Standing Up for What's Right

More of my post this month has been more about my experience on the road. It’s Christmas month and it’s not funny to always have it on record to be the month with most road accident in Nigeria. It is basically a month a lot of people wants to get their goals hit. Commercial drivers want to make double amount of their income. This other business person wants to be on time to close the deal and straight way head to bid for another contract immediate. December is basically a rush month in Nigeria.

My Friday work days are always less hectic. All I do is track performance and update the difference. Exchange banters with colleagues and fanaticize a fun filled weekend with the whole day indoors and outdoors at night, most times. My colleague and I always enjoy the stroll down the bus-stop talking about relationship, careers, money and goals.

Unaware of what fate held for us on that Friday, we were all waiting for the next taxi going our route. Then came this scary bashing sound and tire screeching. A taxi bus just hit a Honda hybrid model writing off its right head-light and bumper. All eyes were waiting to see who was in the Honda car. It was a tall, slim, young lady in her early thirties, she alighted after trying to park well off the fast lane. My jaws dropped and had to cross over with my colleague to meet her- she was my HR manager at work. She was visibly shaking but trying to avoid panicking. We calm her down and was waiting for the commercial bus driver who parked few meters down the lane to come meet her. He was so reluctant.

However, we walked down to him, a man called me aside to ask how the young lady was related to me, He hinted me the other driver had made up his mind to intimidate her because she’s a young girl driving alone. His commercial bus barely had a small dent and a slight scratch. Then came the controversy and uproar. The young lady took his car key, the driver grabbed her hands and trying to twist, she passed the key to my other colleague when the assault got more intense. All the female passengers were now holding my colleague whose bag containing his laptop and wallet is almost falling, I had my way through to break him free, collecting his bag to hold.

In the middle of all this, a Pathfinder Nissan car drove by and parked in front of my HR’s car. A fair young man came down and shouted with charisma, in a deep baritone voice, “don’t touch that lady again.” And there was a great calm. He introduced himself as what I don’t remember and said he stopped when he saw the young lady (My HR) was being assaulted and demand to know why. Both parties explained their case and the young man analyzed both cars, he concluded the commercial car was at fault just as every other person would say. In no time, the police men came down to toll both vehicles to their office.

What stood out for me in all this brouhaha is the fact that someone had to stop, suspend his course of journey to intervene in a quarrel-scene where a young lady is being assaulted by a man. Our society today is filled the patriarchal mindset. Children are brought up to believe the female sex must grovel at the male in any situation. Then these innocent minds become even worse than those who taught them, passing same mindset to their own offspring. There is no argument that the young man was brought up or raised differently. He is exposed to the ideal life of sanity, equity and equality. A lot of ill treatment in our society will change if we begin to see and treat one another as humans. We should always stand up to defend the defenseless too, in a case that assures you safety, right? If it doesn’t, you can as well find a means to get the police involved on time.

Make the world a better place.