Last Thursday night I ran out of fuel on Third Mainland Bridge.
11pm.
Phone at 2%.
No powerbank.
I want to tell you what happened next.
I pushed the hazard lights on and sat in the car.
Trying to think.
Cars were flying past me.
Nobody slowed down.
Not one person.
Lagos at night on that bridge is a different kind of alone.After about 15 minutes I saw headlights slow down behind me.
A danfo bus.
Old. Battered. One headlight slightly dim.
The driver came down.
Big man. Rough looking. Dirty shirt. Chewing something.
My first thought was fear.
My second thought was I had no choice.He looked at my car.
Looked at me.
Said "fuel?"
I nodded.
He didn't say anything else.
Just went back to his bus.
I thought he was leaving.
He wasn't.He came back with a small gallon.
Maybe two liters.
Old plastic container with a rubber pipe attached.
Like he kept it specifically for situations like this.
He poured it into my tank without being asked.
Without negotiating.
Without even looking at me for approval.I started the car.
It came on.
I came down immediately and opened my wallet.
I had ₦15,000 on me.
I held it out to him.
He looked at the money.
Then looked at me.
And shook his head.I thought he wanted more.
I told him it was all I had.
He said "keep am."
Just like that.
Keep am.
I stood there confused.
This man just helped a stranger on a bridge at 11pm and didn't want anything.I asked him why.
He leaned against his bus.
Took a long breath.
And said something I have not stopped thinking about since.He said in 1998 he broke down on that same bridge.
Night time.
Pregnant wife in the passenger seat.
No phone. No money. No fuel.
He said he sat there for almost an hour crying and praying.Then a man in a big car stopped.
Suit and tie.
Looked like someone who had no business stopping for a danfo driver.
But he stopped.
Bought fuel from somewhere.
Came back.
Filled his tank.
Refused every kobo he offered.
Said only one thing before he drove off."Pass am forward."
That was it.
Pass am forward.
The man in the suit drove away and he never saw him again.
25 years he carried those three words.
Third Mainland Bridge.
Waiting for his own turn to use them.I stood on that bridge and didn't know what to say.
This man had been holding onto someone else's kindness for 25 years.
And he chose me to give it to.
A stranger in a car he had never seen before.He got back into his danfo.
Gave me one nod.
And drove off into the night.
I stood there watching his one dim headlight disappear.
Holding ₦15,000 I couldn't give away.I sat back in my car for a long time before I drove off.
Thinking about the man in the suit in 1998.
Who had no idea what he started.
A chain of kindness that crossed 25 years and found me on the same bridge.I don't know who that danfo driver is.
I don't know his name.
But somewhere in Lagos tonight he is driving that old bus.
With one dim headlight.
And a heart that has been quietly changing lives since 1998.
Pass am forward.
*What are you passing forward today*?
Karma!!!!!
You will definitely reap something some day.
Depends on what you have been sowing!!!!
A massive congratulations to the Rt. Hon. Speaker, Salihu Yakubu Danladi (@SalihuDanlad) on his emergence as the @OfficialAPCNg Governorship Candidate for Kwara 2027! 🇳🇬
As RTIFN Atlantic Canada Coordinator, I celebrate leadership that understands Structure and Governance. Kwara is on a path of progress, and we are ready to support visionary leadership that aligns with the Renewed Hope Agenda.
From the Diaspora to the Grassroots, the work continues! 🇳🇬🇨🇦
#Kwara2027 #SalihuDanladi #RTIFN #RenewedHope #KwaraState #Structure #Diaspora
Honored to be appointed as the Atlantic Canada Coordinator for RTIFN.
We will focus on ground-level education and mobilization to promote the Renewed Hope Agenda. The real work begins now. 🇳🇬🇨🇦
#RTIFN#AtlanticCanada#Nigeria#FixingNigeria#Structure
@Shams_ope From the dept of our heart we say a big congratulations, you habe been involved and now is the time to take charge. In your leadership we trust. Take the lead Shams
Most of our brothers and sisters don't know what to say during Salatul janaaza (Burial prayers): Here is how to pray Salatul Janaaza.
1- After the First Takbeer: Recite Surat Al-Fatiha.
1. Bismillaahir Rahmaanir Raheem
2. Alhamdu lillaahi Rabbil 'aalameen
3. Ar-Rahmaanir-Raheem
4. Maaliki Yawmid-Deen
5. Iyyaaka na'budu wa lyyaaka nasta'een
6. Ihdinas-Siraatal-Mustaqeem
7. Siraatal-lazeena an'amta 'alaihim ghayril- maghdoobi 'alaihim wa lad-daaalleen
@NigeriaStories If you have ever celebrated injustice and call it whatever name, instead of putting system in place. Someday, the same corrupt process will turn around and visit you.
Please i need this video to go far and justice should be served
My attention was brought to this video; I heard it is Igbinedon Secondary School in Benin.
These bullies must not go scot-free.
Please retweet and tag the appropriate authority.
@vdmempire Who God has blessed. May God , who has answered your prayers that u can now look back and proudly say Alhdullilah, and mayhem continue to answer many more of your prayer and shame your critics and for we have wished you well too, may we not be put a shame. Amin @asakemusik
@Usmanashafe Even till now, his still hotter than 🔥. He has trained many and nurtured a whole community of Ajanasi, so he watches and guides when need be. God bless Alfa Sherifdeen