Hello steemitians, i want to share with you my first experience in Lagos. It was noisy staying in upper iweka that night of 22nd September 1997. And i was so inquisitive to see that long hearing Lagos, there are this stories about how ones should be very careful in Lagos, how area boys use to intimidate anybody that enters that city, how some rouges can go as far as pushing somebody out of running bus ,how you can be beaten up without anybody asking to help you bla bla bla, so, i was kind of ready for any form of attack from anybody.
When we finally arrived in upper iweka in Onitsha Anambara state it was about 6:45pm and everywhere was rowdy, many people with their luggage’s waiting for night izuchukwu luxurious bus, many were carrying their babies that are so much worrying maybe because of the noisy and busy environment, some where drinking and smoking to pass the time. But i was seriously enjoying the chief osita osadebe’s people’s club and eating my gala and laca-sera and refreshing my memories on how to be very careful when we get there.
About 9pm, the bus conductors announced that everybody should enter his or her seat number, in fact , it was fun. If not because of bad odor that was coming out of the bag very close to me. The old woman was going to see her daughter in-law that gave birth, and she decided to fill her bag with things she thought will impress her including locust beans, i forced myself to sleep so as to forgot about it.
Not too long, our bus stopped and everybody was coming out, i under the influence of the sweet dream that i was into, where i was riding on BMW car with my friend onyeka raised up my head and immediately arranged myself, hoping that we were now in the Lagos and the alayes might have stopped our bus probably for collection of money. But everybody was quite and calm as they were coming out of the bus, then i joined them as we came down, i checked my wrist watch, it was 1:35am but everywhere was busy with music of all kind. The driver to my surprise told us to eat very fast that we must continue our journey immediately and that was when i asked one man close to me if we were not in Lagos, he said yes that we were in ore. Thank God i bought enough gala at Onitsha, i open my bag and continue from where i stopped.
Soon , the driver entered and horned loudly to inform everybody of his readiness , and we jumped into the bus and zoom off. I thought i would went back to that dream but no. Though i slept again but with no dreams, we finally got our destination when it was 5am, as early as that time, everywhere were busy with people, as i was going there for the first time and i don’t want to inform my brother of my coming because he might stopped me, he always gave me excuses of how he will came and pick me up by himself, that i will got lost and all that. I waited until every dark disappeared, all i knew was that he leaves in Ajegunle. Then i went into one big bus again as i heard the conductor calling Ajegunle i thought we would be taking to the park but no way! Everybody were just coming down while the moluwe was still moving slowly, until we got to a place where it remain only me and one of the conductor asked me where i was going to, i instead of answering his question asked him why they did not drop me in the park where i will got my destination very easy? The other one with crack voice shouted on me and asked me if i was crazy? Hey where are you going he repeated, now i had no option than to gave the answer, i am going to Ajegunle i answered , which side in Ajegunle he asked moving close to me as if he wanted to devour me, i really don’t know actually because i have never came here for the first time i replied with very soft tone. That was when the driver stopped and asked me if i knew the name of my brother, i answered yes but i thought i would see him as he always told us that he is leaving close to the main road. You don’t have to beat him up said the driver, he is one of the JJc , so he dropped me there i don’t know where, how whether to go up or down left or right. But one thing i knew was that i was not going to get lost since i have my unite card in my bag, then there was no GSM like this but there is this phone number that my brother use to attach in every of his letter, that was their office phone. Then i went straight to phone boot and slot the card fortunately, i have some unite, i picked up one of the letters that he sent and dialed the number, a lady picked up and asked me whom i was looking for? i told her my brother’s name and that i am in nitel office ijora, she said okay, that i should wait while she connect me with my brother he was very angry with me, after shouting and asking me how i got there, he came and pick me up.
Anywhere, i have gone so far with this story i think i will stop here and probably continue with it next time, there i will tell you how i mate the alays , how they collected my money and how i got missed after i lost my usual unite card.
Well that is it for now, thanks for reading.
Eko state
Na so o
Eko wenjele
I love lagos
eko