Our garage wey dey near Ikeja under bridge hot yesterday gan.
Dat yesterday morning, our chairman, Jimoh, call all our union member dem for phone, one by one.
Jimoh tell us say any wia we carry passenger go dat yesterday, make we make sure say we come back to garage latest 4 o’clock pm in di evening, say e get wetin our union leader for state chapter wan come tell us.
Me, I carry one passenger go drop for Iyana Ipaja. As I drop dat one, I see anoder passenger wey say make I carry am for drop go Iba for LASU side. I carry am. For Iba, one sisi like dat stop me, e say e wan take me for charter. I ask am wia e dey go. Di sisi say I go first carry am go Festac, from dia I go carry am go Satellite Town. From dia, we begin go Okokomaiko before I carry am go drop am back for Iba wia I carry am.
I calculate di money wey e go pay and tell am. Di sisi say dat one no be troublem, e bring out di money to pay me in advance.
I smile and bring out my hand to collect di money but I quick quick remember say we get meeting dat evening for garage. I look time, 12.30 o’clock pm in di afternoon don nack. I come talk am for my mind say, before I carry di sisi for charter go all dat place wey e talk so, night go don reach. You kukuma trust di kind Go-slow wey dey always dey for dat side. Tori Olorun!
Na im I tell di sisi say I no go fit carry am for charter, make e call anoder taxi driver. Di sisi ask me why, I tell am make e no worry, say I no go fit carry am becos of time.
Na so I begin dey go back to Ikeja. Di ting pain me sha say I miss dat money. I no go tell una how much di sisi wan pay me for charter becos if I talk am, una go knock my head like small pikin. Una go begin abuse me say weda na union meeting I come do for Lagos abi na money I come find. Una no go understand.
(To be continued)
Make we jam again next week.
Tank you
Tank you very much
And tank you very, very much indeed.
*Created by Sunny Okim, Oga MAT (Day-to-day experiences of a Lagos taxi driver) is the longest running Pidgin column in Nigeria’s media, since 1994.
