By Roy Ofili for storried.com
Something interesting happened on my way to
Oshodi this morning. At the park this rough mean-looking conductor also
known as “agbero” in Yoruba was screaming for passengers, his vernacular
oscillating between Yoruba and pidgin English.
“Oshod! Oshod!” He shouted angrily as I along
with some other passengers scuttled for seats. There was this beautiful
young lady who couldn’t throw caution and decorum to the wind but
waited patiently until the bus was almost filled. Then she pleaded to
sit by the agbero until somebody came down then she would pay for a
proper seat.
The agbero didn’t even look at her pretty
face, he hissed and shouted to the driver to move that why didn’t she
rush when others were rushing. The girl started pleading in Yoruba and
clean ‘oyinbo’ english; “please, ejó, help me out sir, I know you are a
good man, never mind all this shout you have been shouting (people burst
into laughter). Let me sit by your side please”.
Finally with much squeezing of face the
agbero relented and she sat beside him. It was a tight squeeze but she
didn’t complain but rather started praising the agbero. He in turn
started teasing her, speaking (and sometimes spitting by mistake) into
her face but the girl never looked away, she never let the smile leave
her face. He asked her where she worked and she replied that she was a
student in the University of Lagos (UNILAG) studying accounting. He
teased her in Yoruba about her boyfriend and car (maybe asking why her
boyfriend didn’t drop her at her destination…she laughed it off and
continued to gist with the guy in Yoruba.
When she reached her junction the agbero
alighted the bus for her to come down. She did and paid her transport
fare, then the agbero told her to give him a peck on the cheek for being
so ‘gentlemanly’. At this point some of us became indignant, haba! He
had been teasing her since, he should let her go. Another argument
almost ensued between the agbero and the passengers although it was not
as if the agbero was really serious, he told her to go. Then it
happened! She jumped forward and gave him a peck on the cheek! We all
shouted, the agbero was quiet out of surprise, then ……………………..
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