Uniformed Madness

Much against the stereotype of analogies that have been made, I fancy myself as one of the few from the male-folk who can combine more than one activity successfully! As a result of this 'talent', it is not difficult for me to answer or make a phone call while driving a car, without any thing about my driving being changed by my engagement in the phone call. It took a while of study for me to arrive at this conclusion, and so I am very confident of this. And before you think I break the law at will, I try (*wink*) to ensure that I answer phone calls with my hands-free kit while driving, and I discourage a few other people whom I do not think handle the two activities well (e.g my Jewel) from doing so.

Given the background above, you will understand my shock on Friday afternoon while I was making a turn off Ozumba Mbadiwe road. I had been on a call for about eight minutes but I was entirely focused on the road too. I was driving on the third lane had just engaged the trafficator to indicate my intention to turn to the right, and then this commercial bus decided to overtake everyone else on the fourth lane. He was coming so fast I had to stay on the third lane to let him go first. As if he had not done enough wrong, he went past me and gave me the 'open-palm' sign, which some people refer to as 'waka' in these parts. I convinced myself to disregard his folly and move on. Then came this bike going at top speed, riding so close to the bus that had just gone past me that he could not have been aware of anything else happening on the other lanes of the highway. Of course, he had to turn off the road to avoid hitting the raised culvert just ahead of him. It turned out that he was a military man - he was wearing the army uniform - and thought to exert his authority. The first thing he asked me is, "Why you know use trafficator?". Of course, I was taken aback, and then I rationalised that my trafficator bulb must have been burnt, so I apologised and stated this. After trying unsuccessfully to create a scene, he went his way.

It was only at this point that I could respond to the friend on the other end of my telephone conversation who was worried that I had been in an accident. All the time I was talking to the military guy and his passenger, I had obeyed the rule of the male stereotype - focused on just on thing - where the phone call was concerned, at least.

So, I parked the car, left the trafficator on and came out of the car to check the status of the lights that had failed me only to discover that it was working fine. What is it then that the arrogant military guy was talking about? It was he after all that was riding on the 'blind spot' of a busy road and was oblivious to the fact that he was a danger to other road-users.

How often do we suffer in the hands of uniformed people in our country? They abuse the citizens of our country at will and at no consequence. Not long ago, the world got wind of this ill when the phone coverage of a lady's abuse by military men on a popular street on Victoria Island was sent by a passer-by to CNN's I-Report platform.

Help! We need to be saved from the Uniformed Madness in our nation!