Why Many Ikorodu Residents Are Smiling...

I think I’m an ungrateful person. No, let me not go that far. Let’s say I just committed an act of ingratitude, or insensitivity, however you may see it. Of course you’re thinking “Why such a ‘harsh’ personal judgment?”

My friend recently asked if I’d taken the newly commissioned Ikorodu BRT buses. Basically, he wanted to know how the experience was. That was only when I thought about it; about my BRT rides. And needless to say, that was when I concluded that I had been ungrateful. To imagine that I had not thought to chronicle my experience with the new buses, and I claim to have a blog o! I no try!

This is a development that, since November that it was commissioned, has brought me much ease. 

Let me detail how my Pre-BRT days looked like versus how they are now. Having to resume work in Anthony by 8am, I would wake up by 4am on Mondays and 4:30am on other weekdays. I was slave to my alarm. I dared not go against Its Majesty’s VERY ANNOYING sounds! Then I would be out of the house by some minutes after 5 or at the latest, 5:30am. If I went out any later than that, I was sure to face 3 ‘not-funny’ challenges. 


ONE, the red long buses I preferred would have no more seats (Standing from Ikorodu to Anthony is NOT nice) 
TWO, the whole of Ikorodu would be out by that time (this is NOT to be taken lightly. Sometimes I imagine Ikorodu is another state on its own. The Crowd!) And so I could be sure of some serious traffic that would ultimately mean getting to work late. 
THREE, if I decided to go for the regular commercial buses, I would be subjected to endless stops on the way for the drivers to fill their buses. Those dudes don’t joke o! If you like, be late for a flight, their bus must be full. So they make a stop at every legal and illegal bus-stop imaginable. Invariably, I still get to work late.

You're not just late. You arrive many years tired already!

Back to my detailing, I usually got to work before 7am, sometimes as early as a few minutes past 6 ‘o’ clock. Leaving the office in the evening automatically meant facing the traffic back home again. I get home with little or no energy left in me. I eat (or rather, do some sleep-eating) and finally SLEEP, dreading the next day when I had to repeat the horror all over again. But then, what could one do? (except maybe vex and get one Maga to dash me rent for a Self-Con in Anthony or its environs, abi? lol.)

Abi? A girl can dream nah...

Then came November 12. Bliss! Prior to this time, there had been talk of when the new BRT- otherwise known as Lamata- buses would begin operation. You see, the very observant commuters had noticed the many rows of blue buses parked within the Lamata premises in Majidun. Everyone speculated about the ease and comfort these new buses would provide for commuters. I even witnessed an insulted passenger furiously telling off a rude ticketer of LAGBUS “Igba die lo ku! Je ki LAMATA bere ise. Ta lo ma wo moto yin”. Roughly interpreted, this means “It’s only a little while before the LAMATA buses commence operation. Then no one will board your bus anymore”. So when the new buses were launched, it was not a moment too soon.

photo: encomium.ng

Now for a picture of how my weekdays go now. I still wake to the sound of my alarm…then turn it off! Wait, did I mention it’s now perpetually set at 4:35am? I still don’t know why I moved it to that exact time, but I still turn it off anyway. Then I wake up sometime past 5am (a few times, I’ve even gone as far as 5:30-something. I know, I know, Aunty Overdo), DO NOT rush my bath and clothes, and stroll out to get a bike to the BRT bus station, where I join the queue for a fully air-conditioned bus. At the Agric station where I board, there are three destinations: Mile-12, Fadeyi and CMS. For the Anthony-bound one like me, my business is with the Fadeyi bus, and with just a hundred and twenty naira bus ticket, I get to work with no hassle.

Granted, there have been challenges; sometimes the buses don’t come as frequently as one would like, and there’s the trouble with Nigerians not understanding the concept of orderliness, as one ‘typical’ Nigerian will just believe he/she can come from nowhere and jump a queue without being confronted. Still, the overall experience is a far cry from those days when I had to almost run a marathon to catch a bus.

Me, when I finally catch a bus. Yo!!! Haters, I did it!

And then the rides! Comfortable… Even the occasional ‘friendly’ seat mate who somehow feels compelled to keep up a conversation throughout our journey and the anonymous ones who release unpleasant gas in an air-conditioned bus, have not been able to totally dampen the package. The drivers are a far cry from your regular bus drivers (at least the ones I’ve taken their buses). I believe they must have put them through some serious training. With the way they communicate to passengers via the P.A system, all ‘tush’ & proper. lol. For us that have been used to the ‘danfo’ driver types, you know how it is nah…

FACES on the Queue

Becca will break my head for this

I think I’m gonna wrap things up here. Basically, I get more sleep now than I did before the BRT buses. My journeying to work is much more comfortable, and life is beautiful. Big ups to those behind this development. But much more importantly, MAINTENANCE. So far, I’ve come across two of these new buses on the road, their rear windows broken. And I thought “What next for this bus?” Will they be abandoned just like that? I hope not. Our problem has always been one of a lacking maintenance culture. I hope it won’t be the same with these ones.

Peace y'all

First published Here