Escaped three accidents in a day en-route ICT events – 2 of 4
From Obalende garage to Ikeja, Lagos.
On my way to the next event, I took a bus from the Obalende garage to Ikeja, it was quite a drive and I know I will be very late with hardly enough programme left to catch. I resigned myself to this fact and hope that I get there as soon as possible. It has been raining too, so the road was wet. Suddenly yet again, right under one of the bridges on the mainland express way, there was a loud busting sound and the bus skidded out of the road with the driver battling to control the steering wheel. My heart was already out of my mouth full of panic. The driver managed to halt the bus before it hits the concrete road-side guard. He got off and went to look at the tyre and made to start doing something. The passengers asked him to let us out because we were locked in the bus and it can only be opened from outside. Luckily again, there were no other vehicle close to the bus and so we were lucky, no collision. Unfortunately still, no apology, no remorse, no explanation. I tried to complain but I was rudely shouted down.
Along with the other passengers, I waited right there in the rain while he changed the tyre. As I was watching him from afar, I decided to take his picture changing the tyre. He is a tall stocky man, possibly in his 40s, he has grey hair growing back from his bold-cut hair with equally grey beard. What is peculiar about this man is that he is very, very dirty, in his body and clothing, he could be mistaken to be one of those mentally challenged persons that walk the street in his appearance except for the fact that he is quite articulate in his speech and very politically aware, from the conversation he was having with the passengers sitting in the front next to him as he drives. The lady standing next to me under the bridge where we were taking shelter from the rain remarked that she has never really trusted dirty looking people like him. If he can not be bothered to take care of himself and his appearance how would he care to take care of anything or anybody else and I feel it makes sense to think so.
I really do not understand why people care more about making money not caring about the things that enable them to make the money like this vehicle. This is a common issue as far as I have experienced so far. There are many rules in operation in garages where these vehicles take off, I wonder why there is no rule that says no one can drive a vehicle that is not roadworthy from this garage, why the police, FRSC, the LASTMA, the VIO or whatever they call them can’t check on these vehicles and take them off the road for good. Most of these vehicles belong to the scrap yard not on the roads. We lose many lives on a daily basis due to these vehicles that are not roadworthy and the reckless drivers that drives them. The question is who is taking responsibility for all these loses. If people are being held responsible for their recklessness and endangering lives by plying the roads with these due-for-scrap-yard vehicles, then the people will change their attitude and care more about the vehicles they use in their transportation business and value lives and safety more than money.
Someone might think, why would anyone enter a bus that is obviously not roadworthy? the answer to this is many folds. First, most of the commercial vehicles are very old and mostly bought as second to several-hands. Originally, most are imported used vehicles from abroad, so hardly can you see any new commercial vehicle plying the roads except for those from niche service providers, which are quite limited and not always accessible to common people like the ones from the garages. When you get to the garage, the commercial vehicles are always in-turns, so you can only get on the next available one. If you think you can’t get on the one in-turn for whatever reason, you will have to wait for the next one after that, which could take several hours and there is no guarantee the next vehicle will be any better than the one you don’t want to go with. I have had this experience several times, so you get the same thing if not worst what ever choice you make.
If you have an appointment to get somewhere at a particular time, you will automatically be looking for the next available vehicle taking you to your destination, so you can get there on time. Thinking about how roadworthy this vehicles is, is not on top of your mind but getting to your destination on time. Consciously or unconsciously, you put your safety and life in the hands of God and then the driver and his vehicle. Realistically, this is the only choice you have using commercial vehicles from our garages in Nigeria. Unless of course, you have your own vehicle, which means you have no business using commercial vehicles from the garages. The other alternative are the niche services, but the same safety issue applies. Most of these services are money-focused and safety might not be a top priority and there are several levels of safety to worry about as well.
My ordeal for the day is not over yet, my third accident in a day took place later in the evening on my way back home to Ibadan. The driver of the second accident fixed the bus with the extra tyre he had with him and managed to drive me to my destination after that. I got there very late, the programme was already at the last stage and I could only catch the late-comer speaker, some of the panel questions and the award presentation. I was gutted, I really wanted to attend the event for Webhostville, so I can learn more about the ICT goings-on in the country, what people are doing and what I can learn from them. Both accidents disrupt my plans and I can only thank Allah(swt) that I still remain in one piece. The programme ended no sooner than I got there and I had to leave on my way back home.