There was a day that I will always remember, at first I thought my time was wasted little did I know that it was a blessing in disguise. Calm down and let me narrate everything that happened on that very day, please follow me.
It was a hot Friday afternoon in Ibadan, the Bodija motor park was as noisy as ever. Conductors were shouting their different destinations “Lagos! Lagos! Lagos, Ilorin!, Ilorin!” while passangers are also looking for a better bus with affordable prices and hawkers parade between buses, hawking baskets of plantain chips, chocolate biscuits and bottled water.
I was on my way to Lagos for a cousin’s wedding. My plan was simple which was to leave by 2pm and get to Lagos before 6pm in order to rest before the big day. I had even packed my luggage a day before so that I can get there early after church morning service to avoid the usual wahala. By 1:40 pm, I was already seated in the bus fanning myself with a folded newspaper. The driver, a tall man in a faded cap assured us “We dey move exactly two o’clock, no delay.”
At 2pm on dot, just as the driver turned the key, a man in a Road Safety Vest waved him down. “Driver, park well. We need to check something.” The driver groaned and said “Oga, I get passengers o” but the man was firm “Na small matter, timeout for road inspection.”
We all sat there confused. A “timeout” in motor park language usually meant anything from routine checks to random bribes but this one turned out to be a proper inspection by the Road Safety officials. They went through the bus papers, checked the tyres and even asked for the fire extinguisher. The inspection took almost thirty minutes. Passengers grumbled, some suggesting they should just “settle” the officials and move. I was getting irritated too, calculating how late I would now arrive in Lagos. Finally, we were cleared to go and the driver zoomed off muttering under his breath. We had barely driven for fifteen minutes when we reached the Lagos-Ibadan expressway and saw something that made the entire bus go silent.
A multiple ghastly car accident had just occurred, a tanker had fallen across the road blocking both lanes. The twisted metal of a commercial bus was still steaming from the impact from the looks of it, the accident had happened not more than ten minutes earlier. The driver slowed down and whispered, “Na this same spot we for dey now if no be that timeout.”
As we took a dusty way to bypass the scene, I sat quietly thinking about what I had seen as an annoying delay was in truth a blessing. That thirty minutes timeout had kept us out of danger by the time we reached Lagos, my irritation was gone replaced by gratitude. Sometimes in life, God forces you to pause not to punish you but to protect you.
And now, whenever unexpected delays happen I remember that day at Bodija motor park I no longer complain too quickly because I know that everything works together for my good, not all delays are from the devil some are orchestrated by God to keep you away from the harm ahead. Time is costly but sometimes take your time so that speed doesn't cause you a disaster of a lifetime.
Thank you for staying with me this far, I hope you had a good read. See you next time, have a great week ahead 🤗
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