Let me tell you about the BRT. Its meaning in full is Bus Rapid Transit. The BRT is a kind of transport system with subsidized payment and a separate, special lane, introduced in Lagos State, Nigeria by a former governor; Babatunde Raji Fashola.
I was in a BRT today and realized something interesting. The protective covering given to the driver as well as the prohibition clause against assaulting a BRT driver, pasted around the bus, must have been well thought out.
Perhaps, the governor or the people in charge were aware of the fact that Nigerians or rather Lagosians are impatient no-nonsense people and can take up a fight with a driver whom they found annoying.
This realization stemmed from the fact that the driver of the BRT I was in, was driving at a slow pace, in the midst of traffic congestion and was "allowing other cars move ahead of him".
The passengers were berated, many of them already late for work or others trying to beat time. They screamed, shouted and rained insults on the driver. The driver made it worse by replying and hurling insults back at the passengers.
I think somebody would have taken the steering from him, had he not had the protective glass over the driver seat. He probably would have been beaten up too. It was quite a dramatic situation.
The BRT is a very fun place to be. I laugh every time when I am in it. Different characters, Different faces, many observations and what not.
Today, a girl called a man ill-mannered for standing directly in front of her, at an angle that made them face each other. Personally, I think the man was as she described. How can a well mannered person stand in an obstructive position of another whom he had met standing at that position prior to his entry? I would have fought her battle for and with her but for the fact that I seem to already have a reputation for making trouble. She seemed capable enough to fight her own battle. So, I kept mute.
I noticed a man, and a woman dozing off today. It made me chuckle within myself. I also felt dizzy and was nearly dozing off as well. This Lagos is a place for hustling. You wake up very early to make it to work. Then you try your best to recover the lost sleep on the bus because you definitely will get back from work late, and will yet still nap on the way back.
No one sells or preaches in the BRT. Perhaps that would have added to the whole drama. But rules are rules. And because of these rules our driver stayed protected.
- Chizaram Opara
