The women at the back were involved in a fierce argument with the
mate (bus conductor) over a certain 10 pesewas increase in the trotro
(bus) fare. Insults were hurled from all angles in a variety of
languages. You should have heard the Ga-speaking women. For a moment,
the trotro seemed like your usual pray-for-me church with insults
sounding like tongues. I was sat in the front seat beside the driver. I
expected him to try to intervene on behalf of his mate. I expected him
to try to explain to the passengers that the increase was due to the
latest hike in fuel prices. I expected him to say something! But no, he
kept mute and just focused on driving. The mate was left alone to deal
with the passengers. Each man for himself.
I got off the trotro at my junction and made my way to campus. Brushing the events of the morning aside, I went about my business from one lecture to the other. At a little past 2pm, I spotted a fine lady emerging from the library. Her skin was the colour of groundnut paste. I made a mental note to find her again and start some sort of friendship. All too soon, darkness approached and I had to go home. I said good bye to my friends and made my way to the junction to board a trotro home.
Lo and behold, the first trotro that came around was the one I had sat in that morning. This time, I found myself in the middle, beside a fat woman. I was sitting awkwardly on one buttock. The woman had a lion's share of the seat. I kept my discomfort to myself. There was no need to start an argument. After all, each man for himself.
Gradually, people got off and others got on the trotro. Soon we approached my stop and only a handful of us remained in the trotro. We got to a police barrier and our driver stopped at the request of the two policemen on duty. He got out to talk to them. At the same time, the mate opened his side of the door, apparently for fresh air. Soon enough, it was established that our driver was lacking in several areas of road safety. Chief amongst them was that he was driving without a license and with a broken tail-light. We could hear their conversation clearly. The policemen were demanding 150 cedis before they let him go freely. The driver argued that was his day's earnings and begged for reduction. He called his mate to bring the money over and that's when we realized the absence of the mate. Apparently, the driver had met him just this morning and taken him on since his usual mate had traveled to the village. A guy he knew from nowhere had vanished with his day's earnings of 150 cedis and some coins. This was the guy the driver had left alone to deal with insulting Ga women this morning. What goes around comes around. Now, the mate had left the driver alone to deal with demanding policemen this evening. Each man for himself.
I got off the trotro at my junction and made my way to campus. Brushing the events of the morning aside, I went about my business from one lecture to the other. At a little past 2pm, I spotted a fine lady emerging from the library. Her skin was the colour of groundnut paste. I made a mental note to find her again and start some sort of friendship. All too soon, darkness approached and I had to go home. I said good bye to my friends and made my way to the junction to board a trotro home.
Lo and behold, the first trotro that came around was the one I had sat in that morning. This time, I found myself in the middle, beside a fat woman. I was sitting awkwardly on one buttock. The woman had a lion's share of the seat. I kept my discomfort to myself. There was no need to start an argument. After all, each man for himself.
Gradually, people got off and others got on the trotro. Soon we approached my stop and only a handful of us remained in the trotro. We got to a police barrier and our driver stopped at the request of the two policemen on duty. He got out to talk to them. At the same time, the mate opened his side of the door, apparently for fresh air. Soon enough, it was established that our driver was lacking in several areas of road safety. Chief amongst them was that he was driving without a license and with a broken tail-light. We could hear their conversation clearly. The policemen were demanding 150 cedis before they let him go freely. The driver argued that was his day's earnings and begged for reduction. He called his mate to bring the money over and that's when we realized the absence of the mate. Apparently, the driver had met him just this morning and taken him on since his usual mate had traveled to the village. A guy he knew from nowhere had vanished with his day's earnings of 150 cedis and some coins. This was the guy the driver had left alone to deal with insulting Ga women this morning. What goes around comes around. Now, the mate had left the driver alone to deal with demanding policemen this evening. Each man for himself.
