The Parable of the Cab Man

by Eromose Ileso

It was a hot afternoon on 26 March, 2019. The sun enveloped the horizon like the burning furnace of a bakery oven; I had just walked out of the Benson Idahosa University Campus at Ugbor, as part of my itinerary in that part of town. At the gate, while I waited for a cab, several taxis drove from the adjoining streets from where they had picked up passengers from various destinations to the BIU campus gate which is the last bus stop for most commercial vehicles that ply that route. As I stood by the gate, a cab man spotting a white singlet and a blue jean, had just arrived from one of his trips, parked his taxi at a vantage position, few metres from the gate, and a little over three minutes later, he started having a heated exchange with a fellow cab man. He was shouting on top of his voice, and using expletives on the other man. He told the other guy, “is it because you see me dey drive taxi”. Me and you no dey the same level” you dey craze” “many of my school mates from university na lecturer for this university.” He went on and on. The other guy, just kept repeating one sentence, “na mental stress dey wori you”.

For some reason, not known to me, he fastened his eyes on me with a forlorn gaze, while he continued his foul mouthed exchange with this other cab man. Another cab man, sought to intervene to calm down both parties, when he told the other guy, “rest na for the mata, you no know am”. So as he bellowed Ring road, I approached him to know his last stop, it was the Oba’s Palace, but he promised he would dropped me by the street where Bob Izua lives. Before we left, while other passengers had joined the ride, he continued his exchange of words with his fellow cab man. As he drove through the Government Reservation Area, he told me his story. First, he asserted that, these drivers in the park, because, they see you driving taxi with them, they tend to classify you as just another ‘bloody taxi driver’ without being oblivious of your story. Of course everybody has a story to tell. He who tells is the person that is heard.

It turned out, he is a graduate of English Education, who was initially into teaching of secondary school students, but opted to be a cab man, when he could not make ends meet with his teaching job. He talked with gusto about one of his teachers who taught him while he was in secondary school; he mentioned the man’s name and the style of composition he taught him. The popular formula of “Introduction, Body and Conclusion.” He said this had stuck to him since he left school. The reason, he brought up his teacher’s name during our conversation, was that he used it as a nexus. He saw his teacher in a pitiful state that suggested a likelihood of insanity, because of the ragtag state he was in. He felt pained, that such an intelligent man that imparted his life so much, was in such a state, but that was not enough reason for him not to respect the man, especially taking into consideration, the knowledge the man still possess, despite his current state of mental health. It is this he says riled him, with the other cab man, as the guy had continually shown a tendency to disrespect him. I kept on saying to him, that I understood him, and that I knew the position from which he spoke. As it was clear that his annoyance stemmed from the Nigeria situation.

As he drove through Ihama road, he talked about how he could have turned to illegal activities to get money, but he decided to toll the path of honest living and not manifest evil works. He spoke glowingly and passionately about the number of students he had taught while he was a teacher. He mentioned one of his students, a girl that hired the cab driver he had an exchange with. He alluded to the way the girl in question had venerated him, because he was once her teacher, while the other cab man was almost on his knees to earn the girl’s patronage.

As he left Airport road to link up with Upper Ezoti Street by the back of the Oba’s Palace, he pointed to the house of the principal of the secondary school he attended to me, and mentioned his name, but that the man was now late, having died several years ago. I asked him whether he grew up around the Oba’s Palace area? It turned out; he is an ‘Ogbe guy’ as those that grew up around that area are typically referred to.

While, he was dropping me off at my stop, a young teenage girl walking with a little boy passed by his car, and greeted him, ‘good afternoon Sir”, he said to me, that was one of the students I taught.” As I was alighting from the cab, I thought of what to say to him, because I would never know why he was so open about his personal life that day, combined with the fact that he had gazed at me several times, while he rained insults on the other cab man. He was still parked by the road, and not in any hurry to leave as most cab man usually does, ostensibly waiting for me to say something. When I finally came down from his cab, as I stood by the door, I shook his hand and said to him: “More grace, it is only a matter of time.” The manner he held my right hand with his two hands and thanked me, dawned on me that those words meant a lot to him. Like he needed a measure of reassurance that within the Nigeria sphere, where nothing is easy for the common man, he could still attain his dreams.

The question then is, what did this encounter portray?

