Day in day out, several people troop to Lagos state for greener pastures. Whether they are lucky enough to find their desires or not life must go on. So, on a daily basis, most of them find solace in the company of others while attempting to move from one part of the state to another. It does not matter what type of company, or how long it may last, somehow they find a common ground to enjoy it. Or putting it another way, they look for better ways to tolerate such company.
Now, Danfo buses constitute major means of transportation since the state government in its magnanimity decided to phase out molues, the “almighty king of the road.”
On the whole, Lagos is known for this mode of transportation. Basically, if you haven’t experienced life here, then you haven’t experienced Lagos, the Centre of Excellence.
These buses are always furious and sometimes fast as they manoeuvre through traffic while scratching other people’s vehicles. Do they care? And you know some people struggle boarding them, while others are comfortable taking a ride on them. Such is life! One man’s meat, they say, is another man’s poison.
The truth is while riding on them, you are likely to meet different characters whose company you may like or dislike, depending on which side of the divide you belong.
Let’s get to know them.
The Sleeper: I refer to this group as “the body no be firewood passengers.” Seriously! How do you sleep comfortably inside a danfo bus on Lagos roads some of which are dotted with potholes? Here’s their antics: Immediately they get a seat and the bus begins to move, they doze off. One of those mornings, one of them fell asleep and her head ended up on my poor shoulder.
Assistant Driver: Now, in a Danfo bus, there is a driver, bus conductor, passengers and within the passengers, we have the assistant drivers. This set of people orders the driver around, they tell the driver how to drive and what not to do. You will hear them say things like, “Overtake that car”, “Driver you too fast na,” “Driver abeg you too slow,” “Take right”, “No follow that side” etc. They often end up annoying the driver.
The Preachers: Once you hear “Praise the Lord”! Just know they are on the bus. Immediately the bus moves, they start a prayer and then move on to preaching. Last week, one sat beside me, and preached for an hour non-stop. Luckily for me, he didn’t have books to sell because I didn’t even have money for that. He reminded us of heaven and hell “if you die now, where will you be”? Some passengers didn’t find this funny. They managed to throw him angry glances. In the words of 2baba “Nobody wan die but dem wan go heaven.”
The APC or PDP supporters: this set of people runs analyses and commentaries on politics without caring if they are right or wrong. In this case, you are likely to have a Buhari supporter and an Atiku supporter engage in a political war. Listening to their conversations provide comic relief.
The Complainers : if you want to trigger this set of passengers, just say something like “Buhari no fit repair these roads?” Trust me, they will take over and complain bitterly about the government, fuel scarcity, unemployment, etc. Sometimes, they have people who opppse them and this makes it worse as they never agree on anything while still shouting at the driver “Driver take it easy na.”
The Observer : This passenger is either listening to music with headsets, reading a book, or just pressing their phone. They only speak when they get to their bus stops. “Driver I wan come down,” they would intermittently break the conversation. I love this set of passengers and most times I fall into this category.
The Youth corper : The Youth corper is like the salt and maggi needed in a soup to make it taste. You will almost always find one in your bus dressed in their white and khaki trousers. I fall into this category on my CDS day.
What are your experiences commuting on danfo?
