THE SUN SETS LATE IN THE MAINLAND

 

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.

‪#‎inspiredbypassenger‬'sfeatheronaclyde#