I remember when I wanted to travel to Ibadan, my dad specifically said I should move as early as 6 am to Akwa Ibom Transport Company(AKTC). I didn't adhere to this instruction. I thought 6 am was too early for anyone to be on the road. I was wrong. By the time I got there, the buses had moved. I had to use Itam Park. Over there, their drivers usually leave late for any journey. No matter the distance. Dad was really angry. Not only did this keep me out late, Ibadan almost closed their gate before I got there.
It was a 12 hours journey. Leaving as late as 10-11 am spelled disaster. When it was time to return home, dad took me to the office AKTC, the one based in Ibadan, very early. He paid for my ticket, we waited a few minutes for people who booked the previous day to arrive, once they got there, we left. I vowed never to take long-distance journeys late anymore.
Source
That vow took a different turn yesterday. I wanted to go to Abuja, and before I could prepare and leave, it was already 10 am in morning. I knew deep down this was a mistake, I should return home, and travel the next day. I couldn't go home, it was the only chance I had, and I had to take it.
I almost couldn't get a bus. Fate was by my side because as I was contemplating leaving, a man walked up to me and asked where I wanted to go. Abuja. I responded. He was in a hurry, and he asked me to make up my mind quickly if I wanted to follow him so he could get me on a bus to Abuja. I did. I followed him. I was charged extra for this, I figured, the extra was his for bringing me.
Then we started on the journey. We had lots of obstacles. I mean plenty. We spent close to an hour at Aba trying to sort tickets issues out with the thugs, in that state. Afterward, we spent another 30 minutes trying to get our bus out of a roadblock plus bad roads. Phew. We were so late for this journey.
My driver was acting all confidence even though his passengers complained about the distance, and how much time we had wasted.
After everything, we set off. Night met us in Lokoja. My driver tried James Bond. Not working. We were all tired and stress out. Everyone on the bus slept. I was dozing off too. All the while, right from Akwa Ibom I was watching my driver from his mirror. I could tell when he was tired from his eyes.
I doze off and then woke up abruptly. I remembered something. If all of us were on this bus since morning and we are all tired and sleeping, is my driver a superhuman?
Fear began to grip me. It would have been different if we were taking a night bus, I would have been convinced that my driver had slept throughout the day and he is on night duty. The reverse was the case. He wasn't on night duty. He is no superhuman. He is as tired as the rest of us. I could no longer access his mirror. So I couldn't tell if he was dozing off or not. I was scared. Sleep left my eyes. Every time a trailer comes through, I watched to see if my driver is awake to evade it. The man who sat in front was watching too. It got to the point, where he was swayed off by a vehicle, now, I knew I was right.
The souls on the street were all gone. It was just us. I remembered a story about the people who drove trailers. Someone said, they usually leave a stone on their breaks. And sleep. The stones do the driving, while they sleep. So anyone who gets in the way is crushed because the driver isn't aware of anything. Gosh, is my driver doing the same thing? No, will we get crushed by one of those trailers? I was getting scared now.
I am safe. Of course, it's the reason I am writing this. Never again will I take a trip to a long-distance late. I am making this vow again, and I'll make sure I keep this one.
Ps: I had no idea if we have an active travel community on hive. Someone, please recommend one for me so I can publish similar posts there on subsequent occasions. Thank you very much in advance.