Just My 2 Kobo: The Wrong Cut

By Nnamdi Nwachukwu

Few days ago on my way back from work, the traffic-jam was extremely crazy as usual. I had gotten used to spending hours while coming home as it was a norm to meet hundreds, if not thousands of people struggling to get home all at the same time. My bus driver; a retired formula One champion (as I have chosen to refer to him) was impatient and over-zealous. He decided to drive on the opposite lane, following about 30-35 other renegade drivers (an act popularly known as one-way driving). After about 4 kilometers of doing the wrong thing, we found out that a police team had cut off the one-way drivers and instructed that they turned back and joined the right but gridlocked lane. My ‘retired formula-One driver’ for some strange reason had this crazy belief that after a few minutes, the police officers would backs-down and allow us to continue on the wrong side, he was mistaken! After an hour of futile waiting, he eventually turned back and took the right way. Cutting the long story short, we wasted an average of two hours trying to get home although eventually we did.

Several studies have shown that human beings are not wowed by proverbs and wise sayings until they can relate to them using practical examples. I for one fall in this category. Thinking about that incident, I knew my pen and paper had to tell this story. Five popular proverbs I have heard and read over time made more sense to me that night and I have decided to share.

PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE:

Honestly speaking, it is as simple as it sounds. There were a million and one other vehicles and bikes in the gridlock that could have joined the ‘madness’ my bus driver decided to engage in. Needless to say, they arrived way earlier than my bus did. Patience is everything. Sometimes, all we need to do is sit back a little and just be patient. Acting in the spur of the moment does not always pay-off. Sometimes we just need to chill-a-little-bit and do things patiently and rightly. Patience is a virtue

SHORT CUTS ARE NOT ALWAYS THE RIGHT CUTS: It is neither new nor news that people prefer the short cut in almost everything they do. Most young lads are eager and dim it urgent to ‘make it’ and to ‘make it quickly’. Others would want to jump procedures and requirements just to get to an ‘expected end’ quickly. If my driver had not taken the short-cut, we may have arrived late, but definitely not as late as we arrived home. The short cut is never the right cut.

PUBLIC ACCEPTANCE IS NOT NECESSARILY JUSTIFICATION: It is alarming to note the number of people whom have lost their conscience and judgmental ability to public opinion. I am guilty of this crime too. Once everyone is doing it, then it must be the right to do and Gbam!!! we are all doing the wrong thing and nobody cares. I am sure my bus driver would have thought to himself, ‘if they are doing it, then I can do it’ because about 30 cars before him were driving on the wrong lane. You must not join the crowd at all times, ever heard the word OUTSTANDING?

MAKE A QUICK U-TURN: Is there anybody above mistakes? No one is above mistakes! What matters actually is the quick realization of a mistake made and requisite action taken to correct one’s errors. The bus driver was very much aware that what he was doing was wrong. After he realized there was a police blockage ahead, he kept waiting for a miracle to happen. When you make an error and realize that you have made one, make that U-turn and start heading in the right direction. Trust me, you would save way more time than the one hour my bus driver spent waiting for progress on the wrong lane. Be bold, accept your wrongs and start heading the right way.

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER: This to me was the biggest lesson of the night. After we had turned the right way, I noticed that the first five cars that led the queue of wrong-doers had their car-keys seized, most likely as a deterrent to wrong-doers. I am sure the security personnel would have returned their keys to them after a long wait, but one thing is for sure; they were made to wait way longer than anyone else and were the epitome of shame and public mockery to onlookers. Life may not always be as fair as the police officers to return the keys (second chances) in relative cases. It is better to arrive late than to never arrive.

You guessed right if you guessed that I would be a voice against one-way driving from now on. No matter the rush or the reason, I doubt I would ever allow a driver use the wrong lane again. Stand up for what is right. Take the right route today.

Nnamdi Nwachukwu is an Abuja based freelance writer.