That place is for the hard-hearted, the no- nonsense; busybodies and those that have stubborn and rugged running in their blood. Believe me; I am not trying to spoil the name of that beloved state but the truth must be told.If you are or have been in Benin, I’m sure you will concur with me on most of the things I will say, and if you are going to Benin City for the first time, two words for you- Brace yourself.
photo creditAs I alighted from the Big Joe bus, the first thing that got my attention in Benin was the reckless driving. The drivers drive as they want and stop where they want. This is of no surprise because the passengers themselves are the cause. Immediately they get to their destination, with no forewarning, they scream “STOP!” and the drivers like zombies immediately put their foot to the brakes with no care in the world as to where they are ‘parking’orwhether a car is behind or notIf you see a pedestrian lane, don’t actually mistake it for a pedestrian lane. It is a mini or a spare road for the drivers in case there is a traffic jam. In all my four years of stay in Benin, there was no time I go out that I don’t find myself always looking over my shoulder for fear of getting hit by a bus even when I am walking down a quiet street with no possibility of a bus ever coming that way. You are never relaxed till you get to where you are going.Another thing that you won’t dare disparage or disagree with is the violent behavior of the people. Is like everything you say or do is met with a wild and utmost bitter retort. When you go to the market and haggle over the price of tomatoes, the market woman would look at you with disgust and say“abeg abeg, if you nor wan buy carry yourself dey go, nor be by force”
The drivers have no patience and are cursed with rotten mouths because by the time they start to insult your life for not having ‘change’ or for telling them to turn down their loud music; you will be moved to tears. Like I said you have to be hard of heart, at least once in a while to survive Benin or else you get pushed around a lot.
creditI was always the cool and calm girl until one fateful day. It had rained cats and dogs and the drivers took it upon themselves to inflate transport fares (they always do that). On a normal day, I’d only have to pay #50 from Ring Road to Ekehuan but it was not to be on that day. I boarded a bus, and just as I got to my destination, I handed the driver #50 and he glared at me like I had gone completely mad. “You dey craze? Why you go dey give me #50 na, abi you donblind say you no see say rain fall?The cool girl in me vanished, I wasn’t in the mood for shit that day (I guessed Benin did rub off on me) as I fired back with such venom even the other passengers were stunned speechless “na your papa and mama dey craze, in fact na your whole generation, the born and the unborn. Howd rain take affect you? E elongate the distance? Abeg take your money jare”He looked at me like he couldn’t believe this chick could actually talk and said “abeg carry your winsh dey go”It is only in Benin a driver would almost hit you with his bus and yell at you for being in the right lane.The most annoying thing about Benin City is that many of the younger ones do not have respect for their elderly ones. You would see a 10 year old yelling at and insulting an old man for walking too slow. I was in a bus and we had to stop for an elderly man going our way (it seems my life in Benin always revolved around buses hmm...). The driver had obviously gone ahead too far before he stopped because we had to wait a short while for the elderly man to catch up. Knowing he was elderly, the passengers quite understood, but the young conductor wasn’t in the same boat with us because he kept yelling “Epaa! Wetin dey do you na, abeg waka fast jor, you think say we get time?” and as he got near, I saw him up close, he was very old and shaking all over with just a walking stick to support him. He seemed so fragile I felt sorry for him. As we started moving again, the conductor kept on talking to the old man rudely “Epaa! Hope say you get change o, if you nor get better come down now o”At that, the passengers got furious and reprimanded the boy.I still got loads to say but I think this would do…… for now. So, you see why I am not really anticipating my journey to Benin. That place brings out some of the negative behavior you wouldn’t ever dream of exhibiting but that’s not to say Benin is a complete no-no. I might probably gist you guys about the good part about Benin City soon, so for all of you who might be thinking I’m just hating, be on alert.Now, time to go clean up that messy room, I’ll be back..