It showed the lamentable state of Nigeria, where there are now more graduates driving taxis to irk out a living than at any time in the country’s economic history. In most cases, if not all, the decision by these classes of persons to be a private cab man wasn’t down to choice, but purely based on circumstances. All over the place, there are several brilliant and sound Nigerian graduates of various disciplines who for lack of jobs have resorted to driving cabs own by them, by the way.

Four days earlier, I was in another cab, being driven by a graduate. I knew he was one, because while the passengers discussed about the just concluded elections, especially the plight of corpers who had not been paid for the job they did as well as those that lost their lives. He stated that, when he served in Anambra state in 2013, he opted against working as an ad hoc staff for INEC despite being amongst those chosen and trained for the task, because according to him, he wanted to save his life, and return to his family in one piece.

All over the country, there are several Nigeria University and Polytechnic graduates who are now full time or part-time cab drivers, some for lack of available jobs, others, after losing their jobs, had decided to use it as a means to make ends meet.  

In the past, it was popular for most Nigerians, to claim that, “the job wey Nigerians no go gree do for 9ja, na dem dey go do for Oyinbo land like the ones wey dey drive taxi’  That adage used to be a popular line by some who had sought to argue that Nigerians should stay back home to do jobs that ordinarily belies their status as graduates. Now in Nigeria, there are now Bachelor and Master Degree holders driving taxis. So the aforementioned adage has been taken over by events.

Just like that cab man at Ugbor, who asked when his situation would change from being a cab man, there are also several underemployed Nigerians in the same situation who are asking the same question daily.

Interestingly, I ran into the cab man in question again on 6 April, 2019 in his signature white singlet and blue jean. For reasons best known to him, he called me a pastor. And he said it multiple times. I boarded his cab to Ring Road again. As it turned out, he wasn’t in a reflective mood this time, but rather he was vivacious this time around, narrating his experiences with several of his passengers and the gist he had scooped from them over time some of which were unpleasant to the ears.

Using this cab man as a case study in relation to my second meeting with him, it showed another side of the average Nigerian, that despite the difficulties that many face daily, especially those that are either unemployed or underemployed, within the quest for survival, there is always room for light moments and the occasional humorous episodes that provide momentary laughter. That was the mood this cab man was in when I met him for the second time in two weeks.

The Nigerian spirit of putting up a brave face is seldom cast down, it is always willing, but the will could be sucked dry by the Nigerian situation that is lacking every bit the adequate support system for people struggling to lead a semblance of a near comfortable life. 

The Hypocrisy Of Nigeria’s Ethnic Fissure

by Eromose Ileso

Its no longer news to hear about the continuous fault lines of Nigeria’s ethnic divisions. That much has been obvious from the very foundation of the country, even before its independence. That bitter ethnic division got to a head when the Nigerian civil war broke out in 1967. The domino effect of that conflict is still being felt by a session of the country.

However, in spite of the ethnic divisions prevalent in everything Nigerian, it is the hypocrisy of some of these divisions which fosters in the background that clearly shows that there is something imminently wrong with the disposition of some Nigerians. When it comes to mundane issues few play up the sentiments of the ethnic divisions, but when it comes to politics, it becomes a tool by which sections of the country have used to beat others from different regions.

Let us take a scenario which is common place in various homes of affluent Nigerians. In most home in Southern Nigeria, especially those of the wealthy, their security details especially those that man the gate to the entrance of some their mansions, are men who are of Northern extraction. Usually, you seldom see local indigenes who would be gate-men, so most of these jobs are left to those who are from the North. 

But when these same wealthy Nigerians play up the ethnic politics for their own selfish interest, they easily forget that they have a domestic staff that is from a part of the country they have completely vilified. It is a scenario that is being played out daily in the Nigeria society.

It doesn’t end there. In most places in Eastern Nigeria, people from Abakiliki, Ebonyi state used to be the domestic workers you find in most homes. But, as a result of the prevalence of some unsavoury experiences, where some of these workers and those that brought them connive to elope after the person has been paid for bringing such a domestic worker in question down from Ebonyi. 

As a result of this, some Easterners have gravitated towards people who come from the North as their domestic workers. As an instance, in Nnewi, Anambra State, there are a lot of domestic staffs who are from the North especially in Uru community. They were brought down by different persons. Most of them are brought in in their early teens. But at this domestic level, people seldom see through the ethnic divisions to bring in domestic staffs who are from the North into their homes, yet at the political stage, the ethnic sentiments is always played out as a theme to score a point which is never for the overall good of their constituents, but for their personal gains.

