The misuse of power on an Opay rider.
Everyone prays for a good life every day because life without money could be frustrating. They say money is power, while some believe that money without power is meaningless. Some also compare money with power but I think they are wrong.
The rate at which power is being abused in Nigeria is unglorifying. Especially amongst the forces – soldiers, police, FRSC and VIO.
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Imagined, I ordered an Opay ride through the App two days ago. On our way, we met a VIO who stopped us for inspection. We respectfully obeyed and tried to park at the other side of the road as we are in the middle.
The next he did was to start dragging the bike. Maybe he felt we wouldn’t comply. I got upset and shouted at the manner in which he had treated the Opay rider.
He demanded his particulars which he gave him. After going through, the next he asked was for his driver’s license. A bit strange to me though. I had no idea if Okada riders do use the driving license.
The Opay rider said it’s Okada permit they do issue and not drivers license. I thought as much also. But that never solved the matter as he grabbed his keys and drove the bike into their office.
I frowned at the greatest height of injustice, so I followed the Opay rider to the VIO office across the road.
On getting to their office, he was issued a fine ticket – 30,000 naira.
I had no idea what his offence was actually. The Opay rider went to one of the senior officers and pleaded. He reduced it to 5000 naira.
The most annoying part was a lady that was arrested for an expired document that same day. All she did was to put a call through. She was freed without paying a dime. This was because she put the VIO senior officer through on a call. It’s glaring he was talking to an important personality from the way the VIO senior officer was responding.
This hurts me in the manner the common citizens are being treated. There’s too much of an abuse of power at every sector.
That’s why I wrote about the state of education in Nigeria in one of my articles. We get everything through connection. It makes those working hard to be discouraged. Instead, they opt for a short cut.
According to Mayur Sharma, he said he’s been asking himself lately; ”before stepping out of our childhood, we are made to think that money is power. As we near completing teenage, we realized that money itself is not the power but it has the power to buy power. Power buy power. Once you step out into the real world all on your own and if you start thinking freely and fearlessly, you realize that there is something more than power existing in the real world, something that is more than power and cannot be bought by money.”
He continued: ”Wealthy people dream of it and powerful people fear it. That’s called ’Respect’. In this thought – Real power is not something that can be bought by money or achieved by hard work, instead, it’s something that can only be earned with respect; respect of your own and that of others, I mean the majority of others.”
Although power is good, I plead with everyone in a position of power to tread with caution.
As Ben Ramedani would always say – be human in everything you do.