Good day to you all. I am Pirate Q. The one and only Pirate that sails a paper ship. Don't worry about the paper ship sinking. Pirate Q never drowns. There is always a way out unless you feel there is no way out again. I believe in God, smart work, my phone, and my sub…
Many times when I have to visit Lagos state, I am always excited on one side and also extra careful on the other side. I knew there was a lot to what it takes to be in Lagos. I don't know if it's actually the hustling nature of the state or just the people living their lives that way.
Words of advice.
Every time I plan to embark on a journey to Lagos I always get these special words of advice from my parents. I wonder why it is always constant when I plan to journey to Lagos. When I am traveling to other states I get little or no advice but prayers. But for Lagos, it's always difficult. The level of advice also differs depending on the location I am visiting. Some areas will get low-level advice while some will deserve strict pieces of advice. I never knew much until I began to visit places in Lagos and got a whole bunch of experiences.
Public bus Conductors and Transport fare balances
I have always been warned to shout the hell at bus conductors so I can get my balance on time before highlighting. But I never saw any reason for a calm and nice guy like me to scream in public buses. Lucky I would always remain lucky most times when I get into buses. It's either I have enough cash on me to pay the transport fee, or I have the exact amount the bus conductor requested. At times my luck even gets to the extent of getting balances from the passenger next to me. I never knew the value of good luck until I missed one.
One day, I boarded a bus after I had just left the ATM stand to withdraw. I had no extra cash apart from the ones I withdrew. Then I had no option than to spend the thousand naira notes on me. I gave it to the bus conductor and he quickly wrapped it in the money he was holding. I stretched my hands for my balance, but he said he was not running away. I remembered Mum's advice and wanted to scream for my balance, but my voice got nowhere. Maybe I was too shy. I didn’t make any other attempts till I alighted at my destination. Then I asked him for my balance. Instead of giving me 700 naira, he threw 500 naira at me and asked the driver to zoom off. He waved at me from afar. All I did was smile and learn my lesson.
The strangers' strange look.
Lagos, gradually I began to dislike that city for no reason. There was a time when I lost my way due to these public buses and what they call bus stops. I thought my Google map would come to my aid, without knowing the driver had already taken another route to avoid the traffic and police officers along the normal route. I have been staring at the street through the bus windows for minutes but I have yet to even see any landmarks I knew. I thought I must have entered the wrong bus, but I heard him call the bus stop and I even asked before entering the bus. At some point, I thought to speak up before my journey got too far that I wouldn't be able to make up for my mistakes.
I screamed at my bus stop so the bus conductor could hear. After screaming I realized everyone on the bus started laughing and some felt sympathetic. They said I had passed my bus stop long ago. What have I been doing on the bus? I felt like a fool. I asked him to allow me to drop from the vehicle immediately. I don't even know where I am again.
After alighting, I trekked a little backward till I got to a filling station, and then I tried to ask a man waiting for a bus. I just said good morning, but he looked at me like I came to beg for money and walked away. I realized I had indeed become a fool. I decided to meet a woman, at least women should be motherly. I asked her and she didn’t even look at me twice. I thought if I kept it going that way, probably I might get challenged for something I never did. In the end, I took another bus back to where I came from and then boarded another to my destination.
Crazy drivers everywhere.
I thought I had seen it all in the city of Lagos not until I boarded a bus and the driver encountered traffic congestion. There was another bus trying to overtake the bus I was on, then it became a rough drive among both drivers. All of a sudden I heard the bus conductor saying the driver should get closer to the other bus driver, which he did. The bus conductor after soaking some alcohol mixed with saliva in his mouth spit directly on the face of the other bus driver. I couldn’t laugh. That was so crazy. They laid curses upon each other but the other driver couldn’t see again. He had to manage and park his vehicle while our bus zoomed off.
