Between Onye Ocha Na Aba & Abuja Taxi Driver

ULOKA CHIBUIKE 

I’ve tried five times to share my opinion on the trending issue of a lawmaker allegedly assaulting a taxi driver in Abuja, deleting each attempt afterwards. I try to avoid certain topics and only discuss my “unpopular” views offline with close friends these days.

My simple advice to Onye Ọcha na Aba and others like him is this: be careful who you patronize, no matter your desire to support local vendors. — There’s a reason VIPs pay a premium for certain things and prefer luxury. The incident involving member of parliament Alex Mascot Ikwechegh is one of those reasons.

Today, Nigerians are angrier with the ruling class than ever. The common perception is that all public office holders are to blame for widespread pain, poverty, and lack of basic amenities and decent jobs, especially the Gen Z.

The woman who asked the taxi driver to deliver the parcel surely understood her client’s status and should have been more selective in choosing a delivery person. Major brands don’t randomly assign representatives; they carefully choose who interacts with high-profile clients. Big businesses similarly handpick staff for specific roles based on a client’s profile. The reason is to avoid the mess that has landed Mascot on the chopping board of Nigerian masses and other emergency cash-vist chasing attention with every swipe of the finger.

The taxi driver, knowing the client he was delivering to, came prepared for conflict. His intentions were clear, and he deliberately provoked Honorable Mascot and lured him into a his trap. Both men exhibited some level of bullying, but only one is now being held accountable, solely because he’s a politician in today’s Nigeria. Taxi drivers often display aggression toward their passengers; just recently, a driver in Abuja kept my balance of 2,000 NGN without my permission. He justified it by saying, “You na big men nah, and na una dey chop our money for this country. At first, I thought it was all joke and waited for my balance while I already alighted from his car. The next was, make i keep this one,” then drove off. He didn’t just bully me, he stole from me, assuming I was a politician profiting from taxes and government revenue. If I had chased him down and dragged my balance with him with the anger in me (obviously, the past me would go rough for any penny), the social media would tag me a bully and trivialize the issue to suit the emotive narrative of Nigerians. You’ll begin to hear, na just because of 2k you treat this man like this. Na person papa oo and na human like you. But I blamed myself for opting for any random driver and not being selective.

This isn’t an attempt to excuse Hon. Mascot Ikwechegh for losing his temper in the face of provocation. Rather, it’s a reminder that sometimes, it’s best to satisfy your cravings for “Mama Iyabasire” at a high-end like Transcorp Hilton, or invite a private cook. Trying to blend in too much may invite the very frustrations you’re trying to avoid.

Alex Ikwechegh is a victim here as well, not the oppressor he’s being labeled as.