A musing

Yesterday I got on a number 2 bus to go to my lovely little apartment. Picture this, I have just come off from an exhausting doctor's appointment and I'm fatigued to the bone

I summon my waning energy and sprint to the bus because it looks like the driver will be pulling away soon. So now I'm even more exhausted. I get on and collapse into a double seat but not without placing my backpack on the seat next to me. I beg I don't want any wahala from a chatty co-passenger, earphones in ear and I receive a call. I'm on the phone trying to sound alive and not as dead as I feel inside because I'm excited by who I'm talking to.

So far the ride is uneventful. My phone conversation ends and i now have music playing in my ear and I'm dozing off. We're two stops away from my stop when the driver stops to pick up a new bunch of passengers. We're actually pulling away from the curb when he stops the bus. At this point I don't think anything is wrong, after all i can see road construction ongoing so maybe someone needs to cross the road to place a traffic cone . I don't know.

Ten minutes after we're still parked and then I realize the driver is asking one of the women to alight. Now I take out an earphone and ask my neighbours how far. They have no idea. Then I hear another woman telling the driver "she didn't assault you." Now my attention is certainly piqued. Eternal law student right? The driver insists that she get off the bus and she and her spokeswoman refuse.

We are at an impasse now right? Its 15 minutes later and we're still parked and the bus is getting hot. Now her ladyship Ablakay is definitely feeling antsy because if you take the bus as often as I do, you will come to see that not many people here believe in the power of showers and baths. I decide to do the Ghanaian thing which is to go to the front of the bus and apologize to the driver on behalf of whoever has wronged him, expecting him to grumble a bit more and then we continue on our merry way. Sorry o. No lie. The oboroni didn't even crack a smile when I said "Driver they're sorry." In fact he picked up the bus phone to call his supervisor.

That was my cue. I just got off and started trekking after all this one that I haven't darkened the doorways of the gym in months, I might as well get some exercise in when i can. 10 minutes later when I turned off the road towards my apartment building, they had still not moved.

My takeaway- It's good to live in a country where you're aware of your rights and you know that in general the law is consistently applied. It doesn't matter whether you're right or wrong, just to know you have a voice and you will be heard is strongly empowering.