Respect a Woman

I and James, a co-worker, were on our way to the Computer Village at Ikeja, Lagos to purchase some computer accessories. James was driving and I sat in the front passenger seat. As usual, there was traffic congestion along the Bank Anthony Way with some policemen and LASTMA officials controlling the traffic at the junction that leads to Toyin Street, via Customs office. We were about to drive past this junction when the traffic policeman stopped our side of the traffic. The flow of traffic was cut off from our car, and so we stopped with our car being in the front and in the right lane. Another car was to our left with other cars behind us.

One female LASTMA official approached us, querying us on why our car should overshoot the one by our left. James answered her "You stopped us, and we stopped. Is that not enough?" I added, "Besides, there are no stop demarcation lines on the road. You can can't expect our car and the other one to stop exactly at the same point." Since she was on a mission, she was not satisfied with our answers. The other LASTMA officials had already joined her and before we could get down, they were already hooking our car to a towing van. I told them that it was not necessary to tow our car, and that we will follow them to their office, when they refused to listen to our entreaties. They removed the towing van and we were about to follow them in their car now parked in our front.

Suddenly, a light-skin, plump woman came out of a wine coloured Toyota car behind us. "Stop!" she commanded the LASTMA officials. "Stop, I say! I saw what happened. You can't book these men. They had committed no traffic offence." They asked her "Who are you? And what is your concern in this matter?" She answered them "If you insist on taking them to your office, I will follow you. When we reached there I will tell you who I am." She turned to the young man by her side, the one who was driving the car she came out from, and commanded "Follow these young men to wherever the LASTMA officials are taking them." With this both she and the man went and sat inside their car, waiting for us to move.

The LASTMA officials consulted among themselves, and they decided to let us go. We looked back to thank this angel of a woman for rescuing us, but she told us "Don't thank me yet. Just drive on and enter a traffic-free street. We are right behind you." We entered a traffic-free street as she instructed and they also entered and followed us. We both parked and came out of our cars. We started thanking her again. "Let me introduce myself" she said. She brought out her business cards and gave us. We gave her ours also. She said she is a printer and a graphic artist. She will be happy for any business we can give her from our office or that of our friends. And so we departed,

As we are going, I looked at the card she gave me again. A printer! I thought she is a Major General in the army or the wife of the Inspector General of Police. Who says women are not powerful? Women should be feared and respected.

Cop Paralysed by a Pointed Gun

It was drama mixed with fear and laughter yesterday at Town Planning Way, Ilupeju in Lagos when a traffic policeman stopped three men on Okada (motorcycle) for not wearing crash helmets. Unknown to the policeman, who was holding a baton, the three men riding the motorcycle are robbers. One of them brought out a gun and pointed it at the policeman.

On seeing the pointed gun, the policeman naturally became paralysed with fear and collapsed to the ground. He tried to get up from the ground, but he fell down again, and again. He started shaking and rolling on the ground. The three men rode away on their motorcycle, leaving the policeman still lying on the ground. The policeman's colleagues later came with a car and carry him to their office in order for him to calm down as he was no longer in a condition to continue working.
I bet the policeman will do a thanksgiving to God in his church on Sunday for this close shave with death.

The Prophet and the Traffic Extortionists

It was difficult not to laugh after Biola finished narrating his experience. At the same time, a shiver of fear ran through me when I saw the way some people almost ruined their lives when they tried to extort money from others by all means. My friend, Biola, is gifted with the power to see what had happened or will happen to others. He is a strong Christian and a lot of people call him prophet.

On this particular Wednesday afternoon, he pulled his car to a stop and parked well off the road around Ijaye in Lagos in other to buy a recharge card for his phone. By the time he returned to his car, some uniformed men, which he later identified as KAI (Kick Against Indiscipline) officials, were waiting by his car. They told him he committed an offence by parking beside the road and that his fine is twenty thousand naira. Biola told them they must be joking as he was not obstructing any traffic. At the long run, they towed his car to their yard in the local government office.

When they got to their office, they met their leader who ordered that one should deflate all the four tyres of Biola's car since he was not ready to co-operate with them. By now Biola had reached the end of his patience and he became angry. Biola is short-tempered and when he is angry, he can do or say anything. Most times when I'm with him, I always move quickly to checkmate his anger.

"You Mr. Man, you are ordering them to deflate my tyres?" Biola pointed at their leader angrily. "That is the next thing to do when people refuse to co-operate", the leader replied. "Listen to me", Biola stared him in the face. "If you deflate a single one of my tyres, you had deflated your wife's five months pregnancy. You can guess what will happen to her if you deflate the four tyres." The man stared back at Biola with horror and commanded the tyres to be left alone. He was visibly shaken by what he has just heard as Biola was right about his wife being five months pregnant.

But one of the officials said that Biola was merely guessing and they should not allow themselves to be deceived by him. He insisted he is going outside to deflate the tyres. Biola said to him calmly, "You can go and deflate my tyres at your own risk. Did you remember having a stomach pain before leaving home this morning? That was just a warning to you to be careful, and now you want to put your head in the hornet’s net. Go ahead if you want." The man knees buckled with fear as he quickly held on to a chair for support. "How... did you... know... know that?" he stammered back at Biola.

At the long run, Biola's car was released to him without him making any payment. They prostrated and apologised to him for their mistake and they asked him to pray for them, which he did. They collected his telephone number and whenever they or their friends need prayers and spiritual counseling, they called him and he is always happy to pray for them.