11 Aug BODY ODOR AND TRAFFIC…
This is one of the days you woke up on the right side of your bed and everything just seemed right. You got out of bed,brushed your teeth,had breakfast and prepared to go out. Your clothes neatly pressed,shoes well polished and shinning and you are wearing your favorite perfume. You are feeling fly and your morale is high,nothing and no one can take this joy from you not even your Landlord’s rabies-laden dog or your snobbish neighbor, nothing could bring you down from your high horse.
Feeling like a million bucks, you get to the bus stop and join people waiting for the bus,thank goodness its not rush hour so there is no crowd. The bus finally arrives and everyone wants to enter at once as is typical of Lagosians so you allow others to enter first so no one would step on your shoes since the bus could contain everyone or so you thought. All of a sudden the bus is filled and the only seat left is the conductors seat which he gladly forfeits for you saying he will “hang” by the door after all it means more money for him. The bus is finally on the move, everyone is left with his or her thoughts and even you begin to think of how you would carry out your plans for the day then a sudden shout snaps you out of your reverie; “Saheed jor wole awon lastma wa ni ibe yen” (Saheed, please enter the bus Lastma officials are around). You look at the driver wondering why the sudden excitement then you realize you are stuck in a long stretch of traffic on the express and indeed the Lastma officials are on ground to help ease traffic and maintain order.
So Saheed the conductor squeezes himself into the bus positioning himself right in front of you with half his body on the front passengers seat and the other half (his butt) against the door. In this position, Saheed is in your face and in your space so you have no choice but to notice and observe him. For the first time you see he is wearing a singlet that used to be white now turned blackish brown and a sagging-blue-turned-black-with-dirt jeans, his hands are raised so you can see the green forest in his armpit and it makes you wonder if he never heard of a shaving stick. Judging from the color, you wonder when was the last time he had a bath or if he ever washes his armpits when he bathes.Then it happens, the pungent acrid smell from his armpit hits you like a Tsunami and you find yourself struggling against the strong tides, you are trapped, you cannot escape.
While you are fighting for life in between labored breathes for survival,he suddenly turns towards to the rest of the bus and shouts “owo da leti eyin” (pay your transport fare, from the back), throwing spit, sweat and another bout of mouth odor in your face then in just a split second, your life flashes before your eyes as you remember “EBOLA”.
On a more serious note though, please be careful and alert, keep your hands and your environment clean, to know more about the Ebola virus go to
http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/outbreaks/guinea/qa.html
No Comments