By Jude Idada
He spoke clearly.
And I noticed it.
His accent.
This Uber driver.
With a calming spirit.
So I asked him.
“Are you from the North.”
He responded.
“Yes. From Bornu state. I am Chibok.”
And like that we began a most interesting, engaging and enlightening conversation.
He pointing out to me this truth as drove along, heading to the mainland.
“That your house where I picked you from, I used to live there when they were building it.”
Surprised, I asked him.
“You lived there?”
“Yes, I just came to Lagos by that time and I didn’t know anybody here. I couldn’t even speak one word in English. So I used to sleep there at night, on a bed I made with wood, old cartons and one mosquito net that I found.”
“Woow. That must have been tough.”
“Yes o. Very tough life. I hustle during the day doing any work I could find and then slept there at night. The engineer that was building the house was very kind. He allowed me sleep there as long as I cleaned the place.”
“I see. You said you couldn’t speak English.”
“At all. I couldn’t even understand talk less of write it. It is sign language I use to use to understand what people are saying.”
“You didn’t go to school?”
“Just small primary school in Chibok when I was a small boy. But in that school it is local language they use and even though they show us English, we couldn’t speak it or even understand what it was. Actually it was one man in my village who went to school even did NYSC. He came back and wanted all of us to go to school, so he will pack all the boys and take us to school for us to learn. My father didn’t go to school and didn’t even want us to school. He will tell us that whether we go to school or not is our business and that it is left to us to do whatever we can to make it in life. So there was no encouragement until that man came and carried us to school.”
“So why did you not continue to secondary school?”
“Secondary school?”
“Yes.”
“We didn’t even get to primary three sef. The man died and all of us had to leave school. But me, my heart was in school. I wanted to go and finish, but there was no money or encouragement from my parents. You see in Chibok it is girls they send to school not boys.”
“Girls?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because if a girl does not go to school, she will not find husband. Nobody will marry her.”
“That is surprising.”
“It is how it is there. The men want to marry educated girls even when they are not educated themselves.”
“But why aren’t the boys educated too?”
“They need to farm and do work to bring in money and maintain the family.”
“Don’t the educated girls also work?”
“Well they do work but there is no pressure. Most of them do handiwork and also help out in the farm.”
“Even after going to school?”
“It is secondary school most of them finish, not polytechnic or university, so they don’t have degree to do office work.”
“I see. But for someone who did not go to school, your English is very good.”
“Thank you. I taught myself.”
“You taught yourself?”
“Yes. You see when that man died and we couldn’t go back to school, I swore to myself that I must go to school. So, I started selling engine oil and all of those kinds of things as a small boy to raise money. I worked for a long time until I raised around N12,000. Then I sold all my things I use to do business and gave all the money to another man that promised to get me back to school. When my mother heard of it, she went to attack the man and asked him how he can take all that money from a small boy because of school. It was very bad the problem it caused, so the man said he was not going to help me again. I was very sad and decided to leave the area and come to Lagos because I heard that in Lagos as long as you are willing to work, even if you don’t know anybody and you don’t do anything evil, you can make it.”
“Who told you that?”
“That is what we believe in the North.”
“Interesting.”
“Yes. So I followed trailer as a motor boy and headed to Lagos. When I got here, it is then that I came to Lekki since I use to hear of it back in the North as were rich people live and where you can hustle to make it. I found that your house which you are living now, but it was uncompleted at the time and started living there. From there I found all kind of work. You see that cold room factory where those Lebanese people sell chicken wholesale?”
“Yes.”
“I worked there for a long time. I use to carry chicken and load the trucks. It was tough work and the cold affected my health. But before then, I worked as mai guard at one the houses here down that street. It was at that house that I started learning to read and write. Because my Oga was a very tough man and he didn’t have patience with me when he will be speaking to me in English and I won’t be able to understand. He will shout at me and say – look if you don’t learn how to speak English and read and write it, even this job as a security guard you won’t get it in the future. Don’t you see that everywhere the guards are now wearing uniform? The companies that hire them will only give job to you if you can speak English and read and write it.”
“He told you that?”
