From unknown young man to a family friend

On Monday, June 6, 2021, I was driving from Lagos to school (Olabisi Onabanjo University). I left Lagos early, and as such, the multiple evil spirits of daredevil drivers, Otedola Bridge accidents and inexplicable traffic jams were yet to wake up. Consequently, by 8am, I was already getting close to school, just about 20 minutes away. And then, it happened. I had a flat tyre in the middle of nowhere, where the only thing I saw was dense forest in all directions. There was this eerie feeling, and I was REALLY afraid. In this era of UGM, UKM and UCM (Unknown Gunmen, Unknown Knifemen and Unknown Canemen), it was frightening to be stranded at such a lonely place and such a time (early in the day). I don’t think I have had to undertake a change of tyres by myself in the previous 20 years, and I was not in the physical mood to do so that morning. And then, I saw this young man riding by in his okada. I wondered whether he was ‘one of them’ on a reconnaissance mission, whether to take to my hills or to hide inside the bush. Well, I had no choice, and so, I waved him down and pleaded for his assistance. He dismounted from his okada, and he cheerfully and ungrudgingly changed the tyre. It was a little difficult because the spare tyre had not left its shelf since the car landed on our shores about 2 years ago.

Unlike the young men of the present age, he did NOT ask for anything! He was about to leave when I engaged him in a small conversation. He said his name was ‘More Blessing’ (not just Blessing, but MORE of it!) and that he was on his way to the farm. I remembered that in those days whenever we were going to the farm off-town, we had to take ‘something along’: raw yam, the fire with which to roast it and some oil or leftover fufu & soup from the previous day. And so, I asked him about his lunch pack, especially as he said he would return to town around 4pm. He said he had nothing with him because he could not afford anything that morning but that he would look for water along the road. Just water? He further said that his wife was pregnant and admitted to a local hospital and that he was going to the farm to see what he would harvest to sort out the medical bill and related issues. I ‘shook hands’ with him and thanked him profusely for stopping and helping an unknown stranded elder. As I wanted to leave, he in turn started thanking me and thanking God that he came across me that morning. I collected his telephone number, and we dispersed.

Later that day, I gave him a call, thanked him again, and we agreed to meet the following day on my way to work. On Tuesday, 7/9/21, we met as I promised, and I visited his family and saw his wife, who is, incidentally, my sister (from Abia State). I thanked him again, took pictures with him and posted on my family platform, and so More Blessing has become a family friend rather than just an unknown young man. On Saturday morning (11/9/21) I received the cheery news that the wife had safely ‘manufactured’ their first baby. Of course, I visited in solidarity with the young family and did the usual things people do when they visit new babies.

As I left, I remembered how an unknown Keke man carried me from the road where I was about to be drenched by rain to my house and refused to collect any money for his labour. We have also become family friends. Some of these unknown elements are humans like us with their families, dreams and life issues. It is not good when we always look at all of them with ‘one keen eye’ (suspiciously) and keep as far away as possible.

This is the fifth anniversary of that encounter, and I remembered this travelogue story because of the security situation in the Southwest. It was one of the days when the Good Lord sent an angel in the form of a young man to rescue me from my travails.