The atmosphere at Okeyson Motor Park was filled with noise – everyone looked busy and had one thing or the other doing. I was supposed to travel on Wednesday but changed my mind at the last minute and decided Thursday was better. So on Wednesday evening I secured my ticket – at an outrageous price – and was instructed to come the following morning before 6:30 AM; apparently that was when the bus would move.
I arrived at 6:15 AM and sure enough, I was the second passenger to clock in at the table. I don’t know why I expected people to be on time. After writing my name and details down, the lady upfront gestured towards the waiting chair for me to sit and wait. I obliged, sat down and picked up a novel to read. I got bored after a while and decided to take in my environment.
This wasn’t my first time travelling so I was already used to the hustle and bustle all around me, but I had never actually watched people with intent. I discovered a lot of things that morning which I’m going to share with you.
I can categorically say it is a guarantee that at any Nigerian road transport company you decide to travel with, at least three of these characters will be present, alive and hustling😅.
Before we go on, I’d like to say that Nigerians are very special people blessed with the natural drive to hustle and make it under any circumstance.
1 The Pastor: This is the man that cares about your spiritual life and safety to the extent of entering your bus with you and praying for you till you are fully covered by the spirit. He will Kabash away any evil weapon fashioned against your journey. And after prayers, of course you have to drop some tips for the man of God “My brethren reach into your pocket and help a brother with any amount”
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The first time I encountered of them, I actually became worried because I kept thinking he was going to follow us to our destination and he didn’t have a seat. Not knowing our Pastor did not start the business today. The driver already knew where to stop him. I guess he’d come down, go back to the company and find another bus to pray for.
Funny enough it is usually a very competitive business.
2 The Electronics Vendor: Nigerians would testify that no matter the time of the day, once you find yourself at the motor park, there will always be a guy selling different electronic devices. Is it earpiece, screen guards, ear pods, phone pouches, chargers, even power banks? He definitely has them all neatly stacked in a basket, on full display.
One tip, don’t look at the basket if you don’t want to buy anything 😅, or else they will focus all their attention on you and you’ll end up buying something that you don’t even need 😂. In fact, avoid eye contact as much as possible.
3 Beggars: I promise you, if you stopped by a Nigerian motor park right this second, you would definitely see a beggar. Now there are three types of beggars;
- The Parent and the Child; this is usually a blind elderly man or woman accompanied by a child. The child would typically have a nylon or some sort of container in their hand, something to receive money into.
- The Sick; this is usually someone with an exaggerated health issue. Something like an open injury or a big swelling somewhere.
- The Advocate for Motherless Children; it’s always a middle-aged woman with a laminated file containing information of a motherless babies home.
Anyone of these three categories will approach you at some point and solicit for funds. Do well to give when you can 🙂.
4 The Luggage Loaders: Permit me to use this avenue to vent a bit. There is something I don’t quite understand yet. If we pay transport fees, aren’t we paying for the bus to accommodate us together with our luggage? Why on earth do some Nigerian drivers charge us separately for our luggage?
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Well, as the name implies, the luggage loaders are the people assigned to load the passengers’ luggage into the bus. You will typically see them on the job when the number of passengers for a bus is complete and they're ready to enter. It is always a struggle with these people because the way they would overcharge you, you will think you both had beef in a former life.
5 Food Sellers: The way they operate really represents the saying “If Mohammed cannot go to the mountain, the mountain will come to Mohammed”. These people are usually stationed outside the park and are not allowed in with their goods. But their main customers are the travelers inside, so what do they do?
They send someone to go inside the park to announce that “Rice and beans have arrived”. From there they take orders from people, dish out the food and come back in to deliver. It’s really crazy but very effective.
6 The Passengers: These are the main stars of the show. Na them get all the categories. There are different kinds of passengers.
- There is the couple that came to drop their ‘other half’ off,
- The child dropping off their parent after a successful Omugwo.
- The hot baddie that’s all dressed up as if she is not going to spend the whole day inside the bus,
- The group of friends gisting and happy to be travelling together,
- The quiet girl the meets a nice guy at the park and finds out they’ll be on the same bus and they both eventually fall in love 😅,
- The parent that insisted on lapping their child all the way instead of buying two tickets, and so many more.
That’s all I can remember for now. If you think there is any character I didn’t add, do well to state them down below in the comment section.