I saw them.
These two people.
Father and daughter.
They entered the bus I was in as it made its way down Ozumba Mbadiwe road in Victoria Island.
I gave them a moment to settle down, before I gently tapped the father on the shoulder.
He looked back.
I greeted them before I said.
“Good job on your daughter.”
His brow furrowed, evidently confused, before he said.
“I don’t understand.”
I continued.
“You are teaching her a life lesson, right, by taking her with you on public transport?”
His eyes widened in surprise.
I smiled.
He asked a question, just above a whisper.
“How did you know?”
“I can see how she is looking around and I can see the aura you both have coupled with your dressing and the condition of your skin. Especially the quality of accented English you both speak to each other. It is evident that you both are definitely in the upper middle class and public transport is not in your every day life.”
He smiled.
“You are right. She is having summer classes and she was complaining bitterly yesterday that the AC in her school bus wasn’t working. So, I told her that I would come today to pick her from school myself and we would both take public transport, so that she would understand the kind of privilege she has and what life is like for the everyday person in Nigeria…”
Lagos
Jude Idada
August 22, 2024
