Stand Alone

Alright Guys, this might turn out to be a long one but I'm sure you will enjoy it.

I had a flash back to a day I was out of town and was determined to return to Lagos in good time. I had woken up early enough to catch the first fight out of Abuja but to my surprise, flight had been canceled through out the week due to bad weather. For a minute, I was thrown off balance but my resolve to return to Lagos would not permit me to stay a day longer in Abuja. There was so much I had to get done.

I thought of the next option and that was traveling by road. This means a trip that would have lasted about an hour would now last for seven hours. Hey...I had to do what I had to do. Off I was to a registered and travel company. I quietly joined the queue to purchase my ticket after which we were checked into a luxurious bus by the company’s security.

We departed.

While on the bus, I thought of the safety of land travel and the menace of armed robbers. As my thoughts filtered in, I noticed that the bus ran at a ridiculously slow pace and eventually stopped. I was waiting to hear the driver give an explanation but the man with tribal slashes said nothing. Instead, he peeped out through his side window and spoke to some men who apparently wanted to get aboard the bus.

At this point, I’m thinking ‘…what in the world is this guy trying to do? What if these men are robbers?’ One of the reasons I chose to travel with the bus company was that they guaranteed safety and comfort. That was why I paid more than twice the fee a public bus would have charged.

Now, my rights were being infringed and my life and those of other passengers were about to be exposed to great risk.

At this point, the driver had concluded negotiations with the men, collected some money and was about to open the door. To top it up, not a word was said by anybody. Was I pissed? May be I was but also smart enough to display some restraint. But was I going to let this guy put my life at risk while I kept quiet with my arms folded for fear of being ridiculed if I spoke against such an irresponsible act? No! No! No!

I got off my seat and approached the driver. Not sure if he had his head screwed on, I decided to be polite. I took a quick look behind me and there were the other passengers seemingly unmoved by what was going on. Then it occurred to me that I was ‘standing alone.’

‘Excuse me’. I said in a very firm but polite way. What is going on? This bus has been parked for more than five minutes.’ The man turned and looked at me and replied in a very repulsive manner ‘I wan carry passenger.’ I replied, ‘but this is not a registered motor park. Besides, the manifest was signed at your terminal with the passengers checked in by security. It will be wrong of you to pick up more passengers.’ I further stated that such an act would be a bridge of contract. This guy flared up and was ready for a fight. Sensing the danger, I softened my voice and tactically calmed him down but I stood my ground.

Bearing in mind that we were in the middle of no where without GSM network, I was tempted to chicken out but the warrior in me said NO!!! I looked the man straight in the eye and shouted at him, ‘No! Those men will not board this bus. Your company assured us that no other passenger would be picked along the way.’ The driver’s eyes were spitting fire and so were mine. I stood my ground. Yes o! I did.

At this point the other passenger got involved but to my amazement, most of them supported the driver and accused me of stopping the driver from making extra cash. I got particularly interested in addressing a teenage girl who supported the driver. In fact she talked the loudest. I asked her if she had never heard of people who got robbed, rapped and killed by armed robber pretending to be passengers and that the men wanting to board the bus might just be members of a gang? She quiet sat back in her place and bowed her head.

I was gaining ground.

Now back to the driver. I insisted that we would proceed on the journey without ‘attachment.’ Surprisingly, this guy kept quiet, wore a sober look, returned the money to the men and we proceeded.

Wow! I won! What if I didn’t stand my ground? What is those men where robbers? What if I had denied my sense of value in the face of staggering opposition? Then, I would have failed to stand for what is right and probably not be here to tell this story.

Touch Down:

As daunting as the challenge may be, stand for what you believe is right even if you stand alone