life is like jumping bus from sango to mowe

I have a habit of seeing or trying to see the lessons in every situation I find myself in.

Good/Bad.

Comfortable/Uncomfortable.

Joy-inducing/Painful.

I feel there’s always something to learn from everywhere and everything around us.

So, walk with me here.

On Tuesday, I went to school to collect my certificate.

I officially have a B.Sc degree in Mass Communication.

God did.

Anyways, I live in Ibadan, so I had to travel to Ota.

I took the train to Lagos then I made my way to Canaanland from there.

After I picked up my certificate, I saw a few of my friends and former lecturers.

My plan was always to leave the next day (Wednesday).

I wanted to stop over at the Redemption Camp to see a friend and see cousins who live there.

Then the first Dilemma came.

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Covenant University to Redemption Camp

Bolt = #30,000

InDrive = #27,000

Public transport (Maruwa + Bus + Bus) = #2,500

which way?

I didn’t even think twice about it.

bus way!

Now, I use public transportation ALL THE TIME, but this was the first time I would use it for inter-state travel.

But it was no problem.

There was no way I was paying almost 25k difference in the name of “comfort”.

And that brings us to our First lesson: As beautiful as comfort is, sometimes we have to sacrifice it for the “greater good.”

Which in this case was me saving my money for more important stuff.

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I made the mistake of leaving school way later than I should have.

I left a little around 3pm and by the time I got a bus to Berger, it was almost 6pm.

I had to wait in an empty bus for more than an hour because it just refused to fill up.

Some other people on the bus told me that they had been waiting for two hours.

Two hours?

how?

I’d have probably started my journey earlier if I had planned my day properly, and that was the Second lesson.

Plan for everything in advance and expect a few setbacks along the way.

Better to be ready for anything.

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When I got off the bus at Berger.

The first thing I did was to remove my earpiece and zip it with my phone in my pocket.

I wasn’t going to take any chances.

It was nighttime.

Many people were roaming around the bus, trying to “assist” passengers with their load.

As I moved around, I kept tapping my pocket to make sure my phone was still there.

I know enough about Lagos to know you can never be too careful with protecting your valuables.

And that’s Lesson Three.

What matters to you?

What are the things you truly value? Relationships? Perspectives? Family?

Protect the things you care about.

Guard them with all you have.

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Lesson Four: You’re going to have to disappoint people, like it or not.

When I was leaving the bus to walk closer to cross the highway, a young boy approached me and offered to carry my bag.

I declined.

He kept pestering.

I kept declining.

Eventually, he just took the hint and left.

Now, I had justifiable reasons to reject his “offer”:

1. I didn’t need it. It was just one small bag that I was already handling with ease.

2. It was late and I had no idea who he was. As I said, guiding your valuables in Lagos (and everywhere else) is very important.

Imagine I gave him my bag to carry and by the time I crossed the road, he was nowhere to be found.

In life, you will have to say no.

You must be ready to disappoint people.

Whether it’s friends or family or co-workers.

If you’re not willing to do that thing or make that sacrifice, then look them in the eye and boldly say-

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One thing I HATE doing is running when I cross the road.

People who do it even annoy me.

I prefer to wait till the nearest vehicle is far away, so I can just stroll across the road.

Calm and composed.

senior man thing

Then I had to cross the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.

Six lanes of trucks and cars and buses, all speeding. It was dark and nobody was slowing down for any reason.

That was when I knew I was going to have to run.

And run, I did.

I didn’t want to, but I HAD to.

And that was Lesson Five: Sometimes we just have to do things we are not comfortable with or break patterns of our habits.

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Lesson Six: Patience. That’s it.

Many times, we have settle down and be patient.

Especially when the circumstances are out of our control.

Like me when I was waiting for the bus that would take me to my final destination.

It was around 8pm, which meant fewer buses.

And the times when a bus would come, people would immediately rush it like

And there was NO WAY I was doing that.

So I had to wait.

I stood with my bag in hand, watching cars zoom by and people beg for free rides while wondering why my phone kept ringing in my pocket.

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It was my mother.

Calling me again to know where I was.

I didn’t want to use my phone in the open, but I had to quickly send her a text to tell her I was almost there.

I also texted her brother, my uncle, to tell him that I would be at his place soon.

Honestly, I didn’t understand why everyone was stressing.

I felt like I was fine and nothing was going to happen to me.

That was the Sixth Lesson.

People checking up on you and your well-being might seem “annoying” sometimes, especially when you feel like everything is under control, but it’s only because they care about you.

Appreciate it.

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When I finally boarded my last bus for the day, I thought it would be a good idea to sit at the edge, beside the door.

Until the driver left the door open and started speeding.

I had no idea the bus would make multiple stops along the way.

So there I was, enjoying the sweet breeze but holding my bag and praying to God that I wouldn’t fall out.

It was then that I got the idea to make this post.

And also Lesson Seven, which was: Whatever tough situation you’re going through, just hang on. It’ll be over soon.

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This next lesson warmed my heart.

It was a moment that showed me that there’s still some good people left in the world.

When the young man beside me and a smaller boy (I’m guessing was his brother) alighted from the bus, money fell out of his back pocket.

About 5 thousand Naira, I think.

And the people on the bus, starting from the man that first noticed, quickly called out to him to come back for his money.

He ran back to the bus and I handed the cash over to him.

The look on his face dissolved from panic to instant relief. He thanked everyone and the bus drove off.

It got me thinking to myself; maybe that was his last cash, or maybe it belonged to his father or his boss, maybe it was his dinner money or that was his only fare home.

The “simple” act of keeping that guy’s money could have caused him a lot of pain.

Lesson Eight: Let’s all be kind to people, even strangers, you’ll never know how helpful your simple gesture might end up being.

I’m glad there are still honest people in the country, at least.

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When we were finally, finally, getting to where I’d drop, the worst thing that could happen happened.

Traffic.

The journey since I left school had been relatively smooth, so why was it now that I was close that traffic decided to show its ugly head?

Why is it when we’re close to achieving our goals that setbacks always seem to arise?

Lesson Nine: There might be many obstacles on the way to your destination. Or progress may be terribly slow.

Be patient. Persist.

It’ll be over soon.

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I think it was almost 9pm or very close to 9, when I got off the bus and dropped at my destination.

I arrived, safe and sound.

All the stress and patience had finally paid off.

Now, the one thing that was a constant throughout this trip was Faith.

Travelling on busy highways, at such a distance, especially at night, was always going to have its risks.

But I had prayed before I left and during the trip and I was confident that I would reach where I was going without any issues.

And that, people, is our Tenth and final lesson: When you pray, have Faith.

Believe and you will receive.

Thank you for reading, see you on Wednesday.

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