Travelers

Traveler It was one cold morning and I was heading back to school in a Toyota Hiace bus. The driver spoke the three major Nigerian languages, ibo, yoruba and hausa fluently that was the good part, but the bad part he was verbally abusive, the cry of a toddler filled the air and the drama began. "Your pikin dey cry, you no go give am breast", he said. The nursing mother pulled out her left breast to breastfed her baby. The stereo was blasting highlife and it went on and on for hours. "Drivee you no go change this your music", she asked. "Na you go tell me wetin I go play", he replies. "Mtchew." "Yeye girl." "Old man wen no fit respect himself." "Foolish girl." "I no blame you, na me wen enter your motor I blame." "Ode." "E don do", one of the passenger intervened. Upon getting to an accident scene, at the sight of a fallen trailer, traffic ensues, and warders direct, the road is cleared and a station wagon obstructs our vehicle forcing it’s way in. He honks. "i***t comet for there." Silence follows. He honks agaun. "Comot for road mumu." Silence follows. He honks agaun. "Werey kurombe." Silence follows. He honks agaun. "Comot for road oponu." Silence follows. He honks agaun. "Comot for road foolish man." Silence follows. He honks agaun. "Ode kuro no ona." Silence follows. He honks agaun. "Leave there stupid man." Silence follows. He honks agaun. "i***t move your kaya." The station wagon drivee brainstorms his way out of the brouhaha. "Ko ni dan fun e." The bus driver speeds off triumphantly. Upon arrival at Auchi, he makes a call. "Hello, I don reach Auchi." "Okay." "I dey Iyamho." "Iyamho." "Yes." "Okay." "I go collect the waybill for Iyamho." "I go soon reach Iyamho." "Dey prepare yourself." "Okay." He arrives at Iyamho, naturally, he places a call. "Helli, I dey Iyamho." "I dey come." "Fast o." Having waited for the quarter of an hour. "This girl foolish o." The passengers erupt into laughter. "Na useless person." The passengers erupt into laughter agaim. "E no get sense I call you now say I dey come." The passengers erupt into laughter.again. "Hello, I dey Iyamho, after that University." "I dey come." "Yiu dey come." "I dey come." "I don dey hear for fifteen minutes, you dey cone." He hangs off. His phone rings. "Hello." "Hello, no be you give me package." "Na me." "That your girl, her head dey touch." "Drop for Aduwawa, she go collect am for Aduwawa." "Okay." He arrives ar Aduwawa and calls the receiver. "Hello, I dey Aduwawa." "I dey come." "No be I dey come matter, if you nor come collect this package, I go carry am go, you go cone collect am for our office." "I dey come." "You better come fast." "You go soon see me." "Ok." He imagined in his head that he waits for ten minutes.and zoomed off. A tall light skin girl with cat eyes, pointed nose, pouted lips walks by. "Na you get the package.". "Yes." "Take sign here", he says his hands pointedly at the package signature section and hands her a biro. She signs and hands him the biro amd he zooms off. "That girl na ashawo are eye." "How you take know?", one of the passengers aaks. He arrived at my destination, Akpapava Park where I board a taxi cab to Ekosodin. The Journey It was one cold morning and I was heading back hone in a Toyota Hiace bus. The vehicle breaks down at Ekpoma amd the driver alights the vehicle to detect the fault. He opens the car bonnet and checks the radiator pretensively. He fakes a surprise amd squeezes his face. "Driver wetin sup?", one of the passenger asks. "Na the radiator", he replies. "Wein do the radiator." "E don burst." "We go find who go fix am." "Na shall thing." "Na small thing?." "I say na small thing." "Oya na." "I go fix am." "If you say so." "I say so." The driver opens his car door, retrieves a keg of water and pours a pail of water into the radiator amd closed the bonnet of the vehicle. "E don set." "Oya na." The driver boards the vehicle, starts the ignition, the ignition refuses to start, he restarts the vehicle, the vehicle starts, he drives the vehicle off the Ekpoma.expressway, the passengers jubilate. Two passengers,, fat dark skinned, busty and slim, chocolate and busty conversate. "Your bobo know where we dey go", the slim one.asks. "I no tell am o", the fat one replies. "E make sense like that." "Na engage we engage, we no marry." "He no surprise know." "Na maga money we wan chop we no kill person." "Maga must pay." "Guy man fall mugu walk." "Guy man fall mugs bounce." "You tell your bolo wen we dey come back." "I no tell am, why I go tell am." "Correct girl." "For e mind na vacation we go." The driver crosses the Murtala Muhamnad Bridhr. The vehicle breaks down along River Niger at Lokoja few meters after the Murtala Muhammad Bridge. He dips his keg into the Niger to fetch some water to my greatest surprise. "Make driver no fall o", one the passengers says concerninly. "If he fall he go stand", another of passenger replies coldly. "Abeg o", another interveners shiveringly. He fills the radiator drives nonstop to Abaji, he repeats the process, he drives nonstop to Zuba. "We don reach", one of the passengers says. "Alleluis", another says. "At last", another says. "Thank God", another says. "E cleat", another says. "Finally", another says. We alight the vehicle, most of the passengers board kabu kabu, while myself and two passengers, a tall dark skinned plump man and an average heighted light skinned girl stay back at the park. "Goodluck no try, naim spoil Nigeria, I don dey work since 2011, I know wetin my eye see." "Hmm hmm." "This my work I dey travel, I don travel go Ghana", "Ehn Ehn." "We pass Benin Republic, pass Togo, wen we reach Ghana, police block everywhere , na bike come carry us cross, I don go South Africa." "Those girls wen dey talk that time na runsgirls", he says. "Those ones no get shame", she says. The next morning I boarded a taxi cab home early in the morning thereabouts.