SAPADE ON LAGOS IBADAN EXPRESS ROAD : THE TOWN OF MEN OF THE UNDERWORLD .

Two years ago while driving from Ibadan to Lagos, I was attacked at sapade by two masked men armed with two long Dane gun but I escaped because i was on top speed but the vehicle behind me didn't. Last night around 7:30pm, this time around, I didn't escape considering the gigantic log of tree placed across the road on my way back to Ibadan.

Sapade is a town about 3km away from Ogere toll gate, Lagos-Ibadan Express way. It is that town before the overhead bridge to ogere when going to Lagos and after the overhead bridge when you leave ogere when coming to Ibadan. At both sides of the road, the spot has two massively dugged potholes that most vehicles may never escape at night. So, when driving along this spot, please do endeavour to be watchful and never be sluggish behind the wheel and above all, it is not advisable to drive along Lagos Ibadan express way at night because every location is a death trap due to blackout from beginning to the end.

Yesterday, I moved out of Lagos at exactly 12:00pm and got to Ogere toll gate by 1:30pm due to holdup on the way. On getting to Ogere, my car developed fault and I tried getting a mechanic to fix it to no avail because I was financially stranded. I filled my tank with the hope that getting home was the most important thing but God knows best. I learned a lot as to the level of distrust in our society and I saw that every tribes in Nigeria shared this attributes equally.

Because I didn't have money, I believed that sincerity would save me so, whenever a mechanic comes around I endeavour I tell him my situation first before bargaining. The first person I approached said he doesn't know anything about car but trucks, but that he would call a car mechanic which he did and we walked to meet him at his workshop but he wasn't there. He called to tell us that we should go and wait at the car that he would join us. We waited and when he came, immediately I told him my situation he responded that he doesn't do work like that and he took the next available motorcycle and left. Funny enough we both were speaking in our dialect. I summoned courage and approached a spare part dealer if he could be of assistance even though he was not a mechanic? He joined me with his two assistance to check the car and thereby, we discovered that the battery had been drained but he said he couldn't do anything as he is not a battery charger that I should meet with those Hausa boys faraway(he pointed at the place) but that everything at the toll gate is all about money. I went to the Hausa boy. He was a young man that speaks pidgin English appreciably. I told him the condition of my car and my condition and he nodded his head asking me that, what can he do for me? I said he should help me out with the battery that when I get home I will send him a recharge card or check him on the way back to Lagos in a week time. Surprisingly, he agreed. He gave me his mobile line and carried the battery along. We got to the car and the other Yoruba boy joined me. We tried to no avail and it was the Hausa boy that suggested that I get a mechanic that he would be willing to give me the battery as long as I would need it for the day which he fulfilled. Then, I began new search for another mechanic by trekking about 500metre distance away.

I met this young mechanic. They refer to him as Alfa. I explained my condition to him and he responded that even my silver plated fastina wrist watch won't help me because he has a lot of phones with him on same condition by even pastors and Imams and they have all disappointed him by not coming to pay him his money. He brought out a touch screen HTC mobile and told me that the phone doesn't even charge and he helped the owner out without being paid then, I said but my watch is worth 30k and he screamed that, can't I get the message! Immediately, it just occur to me I could call my wife and sisters to send airtime in exchange for the mechanic bill which he agreed to. He follwed me to the car, discovered the fault and billed me a nonnegotiable amount of N3,500 and I agreed. I summoned the Hausa battery charger still, he came with the battery true to his words. I called my wife and she sent 3k mtn airtime. I called my eldest sister, she also sent 3k airtime. I called my younger sister, she sent 2k airtime making 8k and work began. All through the work the battery charger stayed with me. Before I left I also called for another airtime and a N500 glo was sent which I loaded on the battery charger mobile phone and he appreciated and informed him that I will still send him another one. The car was fixed and we moved to the main toll gate market to sell the cards and another fault developed but we were already far from that battery charger. This time, the new battery charger, a Hausa insisted on collecting N1,500 before moving his battery which I did pay with a recharge card. Afterwards, the journey to sell the cards began again and this availed my car alternator the ample time to charge the battery so, we surpassed battery issue. I sold the cards and paid for the workmanship as agreed but I still need to pay for the part brought by a rewire and because of that, I had to leave the car behind as they were not ready to trust me with that and I agreed. It was already 7pm so, I left my luggage in the car but went along with my laptop bag because its for safe keep of other movable documents and my iPad which I lost to the bandits at sapade around 7:30pm.

The ogere toll gate to sapade is about 15minutes drive. Because the whole place was dark the commercial bus driver rammed into the road block created by the armed robbers. From the dark, they came out in large numbers armed with double barrels and cutlass. They were all holding heavy cutlass and UTC . Immediately,the driver engaged the bus to reverse at top speed and each movement backward some other groups came out from the bush. A trailer at top speed dogged us and moved through the log of wood. The driver kept on reversing but the tyre got hooked in the mud and two of the guys placed barrels on the driver head. Everything went very fast... The driver banged them with the door of the bus and they fell. The rest of us in the bus and a lady jumped down and started running. They shot at the driver aimlessly but he survived. What I noticed is that each passenger had at least four armed men on him or her. While I was running in the dark two hefty men collided directly on my chest because I was taller than them. I didn't lose consciousness as the third swung his cutlass at me, I blocked it with my laptop bag the fourth was about slashing me with the cutlass and one of them echoed leave am! Just collect his money and every other things including my cards wallet but I pleaded that they should give me the wallet back because it's my identity card wallet which they obliged and ordered me to run. I ran and met every other person on the way like a kilometre with hundreds of cars parked waiting for police instruction. The policemen came to tell us to move that the road was cleared. They took us back to the bus and we pushed the bus to continue our journey. The journey back was fun as the driver busy fumbling about  the efficacy of his local defence  against gun shot.

When we got close to ibadan another set of police patrols stopped the driver for tips but we all came down to explain our ordeal to them and they let us go. I got home around 11:30pm.

Thank God for the gift of life as I set out to make a police report and get my car back.

The most important thing in the world is to be alive.-Akande Akin Sanyaolu

www.aasanyaolu.blogspot.com