Besides, there are several wealthy Southern Nigerians who have little ranches where they rear cattles, because the Hausa-Fulani are the predominant people who deal with catering for livestock, they are employed in these ranches to carter for these animals. Again, this is prevalent locally.

In the North, there are some very conservative Muslims, who have core Christians from Southern Nigeria as their domestic staffs, some have cooks who are from Calabar, Cross River state. Others have chauffeurs who are from the South West. Yet, it is the same Nigerians from the North, who would fly the kite of “the born to rule” template of which some Northern elements and politicians have continually used to foster their interest.

The question then is why is it that the elites especially from the North are quick to play up ethnic sentiments when it comes to politics, but they seldom play up such sentiments in their private lives?

In early May, 2017, a friend who is a consultant gynecologist, told me about his experience where he did his national service in Sokoto. He mentioned a very core conservative Muslim whose children were attending a catholic school. One of the top schools in that area. But you ask yourself, such a person is comfortable doing this when it comes to taking strictly private decisions that concerns him and his family, but for some reason or another, when that same person gets to a position to take similar decision in national political circles, the religious and ethnic sentiments would be used to score a cheap point.

It is very clear that ethnic divisions is used by elitist Nigerians especially those from the North and many from the South to continue to subjugate certain sections of their political base so that they would perpetually be subservient to them. Time and again, issues that ought to be for the overall good of every Nigeria, is used to play ethnic politics.

As a result of this, certain laws that should have aided in the advancement of some key sectors of the Nigerian state have not seen the light of day because of this. 

In this instance is the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) this is a bill that would have completely overhauled the Nigerian oil and gas sector, but the bill has been held hostage by Northern elements in the National Assembly, because of the benefits that would have accrued to oil producing communities in the Niger Delta. Several sections of the bill had been watered down which has almost rendered useless the original intentions of the drafters of the bill. 

The fact that the bill has gone through several parliaments and still not seen the light of day, only goes to show that national interest is not of concern to most of those that represent the interest of Nigerians, rather it is pure personal interest. 

Most of the Northern interest that has lobbied for the bill not to pass over the years, have interest in the oil and gas sector, so in order to avoid a scenario where the PIB might alter certain benefits, it has consistently been opposed. Again it comes down to personal interest. 

The common man in the streets of Northern Nigeria, doesn’t know anything about the Petroleum Industry Bill. But their representatives at the National Assembly are the reason why the bill has not become an Act of parliament for fifteen years.

It is clear that when it comes to ethnic matters, the Nigerian political elite operate with double standards. They have one standard for political matters and another for their private lives. And the former is driven by private benefits despite it being premised on public matters.

This same scenario applies to most Nigerians outside the political sphere especially in their approach to ethnic issues.  

Benin City: A Cornerstone of Nissan Vanette

by Eromose Ileso

There are symbols that are synonymous to different cities around the world, that when they are mentioned, you could easily link them to the place such symbols are located. 

Sometimes, its akin to describing a Siamese twin. Along this line, it is easy to link the Statue of Liberty to New York City, the Eiffel Tower to Paris, the Big Ben to London, Great walls to China, The Taj Mahal to India, the Amazon rain forest to Brazil, the Pyramids to Egypt and the Third Mainland Bridge to Lagos.

These are symbols by which these aforementioned cities are known by. 

However, for some cities, there are other symbols that are in the background that have not gained much traction by way of being noticed by many, not because they are not there, but largely because, such have not seen as part of a symbol of the city.

In this instance is a symbol, though many might not see it that way, but it has become prevalent in the ancient city of Benin, the capital of Edo state, South-South Nigeria. One of the oldest cities in the world as recorded by Portuguese explorers’ when they visited in the 15^th century.

When Benin City is mentioned anywhere, it rich cultural history and customs copiously comes to light, with the evolution of the absolute nature of the old Benin Empire now subsumed within the framework of the Nigerian state. Yet, the city is more than that in its present state.

There is a dominant theme currently in every nook and corner of the city that everywhere you go within the local government councils that make up Benin; they are found everywhere, moving passengers and goods from one part and corner of the city to another. 

