Love the drive or Nah?
Ever encountered troubles from drivers? Some would drive you past your bus stop with threats of not stopping, some would hold onto your bus fare change and pray you don’t remember to collect it, some would drive like they are being followed by the Police, Army, Lastma and Road Safety put together.
In this article, we will be discussing the lifestyle of Nigerian drivers and how well they tend to frustrate passengers on the streets of Lagos.
For quite sometime now, Lagos commercial drivers have never stopped being nightmares to the innocent passenger. In Lagos today, the fear of the Danfo driver is the beginning of wisdom. They are the kings of the road and in every situation, they are always right.
You would not want to argue with the Danfo bus driver, believe me. The average Lagos bus driver is always in a hurry and woe betide anyone who stands in their way. They drive against traffic, take ‘one way’ and climb road medians at will. On the expressways, they are lords and masters of the road, cutting in and out of traffic as much as they want, they would even maneuver through streets just to cut through traffic. When they ram into your car, be sure to get blamed for one reason or another and when they perceive you as the helpless one behind the steering wheel, be prepared for their caustic tongues.
Generally, Danfo drivers are disrespected and spiteful, A typical Lagos bus driver is uneducated, violence-prone, abusive, dirty and unkempt. Some do not even have their morning bath before jumping behind the wheels with the foul odour of their body overwhelming the bus and causing passengers discomfort. Some stock their bus with alcohol to inspire their driving while others have sticks of cigarette in their ear.
There are the all-knowing drivers who know virtually all the road officials by name. They would wave at each of the traffic officials, shouting and hailing them as they drive past. Some would park and run to give them stipends to ward off future circumstances that may pop up and if one does, they have series of them to call for help.
Then there are those who are against virtually everything; when their bus is fully loaded at the bus park, they will vanish into thin air and when they eventually come back, they would either not say sorry or just drive. And when you complain of being delayed, they would ask if anyone dragged you into the bus or forced you to enter the bus. When apprehended for driving reckless, they would attack the personnels or rather drive scary to ward them off.
In Lagos, commercial drivers are treated with disdain and disrespect by their passengers. Though neglected and considered as never-do-wells, most commercial drivers in Lagos are respected husbands and dads in their homes away from the maddening crowd and loud voices at different bus stops in Nigeria’s biggest commercial city.
Share your experience with the Nigerian driver in the comment section, let’s hear yours.