THE SUN SETS LATE IN THE MAINLAND
Out from the compound, the
stark reality of the city begins to present itself in every step, every
word, every stop, every in and every out.
First, the street with
its ruggedity. The drainage system is never gotten correctly so stagnant
waters are surely present in and out of season. The entire city itself
is below sea level so no surprise at the street rivers that form and
never dry. So Mr Ayo would have to walk a small distance, jump over a
poorly constructed gutter, fly over portions of stagnant waters. And
should it rain, Mr Ayo would have to pull off his 2004 swede shoes and
swim through his street. He has to be as amphibian as he is terrestrial.
Looking opposite her one room apartment, Nneka understands that she
needn't go close to that building at night. Uncompleted, unfurnished but
a home. A home to the area boys. A joint for smoking, for drinking, for
sharing of stolen spoils and for rape. However, right in front of this
same building,Iya beji sells burukutu, agbo, sapele water etc. What
becomes to the beji in future? God knows.
The sun rises very
early in the mainland. Before 5:00am, Miss Ada must have been up and in
her bathroom. Does her business in her not so comfortable comfort room
and out for the day's troubles. Not just Miss Ada, a lot others are
doing same, some even before 5:00am. So getting to the bus stop, she
would always expect a stiff competition of who gets into the bus and who
would be left out. Her expectation is hardly wrong save from Dec 22
till Jan 10.
Like everyone, Miss Ada would have to jump over 2 to
three road dividers before finally, standing atop one waving for cars
to stop that she may cross over. Now, jumping over the road dividers,
she has to be on trousers or face the problem of revealing more than she
would have wanted to at each rising leg.
The hurdle to get into
a bus is one of the definitions of the mainland. The buses don't wait,
the drivers always want to drive on. The bus conductors definitely all
have a gift of word-jaming. Going through Mile 2 to Apapa, an intending
passenger waiting to hear "Apapa, Mile 2" would have to wait forever for
all he can hear is "Apap...2". Survival of the fittest. The strong gets
in first, the unlucky waits for another struggle.
The best
definition of the mainland is its heavy traffic. Imagine being stuck in a
traffic for four hours. Four good hours!!!!! 24hrs are not enough in a
day for Mr Okon. He owns a small bakery that supplies bread to its
wholesale and retail customers in their shops. In his daily to-do-list
is to supply at least 10 customers per day. The traffic ensures he
always have about three to four unmet needs. So, Mr Okon would have to
carry the three supplies over to the next day. 13 supplies for the next
day. The unmet needs continues the year long. By December 20, Mr Okon is
still in June 20 supply-wise.
Every bus stop harbours three
people of the same motive but different manners of approach. The
uniformed and uniformed area boys who extort monies from the bus
conductors. Then the listless looking old woman who sits down in front
of a 200 naira worth of goods. And then the official beggar, who along
with some children (whether hers or not) extends her hands towards
passers-by pleading for money. The listless looking old woman should be
encouraged, however she is being chased around by the local council who
with the blessing of the government have been ordered to keep Lagos
clean and beautiful.
Before, Ikenna gets to his bus stop, there
must have been an unhealthy exchange of words between him or another
passenger and the conductor. The conductors are always sharp mouthed and
smart. A passenger can easily lose his money if he forgets his balance.
Or can be made to pay more if he is not strong willed. Anyway, Ikenna
might end up being late to work. Whether he will be queried depends on
if he is self employed or not.
Having arrived at workplace with
different degrees of annoyances from the bus conductors and okada
riders, the workplace atmosphere is charged up. Little mistakes are
escalated. Little misunderstandings have lasting effects. Tunde the
banker over the counter will have to absorbs all the insults being
hauled at him from his clients. They all desperately need to be attended
to. Time is money so Tunde must be very fast. Sometimes, his clients
are wrong but he dare not challenge them. Adaku tried with an she was
queried. Her job now hangs on a balance.
The bus drivers and
Okada riders are mainly trading on hired purchase. So a certain amount
must be remitted at the end of every week or month depending in the
agreement. So, the rush to make over 10-15 trips in a day. Recklessness
and impatience. Even when he decides to take it easy and obey the
traffic laws, Bisi and Onyeka won't let him. They are here rushing to
clock in before eight and there he is driving like a timid "JJC". "Can't
you see what others are doing driver?" "You want us to sleep in this
traffic, abi?" "Abeg follow one-way nah". The shouts from his passengers
to break the laws can be very intimidating. And most times, he gives
in.
Not that Okon wouldn't be held responsible for his health,
however, how else can he bear the stress of staying put in his truck for
over 8hrs before the traffic in the ports will show a little sign of
movement? He locks his truck and jump down and towards Iya meta who
sells all kinds of alcoholic concoctions. There, he will smoke, drink
and if there is a small privacy, get a little carnal pleasure. The roads
are bad and the traffic is worse. So he definitely needs a boost to
live through all these daily.
Out from his office by 8:30pm, Mr
Phils can still some individuals on their way to the commercial areas.
Hawkers of different goods, buyers of different choices. The night is
dark but its darkness is very bright for Tina to reveal her seductive
curves to willing onlookers with an intention to hook one or maybe two
before the 'day' runs out. She has about 4hours to catch a prey so she
has to appear as seductive as possible. Once the negotiations are
concluded she would then ply her trade in the best possible way to make
the best out of it.
The best time of the day for Hajia is also the
time after 8:00pm. That is when she sells her fried yam, potatoes and
meat more efficiently. Her buyers seems to like her goods more by that
time of the day. So she stays up all through to attend to her customers.
The workers of iniquity hangs around there too. Too many attractions
for Hajia's spot.
Over across the ocean, the islanders sleep and
snore. The sun has set and the moon has taken over. Life is easy and
cool. But the mainland is still awake and the mainlanders are still
trading. Even those who are sleep are always 'awake' for fear of being
taken unaware.
The sun sets really very late in the mainland.
Many wish they can one day swim across to the island. But each day, the
river seems wider and colder. And they are scared they won't make it to
the other side. God knows they might fail but He also knows that they
have tried.