For decades now, they have taken centre stage as the dominant means of public transport in the city, as it is now the most used intra city means of transport by which people are conveyed. 

It is none other than the Nissan Vanette bus. From Ring Road to Oluku, New Benin to Upper Mission Extension, Ring Road to Siluko, Textile Mill Road to New Benin, New Benin to Isiohor, Murtala Muhammed Way (3^rd) to New Benin, Mission Road to New Benin, Medical Stores/Okhoro to New Benin, Ring Road to Ekenwan Barracks, Ugbiyoko to Ring Road, Ramat Park, Agbor Park to Ring Road and New Benin, Sapele Road to Ring Road and Saponba Road to Ring Road. The Nissan Vanette Bus is the dominant means of public transportation by which people move around within the city.

The bus usually takes a minimum of nine passengers and a maximum of ten passengers, if a driver decides to take two passengers at the front.

The reason why the bus is so common is not far-fetched. It efficiency and the fact that its popularity in the city means its spare parts are easily available and motor mechanics are within reach in the city to fix it when it breaks down.

Some of these buses are pleasing to the eyes, with sits that are comfortable and suiting on the buttocks, while others are rickety in nature with their exhaust akin to a chimney billowing smoke all over with the interiors and sits like a human who has lost its entire tooth due to old age.

These buses come in diesel or fuel engines. The ones with diesel engines have become more common because of the low combustion of a diesel engine when compared to fuel engines. 

However, the continuous rise in the price of diesel has made several drivers groan that they no longer make enough daily profit from driving as most of the monies goes into buying diesel. 

As a result of this, many of these drivers have had to cut short the route they run. Especially a route they see as too long. For instance, there were a bevy of buses that convey passengers to as far as Oluku, but most of them have had to reduce their driving time by using Isiohor as their last bus stop so that they can maximise the time they would have used to proceed to Oluku to move back to either Ring Road or New Benin to get more passengers. However, other drivers go as far as Oluku by increasing the bus fare by 50%.

There are thousands of Nissan Vanette buses in the city of Benin going by its dominant usage as the vehicle of choice for anybody that wants to venture into intra city transport in the city. 

In spite of its popularity, everything about its sales and spare-parts are largely in the hands of private individuals in Lagos which is so for obvious reasons, largely due to the fact that Lagos is a port city as well as the commercial capital of Nigeria. Still, the popularity of the buses in the city is enough selling point for there to be a Nissan service centre or as least one close to it in the city. Beyond what is currently available in the city.

Several brands cannot boast of such usage, but here, you have a motor brand that is second to none in the city, with the patronage for it so high that no week goes by without you not seeing at least one Nissan Vanette bus that has been added to the fleets that are all over the city.

However, one key thing to note is that these buses are not bought as new buses. Rather they come in as fairly used or ‘second hand/ direct Belgium’ as they are popularly called. 

They are mostly shipped down from Asia or Europe to Lagos like most vehicles in Nigeria before they find their way to Benin. Yet, in spite of the fact that these vehicles don’t come in as new fleets, the sheer number of it in the city is enough for the owners of the brand to site a centre within the city that would be a rallying point by way of an incentive to dedicated users.

Ironically, the most popular brands of buses for intercity transport in Nigeria are the Toyota buses. Which virtually all transport companies have in their hundreds, where they possess the usage of Nissan buses, it is not as common as the Toyota buses. But, the Nissan Vanette bus has found a place within the hearts and mind of intra city transporters in the city of Benin.

It is a feature that one can add to the several unique features that are linked to the city of Benin whenever it is mentioned. You could be at Ring Road about to board a bus to the University of Benin Main gate, when you look around, all you see are Nissan Vanette buses, it is the same when you are in New Benin, those that are conversant with the city, might not have been conscious of it, all over, in the yellow and brown colours with which they are painted, they are common place like water is to fishes.

When next you find yourself in Benin City, besides the taxi cabs that are available for hire, you could just find yourself being conveyed from wherever you are to your destination sandwiched within other passengers either at the front, middle or back sit of a Nissan Vanette bus.

Redefining Self-Governance The Nigerian Way

by Eromose Ileso

Nigeria is a country with a bevy of paradox. There remain many aspects of society that are a complete opposite to what obtains practically and what is laid out on paper.

