₦airaland Forum

Royver:
“Bros no vex…” He began.


“Where is your keke?” was the first question I asked as I made another quick look around at all the kekes in the vicinity. He smiled some more.


“I pass you, not up to ten minutes ago”, he replied. “I been dey wave but you dey check your time. I come meet you but be like say you dey vex as you see me, na him I waka go one side tell my oga make he come approach you.”


He was the first ‘tout’ to approach me! Why hadn’t I recognized him? Had I been so blinded by rage?


I listened in amazement as he told me his story. He had dropped me off at ogbogeonogo market and had immediately made a U-turn back towards Infant Jesus as that was his usual route, carrying passengers on the way. He had just dropped off the last person, a well-dressed female passenger, when he heard the phone ring. He turned around and saw it lying in the gap between the back seat and the metal frame of the keke; at the same time the woman stretched out and collected it. He became suspicious because where she sat was nowhere near where the phone was. He had grabbed her hand and asked her if the phone was hers to which she had replied an emphatic Yes. He asked her to prove it by opening the combination lock to the phone (I had put a combination lock to stop my kids playing with the games in the phone, not that it was helping, they had long since decoded it), she now said the phone belonged to her brother, that she was taking it back to him. It was while they were arguing that I had called the second time and when he told her to answer it she left the phone with him and walked away. That was when he picked the call and answered with his cool ‘Yes?’ He had picked up some passengers on the way back which was what had caused the delay.


I listened to his animated speech with great fascination. Here was a guy that looked like he would steal the clothes off your back if he had the chance and he had gone to all this trouble to return my phone. Sure he might have returned it hoping for a prize but then again he could have simply thrown away my Sim and memory card, flashed the phone and sold it for a very good price. I looked at him and for the first time a smile made its way to my face. I realized I hadn’t even thanked him.


“Thank you”, I said, feeling a little ashamed.


“No problem sir,” he replied with a grin and turned away.


He was going to leave like that?


“Wait!” I called after him and grabbed his arm. I tried to take him away from the group ofmotor-park touts that had surrounded us by then so we could be alone but he didn’t seem to understand my moves. So I brought out my wallet right there, pulled out some naira notes and squeezed them into his hand.


“Thank you sir!” he shouted gleefully and was immediately surrounded by the other touts. I hesitated for a moment and then walked away. I looked back and caught one more last glance of him as he joyfully shared his reward with the others.

It occurred to me there and then that one should never be too quick to profile people just because of the way they looked or where there worked.


Now I understand fully what it means to Never Judge a Book by its Cover!


THE END.