The TRIP (by Kelvin Anyadu)

You are fondling with your phone as you wait for the bus to get filled. outside, standing by the door and shouting, the conductor is lying to attract travelers. even though, four scats are vacant, he keeps saying

‘’One more passenger! ban ye! Oga pu’’

A lone beggar comes to the open door of the bus, with a broken arm pleading for funds, asking passenger for empathy. You watch as people give him N20 and N50, making sure it is the least denomination in their purses that they let him have. As he receives the donations he prays for the bus. ‘’God go bless una’’, ‘’una no go poor!’’, ‘’God go give una better children!’’, ‘’Accident no go see una!’’  he prays.

You give him your window’s myth before he leaves and then continue with your phone. Unassuming travelers fall for the conductors trick and in no time, the bus is on its way.

Thirty minutes into the trip, you notice the bus momentum declines, looking up from your phone you see a long queue of vehicles ahead. Cars going to and fro are sharing a single lane.

The man seated beside you starts complaining, he talks about how the contractor who is in charge of construing this road has been deliberately slow on delivery. How he had elongated the schedule of the project all in efforts to stay longer on site and get more pay, how this was a fraudulent collaboration between the contractor and the government. Other passengers around you affirm his story and soon the bus is resonating of talk of bad governance and corrupt politicians.

You sigh, angry at your anger and your incompetence to do a thing. You know that a trip that should take an hour will now take three. As you recline into the uncomfortable leather bus seat, with no avenue to let out your anger, you put the blame on that beggar with the broken arm, after all, he did not pray against corrupt contractors.