This CMS – Iyanoba Bus!!!

I believe that 9 out of every 10 families living in Lagos, has one person that commutes to Lagos Island daily. Traders, artisans, agberos (uniformed motor park touts), food and newspaper vendors wake up each morning with one destination in mind…… CMS bus-stop.  Quite a number of these fellows flock from the Iyanoba – Okoko axis. And commuting to and fro on this route could be quite an experience.  Ever boarded these Iyanoba bound buses from CMS bus stop? The pot-pourri of characters makes the trip quite an experience. Certain things characterise the journey;

An Uncomfortable Wait for The Bus to Fill Up: The bus itself tells a story of poor transportation standards in the country as each row is filled with 5 passengers on a 4-seater row. This activity takes quite a while as tired commuters slowly board the bus amidst complaints about the inconvenient tightness and the stench of urine that characterizes the park. Various beggars solicit for alms with much prayer and supplication, while gala and soft drink sellers dart around the windows to sell their wares to a ready market.

A Headache: As tired, sweaty bodies, bunch up together in legendary and creative postures to accommodate each other in preparation for the ride home, a local “motivational” speaker is certain to rise up to sell a herbal product, cosmetic or sermon. Prayers and crude jokes serve as ice-breakers preceding the body of the speech. The promotions vary as you are likely to hear about drugs or supplements that improve men’s sexual performance, cure fibroid, diabetes, mouth odour, body pains and high blood sugar levels. They are a sure companion on this Israelite journey. Amazingly, they almost always have a ready audience who patronise their products, laugh and sing along as the situation dictates. The more sophisticated professionals pout, stare out the window or finally doze off in fits and starts.

Traffic, Dust and Tears: The first hurdle to be crossed is the traffic on the bridge, then Orile – Mile 2 must be conquered. As the bus valiantly trudges on, overcoming its many adversaries on the way, it is likely that the drone of the bus engines delivers a unique sound to reassure commuters that they are still homeward bound. Board this bus on a rainy day, and you eat the bread of sorrows. Leaky roofs and rusty floors, paneless windows and rickety doors let in the rascally mud and rain.  

Despite this inconvenience the Nigerian spirit prevails. The ability to adapt, smile amidst the routine suffering and face what each day brings. We take things in our stride, where others would have died (from obvious reasons), we hustle and bustle where others would give up in that struggle. I hail the passengers on the CMS – Iyanoba bus route; and believe the regulatory authorities can do better. However, through it all, once again, a lesson is learned. Whatever the situation we dey rustle up daily bread. Abeg no vex, Naija ministers!