Early morning gory sight

I was on my way to work which is supposed to be about 30 minutes away. But combined with traffic, it goes for about an hour. In order to beat this unyielding menace, i board the commercial bikes, popularly known as Okada. As usual, there was a traffic build-up and the Okada driver tried manoeuvring through the busy road, until Lo and behold!, i witnessed a trailer parked awkwardly by the road and an okada lying sideways on the ground with a middle-aged man writhing on the ground with his intestines popping out of his body onto the ground.

There was so much blood and the man was conscious. But i can imagine the shock and the excruciating pain he must have gone through. The scene was enough to bring tears to my eyes. Cars drove by without stopping. And who would blame them? In Nigeria, a good samaritan could be transformed to a criminal for lending support. If a person helped and the man died in his/her hands, the person could be charged for murder as there is no proof to validate whether the deceased knew the good samaritan personally.

To make matters even more complicating, the doctors in General Hospitals are currently on Labour strike. As for private hospitals, the fees are enough to discourage the man's peers from assisting him as they belong to the low class.

Even the Okada driver that took me to my bus stop had to pause for sober reflection and i equally cautioned him to be very careful and not be over zealous in his driving.  As most of Okada drivers lose their lives like this every day and every week due to reckless driving. Some will say in Vernacular english that "Nothing fit happen. I dey drive Okada for 20 years" or worse, if you are cautioning them to slow their speed "Wetin now? Shey i no dey see road" (meaning that you should leave him alone as his eyes are clear). As we tried to decipher what could have caused such a fatal wound, my Okada driver said (in his illiteracy) that the trailer must have stepped on him. Ofcourse, this is completely untrue as the victim would have been pressed flat on the ground with his bones and organs squished.

Sad to say that with the traffic, an ambulance would take longer to come to his aid and even if one was available, the doctors' labour strike would have made it impossible for such service to occur.

Please, be careful whenever you drive or board a commute. A word is enough for the wise.