By Rose Moses
On Monday, August 17, 2020, for the first time, I boarded the Lagos BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) to the Island. That’s the dictate wisdom with the numbing fear of heavy vehicular traffic in Lagos.
The closure of the Third Mainland bridge, an exercise projected to end by December 2020, and the total lockdown (with the partial-ease phase) imposed on us because of the Coronavirus pandemic have sort of put aspects of our lives on hold or altered our daily calculations. No doubt, vehicular movement has taken the most toll.
A crowded environment such as the BRT is obviously one of the things to avoid as much as we can.
Being a typical example of those who have observed the WHO protocols as amply megaphoned by governments in Nigeria and worldwide in order to stem the spread of the pandemic, why would I now choose BRT instead of drive “safely” on my own, you may wish to ask.
Well, the fear of the maddening Lagos traffic was basically responsible for my choice of BRT. People are beginning to ‘get their go going.’ Everywhere now seems to be busy with people going about their business without caring a hoot about whatever any presidential task force (PTF) on the yet-to-disappear plague may be saying.
After all, ordinary folks would argue that if the PTF and other agencies are busy doing their own things, the people too have to attend to issues that affect their lives.
They would recall that Attorney-General Abubakar Malami, for instance, right in the face of the pandemic, hosted, in grand style, a wedding party for his son.
They would also recall that politicians are in the middle of it all, busy hiring crowds, with most of the people not even wearing face masks, and hosting elaborate campaign rallies for some forthcoming state elections.
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Amid all this, the reopening of schools and places of worship became subjects of controversy, whereas the ban on local flights was lifted and on August 29, 2020, international flights will also resume.
This easing up, of course, has become necessary because of the deadly blow a continuous shutdown is dealing on the economy.
If a letup can happen in these sectors, with consideration on effect on the economy, why shouldn’t ordinary folks be allowed to freely go about their own businesses, many still wonder.
Former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, seems to have an answer. He believes Nigerian leaders have allowed international flights to resume only because it was time for their children and wards to return to schools abroad.
Sowore, the publisher of SaharaReporters, is by this position, alleging that the government does not really care about the people, but just about themselves and all that concerns their families.
Sowore, who is facing treason charges after calling for a protest tagged RevolutionNow, says, “September is the resumption date for most schools abroad! Nobody is willing or happy to reopen schools here. #Theydontcareaboutus #RevolutionNow.”
It would be recalled that as one of its measures to stem the spread of COVID-19, the Federal government, in March, banned international flights.
Almost six months since the various stages of lockdown have been in place, many people are already fed up and seem to be in a hurry to have their lives back. It is not surprising, therefore, how people are now freely going about their businesses, despite restrictions here and there.
Some will even boldly tell you that the whole virus scare is a complete scam and does not exist in Nigeria. So you hear things like ‘hunger virus kills more people than Coronavirus does’. Therefore, no point hanging one’s life in the balance for a nonexistent virus.
This then explains why a lot of people have since risked their lives to pick up their hustle, especially those who depend on daily earnings for survival, notwithstanding what anybody may be saying about social distancing.
But back to my BRT story. On the day I chose to ride the BRT, I had figured that using Uber was not going to cut it for me or help because I would still be stuck in the traffic as though I was driving. The only difference would be that I won’t be the one driving.
So, I chose BRT, which has a dedicated lane – BRT lane – on major roads. That way, I figured I was mostly going to beat the heavy traffic wherever it showed up.
I just took my seat next to my co-traveler and went to work with my phone, using my own data, of course. The much-advertised bus WiFi didn’t work; so was the air-conditioning system. Someone explained that the air-conditioning system was put off because of the COVID-19 pandemic. I can’t tell how true this statement is.
Soon, the bus was full; the waiting time was so short and driving on its special lane, we were able to beat some pockets of traffic jam you can never rule out on Lagos roads.
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I reached my final destination in pretty good time and the catch-phrase that the “BRT mass transit system delivers fast, comfortable, and cost-effective service in a densely populated city like Lagos,” easily came to mind.
The cost of parking an SUV they would label a Jeep at Marina was enough to pay for a return ticket for two in this BRT ride, which made a lot of sense. Besides, there was no fear of some mad guy behind a steering brushing one’s car. What’s more, the stress of driving was completely off my shoulders.
So, I was cool using BRT, whose first phase was opened on March 17, 2008, on the initiative of the government of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
The experience was good, except for some psychological reminders here and there that there were over 50 or so people in the same space with me.
But I was well prepared with my face mask and hand sanitizers. I expected others to do the same. As a matter of fact, being a more organized public transport system regulated by the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) and currently operated by Primero Transport Services Limited, I expected to see a sign boldly written by the entrance: ‘No Mask, No Entry,’ and strictly enforced by bus conductors.
That was not the case for the BRT that prides itself as the only Nigerian example of a comprehensive and integrated approach to improving local public transport.
A whole lot of people in that bus didn’t have any masks, as is now commonplace, let alone put them on well.
Maybe they had theirs in the pockets or bags, but I noticed that most of the passengers going about their various businesses carried on pre-COVID-19 bare faces. Some women also carrying their babies in that bus left them so exposed.
And I don’t believe there is anyone of them that hasn’t heard about the deadly virus and the havoc it is wreaking all over the world.
From the general outlook and the fact they would tell you they have never heard of anyone in their neighborhood that has died from the virus [when asked why they are so nonchalant], one may be tempted to believe this pandemic and the associated panic are actually baseless and may have no business in our clime.
If you think the situation in the bus was frightening enough, wait until you get into Balogun market that is now allowed to operate no more daily [except Sundays] but on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, as a result of the pandemic.
The human traffic there is a story for another day. There was hardly anything reminding one of the precarious situations we are in. No social distancing and hardly any space to practice such, with all the pushing and shoving going on. The market was so full you would think it was Christmas shopping in August.
Of course, the use of face masks was very poorly observed. The few that tried to wear them appeared to do that so grudgingly.
Obviously, there is a divine intervention against this pandemic in Nigeria. Looks like everything is under control for poor Nigerians, who God, in His infinite goodness, has specially protected against the calamity that would have befallen them should their carefree attitude to the pandemic resulted in the kind of spike experienced in the Western world.
If what happened in places that boast of sophisticated medical facilities strikes in our land with its rundown and archaic healthcare system, the outcome can only be imagined.
It is against this backdrop, which cuts across all the nooks and crannies of the country, that it is not out of place to conclude that Nigerians and Africans at large, are just a product of God’s special grace and mercy in the matter of Coronavirus pandemic of AD 2020.
Otherwise, humans would be dropping exactly the way some of the West’s prominent voices like Melinda Gates had feared because observation of rules and protocols against the pandemic is very unimpressive.
Besides, the fact that we do not have the public health capacity to even attempt to tackle the situation when badly hit.