To many, it is easy to read the rules and regulations guiding a particular subject especially when you want to engage in some form of activities in a sector. 

However, often times, one is likely to be shocked by the polar opposite between what has been spelt out in a book that beautifully outlines the rules and regulations regarding such a subject or sector. It could be in the area of everyday life or just an aspect of governance.

The difference between what obtains practically and what is in such book is self-governance which is a thriving industry in Nigeria. 

The use of self-governance to some could mean a certain set of people agitating to be governed independently by themselves. But in this scenario, it is completely different from what self-governance actually means.

In Nigeria, self-governance means making a way for yourself in an area where the actual government has either failed or have neglected from fulfilling their obligations. 

From every facet of the Nigerian society, you are confronted with people that are actually government unto themselves by setting out rules to make their lives comfortable not because they want to, but because they have to as the government is mostly incommunicado.

No sector depicts the concept of self-governance in Nigeria than the power sector. Despite the billions of dollars that have been pumped into the sector, there is more darkness than light. Little wonder that, many Nigerians no longer wait for the various distribution companies to restore light when they deem fit, rather most now have generators to power their businesses and to light up their homes.

When you visit most markets or business places in Nigeria cities, you are suddenly confronted by the sheer number of congregation of generators that are slalomed together. The noise from these machines have become a trademark signature of the unreliable power situation in Nigeria.

If you are establishing a business in Nigeria, especially one that requires constant power supply and you have not factored in the purchase of a generator in your budget, it means you are not ready for business as the unstable and unreliable power supply could cripple such business before it has really started.

Another area is the issue of security. For years now, the government has mounted a campaign for Sim Cards to be registered. They are quick to point out that the registration of phone lines will reduce crime, and it will aid in apprehending criminals. But what obtains practically is different as crime has not been curbed or reduced through this avenue.

For instance, this is more evident in cases of kidnapping. Kidnappers would comfortably make calls to the families of their victims demanding ransom payment, and yet nothing is done to trace these calls to know under whose name the phone line was registered as well as the location of the kidnappers. It is a well-known fact that most cases of kidnapping in Nigeria are resolved through the payment of ransoms than the direct involvement of security agencies.   

Reporting a case of kidnapping to the police most times reeks more of record keeping than anything else. Though, there are some cases that are resolved by the police. But it could be put at a ratio of one in ten.

Because of the fact that the system and institutions in Nigeria doesn’t really work as it should, that is why most citizens have taken it upon themselves to resolve matters the best way possible, instead of waiting for government agencies to rescue the situation. It is this self-governance that continues to be the platform under which most crisis situations are resolved rather than through the concerted efforts of government.

Still on security, there are communities that have built police stations and handed it over to the police authorities to bring their presence to that area. It doesn’t end there; there are others that have set up vigilante groups that serve as security guards in many places.Yet these are duties of the government.

There is also the issue of infrastructure. This is evident in water supply and road. The provision of water by the citizens should be the biggest institution of self-governance in Nigeria. Nobody waits for government to provide pipe borne water these days in most Nigerian cities. The sinking of boreholes is now a common and necessary practice if you want to enjoy regular water supply. 

Though few can readily afford it, as a result there are public boreholes set up by private citizens to sell water, but light is not always available to pump it.

Most Nigerians born in the mid, last nineties and in this millennium have never seen pipe borne water from a government source, rather it is from a borehole sunk by a private citizen.

On roads, most communities now contribute funds to address the deplorable state of their road instead of waiting for government. It is common to see communities grading their streets during the dry season, while in some places, they usually go a step further by constructing drains and asphalting the roads.   

When you examine what government actually does for Nigerians, you can barely find little or nothing. When it comes to water, road, energy and other infrastructure, you begin to ask yourself what does the government really do?

Self-governance from Nigerians has become more reliable than the actual government as they have repeatedly failed to live up their responsibilities.

Despite Nigeria’s lopsided taxation structure, there are still many people that pay taxes regularly, and it is the poor that pay most of the taxes in Nigeria when compared to the rich. Yet, despite the payment of tax, you seldom enjoy any benefit for such payment.

The way Nigeria has evolved over time especially as the wheels continue to come off in certain areas, it is difficult to see beyond self-governance from citizens as the tool to get most things done. 

Nigerians will continue to buy generators to power their businesses, boreholes will continue to be sunk and many others if things don't improve.