“Yes. That is what made me decide to teach myself, since I did not have the money to go to school. So, I went to his driver and asked him to help me. In fact the first word I understood in English was… Come… and the first sentence was… What salary do you want?… so that time, anything you say to me in English, I will put it in my head and go and ask for the driver to explain it to me. Like that I begin to listen to radio and watch a lot of Nollywood films and American films. I was learning fast. I use to read all the signs I see on the road. Advertisement. Everything. I kept practicing. I will go to newspaper stand and read. I will listen to people speaking, and be memorizing words. I remember when I learnt the word – population – I was very happy, because back then in the North all those government people use to say that world – population- and I didn’t know what it means. Now I know even the word demography and statistics and plenty complicated words.”
“Congratulations.”
“Thank you. I am still learning everyday.”
“That is the way it has to be to become the best at whatever you want to do. Practice makes perfect.”
He laughed.
“I know that one too. Practice makes perfect. A stitch in time, saves nine. No food for a lazy man.”
I laughed.
He continued.
“Like that like that, when I was very sure of myself, I now told the driver to teach me how to drive. He taught me. It was after that I started working at the cold room factory. After sometime there they promoted me to driver, so I will drive all around Lagos and deliver chicken to supermarkets and restaurants. I was good with directions because I could read all these road signs and also because of all that I learnt when I was with my former Oga, but I was getting very sick because of the cold from carrying frozen chicken and staying in cold room for long. One of my towns men who was also hustling in Lagos told me about Uber and how I can make a better life with it. So I put it in prayers and asked God to send someone to help me enter Uber business because I didn’t have any money then to buy a car to start it. And God was good to me when I met one lady where I went to deliver chicken, who just trust me like that and gave me one of her cars to use it to start Uber business.”
“Woow. Thats wonderful.”
“Yes. God always answers prayers when you truly believe and he knows that your heart is clean and you have a good spirit.”
“Very true.”
“The woman told me that if I drive and pay her N2m, the car will belong to me.”
“Nice.”
“Yes. It was very tough. I drove and use to give her N100,000, but the car was always having issues. So we will always take it to mechanic to repair. But I didn’t give up. I kept driving and paying until I completed the money and she gave me the car.”
“Impressive. Well done.”
“Thank you. But not long after the car completely broke down. When I went to the mechanic they said the engine was spoilt and it will cost N350,000 to put in a tokunbo one. I couldn’t raise the money after asking people, so I decided to sell the car.”
“Thats so sad.”
“Well, it was sad but it was also good.”
“Why?”
“Because with the money I got from selling it I went back to Chibok.”
“You moved back?”
“Yes. Because I knew it will not go far in Lagos. Things are too expensive here.”
“Yes, they are.”
“In Chibok, I used the money to buy land, build a three bedroom house and marry my wife.”
“Oh woow. Was the money that much?”
“No o. I bought the land for N250,000, built the house for N500,000 and the whole money I spent for the wedding did not even reach N150,000.”
“That little.”
“Yes. Things are not expensive there.”
“Interesting. Congratulations though for your marriage.”
“Thank you. We have a two year old son now, his name is Bobo.”
He showed me the picture of his son on the phone.
“He is so cute.”
“Yes, he is. I took this picture of him at the door of our house. He escorts me to it everyday as I leave for work.”
“Thats so nice. Is that the house you built?”
“No. The one I built my uncle and my brother are staying in it. This is the house we stay here in Lagos.”
“Oh. He is in Lagos now?”
“Yes. I had to bring my wife and him back to Lagos because there was not enough business to sustain us there.”
“I see. What does your wife do?”
“She is a tailor. She makes female clothes and also Hausa caps for men.”
“Thats great.”
“She doesn’t get too much work here, because she doesn’t have her own store here and the female clothes she makes are for Northern women. Not a lot of Lagos women dress like that.”
“Okay. I get that. So where do you people stay here in Lagos?”
“In Lekki too.”
“Lekki?”
“Yes. An uncompleted building too.”
“Oh my!”
“It is okay. I did it up a little. I put wooden windows and doors. Bought bed and chair to make it feel like a house.”
“Does it have light?”
“No.”
“Water?”
“We buy it.”
“Bathroom and toilet?”
