AGGRESSION EVERYWHERE 16-05-2017

15/5/2017a,5:45pm
There was 'go-slow' on the road between Ojota and Ketu. I wasn't interested in driving towards Ketu, all that was on my mind was driving across the BRT lane to get on the bridge to cross over to the other side towards GRA Ikeja.

I made it across the BRT lane but not without the regular insults and a slap on my trunk from a restless 'Danfo' conductor who felt I should have moved earlier as a LAGBUS approached. I must have muttered something about the conductor's head like asking if it was complete (prays for forgiveness🙏😇) as I drove with an articulated vehicle following right behind.

I looked up at my rear view mirror and noticed something I thought was bizarre going on. The truck appeared to jostle with a 'danfo' and in a matter of seconds, the conductor was on the road dramatizing as if prepared to engage in physical combat. What followed must have had other road users very stunned. I kept one eye on the road and the other on the mirror. Two young men jumped down from the truck to confront the conductor and one of them wielded a big machete. I think the conductor was scared stiff and people in buses and cars began to scream in an attempt to discourage the potential assailant from raising his weapon.

What I found more bizarre was that there were two armed policemen wearing body armour standing a few feet away from what was brewing but they appeared disinterested. I don't know what ensued because I was soon on my way up the bridge. 
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16/5/2017, 9:55am:

I noticed a mobile policeman approaching three people and a motorbike just outside of the Diamond bank branch situated at the entrance of Cole street at Ojuelegba. The cop paced angrily and ordered to bike rider to move away from the bank. The rider who had a lady behind him moved forward but I observed as I drove into Cole street that her hand was held tightly by the third human in the equation.

As the rider made to continue the trip, the third man pulled back aggressively on the lady's right hand causing her to cry out and forcing the rider to halt repeatedly. It seems this was a 'love-gone-wrong' situation and the rider was unfortunately caught up in the see-saw. Both of these two individuals appeared unnaturally light skinned prompting me to believe they probably shared lotion and perhaps other beauty products. No bystander appeared bothered at that moment possibly because all he did was hold tightly; he was yet to raise his hand to strike.

It didn't appear to me that the cop who chased them away from the bank was concerned that a young man and a young woman were involved in a heated exchange and a potentially dangerous situation.

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Aggressive behavior or violence should not be an option for handling any situation. I understand that there is so much happening in Nigeria at the moment to push us past the upper limit of our anger but it is instructive to do all that's within our power to inhale and exhale. A wrong move can lead to very catastrophic events that'll be difficult to defuse.

I got home yesterday evening and met my street closed for the second time in a few months. I think it was a naming ceremony and the celebrants opted to assemble tables and chairs for their guests which completely turned the street into two sinuses. At one end of the blockade was parked a rickety police truck with about three armed men who had joined in the feasting.

I'm certain there are laws against blocking streets for parties in Lagos but our people still manage to do what they like. They also get policemen for security and LASTMA officials to control traffic. I wonder the requests I would have gotten if I belonged to the police or the armed forces. I could have most likely been required to get people locked up or even beaten to stupor.

Many of our law enforcement officers are currently nonchalant about effectively doing their jobs. That's one evil we have to deal with until we overhaul the force. A good number will only respond to monetary stimulation so it you are not certain about the stability of any policeman around you or your neighborhood, please do not look for trouble or dodge any attempt by troublemakers to locate you.

Posted to Facebook on 16-5-2016