached the police.
We looked around. Guess who wasn’t wearing a face mask? Fine Girl!
We shouted at her and she grudgingly held the piece of cloth over her nose again.
Fine Girl continued this show stubbornness until our bus was flagged down again somewhere in Lokoja. After the usual check, Fine Girl was the only one without a face mask.
“Wind carry the mask from the window,” she complained after we shouted at her to wear her mask. The boyfriend was trying to get the second mask, but he was too late. The police had seen Fine Girl.
It took a series of “abeg” and a bribe of two thousand naira by the boyfriend for the police to let us continue our journey.
I was boiling inside.
“See eh, if police catch anyone wey no wear mask again, I go drop the person and we go continue our journey,” the driver fumed as we got back on the road. Passengers agreed. I was happy.
Hours later, I was woken from sleep by a heavy tap on my shoulder from the window. The police had stopped us again in Enugu and asked everyone to alight. Fine Girl was caught without a face mask again!
The boyfriend had a private negotiation with the policemen and he was asked to pay five thousand naira before Fine Girl could continue the trip with us. But the boyfriend didn’t have 5k, so he started to beg passengers to assist him. I walked far away from him because I didn’t want to say anything in anger.
As the boyfriend continued to seek help without success, the driver said he was going back inside the bus.
“Make you come collect her bag. I dey carry other passengers comot. Shebi I warned everybody?”
Las las, the policemen took the 3k the boyfriend had and let Fine Girl go.
Back in the bus, everyone started to shout at the girl. Next thing, she started to cry, blaming the boyfriend for not waiting for flight resumption so they could travel by air. The guy was apologising.
Some weeks after the incident, I read a Facebook thread where people were writing the things about them that their partner must put up with. A good number of women were almost romanticising their stubbornness and how any man who would date or marry them must be willing to accommodate their stubbornness. I shook my head.
We have learned to endorse rub.ish with “…you have to accept me the way I am if you love me.”
What a load of craaaap!
Written by Nnamdi Juddy Atupulazzi