“I bought pipes, toilet and all of that and put it, because they already had built the soakaway and some of those things, so it was just the connection that remains.”
“Oh okay. But what of the owner?”
“We don’t know where the owner is. The house has been abandoned for long time.”
“But what if they show up?”
“We will move to another uncompleted house. There are many of them and that is where people like us who come from the North to hustle in Lagos live. We don’t have enough money to rent and even some Landlords will not rent to us once they see we are from the North.”
“That is so sad.”
“Well, that is life. It is you yourself that has to make yourself happy even if life is sad. Me, I am focused on making life better for my son. What my father did not give him, I want to give him.”
“I like that.”
“Thank you. I am going to take them back home once I raise more money.”
“Why?”
“I want my son to start school and school is too expensive here in Lagos, so if my wife and him go back, I will be here hustling and sending money back, so that we can open a store, buy machines and anything she needs, so that she can start her tailoring business, my son can go to a good school and things can be fine with us.”
“I get you.”
“Yes. I have to be practical. I wish they can be here with me, but without money, it will just make my wife to waste her life and my son to grow up without education.”
“You are a very thoughtful person.”
He smiled shyly and said.
“I am trying.”
“You are doing very well.”
“Thank you.”
“You are welcome. So this car you are using for Uber, how did you get it?”
“This one Is hire purchase. I applied for it myself from Uber and they gave me with a plan to pay N9,400 every day and after four years it will become my car.”
“Thats good. How easy it is for you to get the N9,400 daily?”
“God is good to me. I pray everyday before I leave my house. God, it is in your hands I am in, provide for me that I can provide for the wife and son you gave to me, so that they will do good in this world and not do bad because they need to survive.”
“It is a lovely prayer.”
“God sees my heart.”
“I see your heart too.”
“I know you do. I felt your spirit when you entered my car. And that is why I am telling you my story like this.”
I could fell a strong bonding with him and I looked away.
A car riding in front of us had a sign close to the trunk.
I said to him as I pointed to it.
“Can you read what is written close to the boot of that car.”
He turned to it.
And read without hesitation.
“Love is a word and an action. Don’t just say it, do it.”
I asked him.
“Do you agree with it?”
“Yes, I do.”
“I believe it too.”
We lapsed into silence as I thought about all that had happened.
It was interesting that when I had booked an Uber that morning. The first guy had refused to go to the mainland. The second guy I was matched with said he would only go on a cash trip. The third guy said will only go if I did an offline trip.
Feeling flustered I had placed an order on Bolt too.
I was matched with a rider, who told me he was on his way only to not move for a while.
When I called him, he said he had to go get fuel and was in a fuel station.
Just then the Uber app which automatically keeps on matching you with drivers if you do not cancel the order, sent a notification that I had been matched with another driver.
I looked at the app, saw it was this driver who was driving me and something pulled me strongly to him. Like this feeling that said to me – This is the driver that will take you to your destination.
I watched the app and saw his car moving until it came right to my house and stopped.
Then he sent a message on the app that he had arrived.
I called the bolt driver and told him that I was going to cancel his ride since he was at a gas station and I couldn’t wait any longer.
Then I went out and got into the car of this guy who had told me such an intriguing and inspirational story.
The car came to a stop at my destination.
I turned to him and said in a warm tone.
My heart and spirit fully connected to him.
“Thank you for such a wonderful ride.”
“You are welcome.”
“I want you to know that our paths did not cross by chance today. There is a purpose to me meeting you. I don’t know what it is at this moment, but I know that we will know in the future. But I want to thank you for sharing your story with me today. I know God is going to use me to make things easier for you, your wife and your son.”
He stared at me with his eyes becoming misty.
I continued.
“What is your name?”
“Garba Muge Bulama.”
“Bulama sounds very powerful.”
“It means community leader.”
“I see that in you. The spirit of a leader. Someone who is going to bring a lot of change to people.”
“Thank you. That is exactly what I want to do. That is why I want to go back to school, get a proper education and do great work in this world.”
“I will do all I can to support you on your journey.”
“Thank you so much. God bless you.”
“God bless you too, Are you on Facebook?”
“Yes. My name there is Garba Muje…”
Lagos
Jude Idada
July 24, 2023