By: Abideen Muhammed A’Salam
I am a man who was trained in the Yoruba land. I grew up to realize the fact that Yorubas are proverbial. One of their adages goes thus; “if an individual is being disturbed and you show no concern, a time will come when you’d be the victim of disturbance “. This was the wisdom behind this “pleading article”. All members involved should kindly redress the issue. I am urging the stakeholders to also help in returning a situation of harmony to the commercial buses.
Laws should be issued with immediate effect to curb the series of disturbances that are perpetrated in commercial buses.
Many activities take place in the commercial vehicles that actually disturb the peace of others.. Activities such as preaching, praying, selling, among others often disturb the peace of others. The disturbances are in the various forms:
1. RELIGIOUS DISTURBANCE :
Religious disturbance is of paramount. It calls for serious attention. The Government needs to intervene before it goes out of hand. It is very disheartening to see some people disturbing others in our society all in the name of preaching the gospel. God never sent us to inconvenience ourselves in the guise to calling others to His religion. There is need to strike a balance between rejection and extremism. We should know that everyone has right to live a peaceful life. We should not disturb them with our gospel. Once we are in a mixed gathering w
consisting of Christians and Muslims, Our gospel should be suspended and our prayers should be done individually in a way that it won’t disturb others.
Religious leaders need to invest more time in teaching their followers how to live with others with peace. Knowing the right of your neighbor is part of religion .
“Ariwo ko ni music” – Shouting is not music. Preaching and praying in commercial bus in a way that affects others does not show how religious you are or your level of piety. The rudiments for piety is to be concerned about the peace of the other.
Let’s learn to create an atmosphere of harmony.
2. DRUG SELLING:
Another disgusting disturbance that has gone viral in commercial buses is that of advertisement and sales of both locally made and laboratory made drugs. Everyone is now a medical doctor without a certificate. Often times, we just see a man advertising his product to people enticing them to buy it. He will not only sell a product without NAFDAC number but also prescribe the dosage. What a destruction!
The drugs being advertised is of different kinds. They sell liquid drugs, powder drugs and tablets among others. I accept the fact that some drugs sold are effective but the adverse effects is dangerous than the good. They go a long way to sell super natural medicine in the buses; this act is not fair enough. It actually causes “battle of the mind” for the spiritually upright passengers as we share varying opinions with regards to super natural medicines.
3. MUSIC:
Another disturbance that is experienced in commercial buses is that of music played by the driver. It is worth noting here that it is not everybody that listens to music. In fact it irritates some people. It is also good to note that even those who listen are selective of what they listen to. Anyone interested in listening to music should use the earpiece. It is not proper to jeopardize the rights of others in the name of enjoying yourself ;this is the beginning of corruption.
4. HANGING OUT WITH FRIENDS:
This can come in any form. We see some set of people in the commercial bus; all they do throughout the journey is discussing in a lousy way. The method some employ while receiving calls is another issue entirely. No one is against talking in the bus or receiving calls but it has to be done in a polite manner. We are human, we easily get carried away. Shouting (in the name of communicating) in a public bus will disturb others. If we are narrating a story to our colleague, it should be in a soft tone. This is also the same attitude exhibited by some “untrained” students that disturb others with their noise immediately a lecturer leaves the class or in the course of waiting for the lecturer. Anyone can fault my complaints but it is the UNACCEPTABLE TRUTH.
5. DEBATES IN PUBLIC BUSES:
The so called white people are always organized than we are in everything. Majority of us only possess knowledge and lack wisdom – knowledge is knowing what to say, and wisdom is knowing when to say it. Its common to see people engaging themselves in a public bus discussing what is going on in the society. Of course, it is a good thing to do but its offensive to disturb those that are not interested in the discussion. In fact, some people argue without fact. They argue blindly – they talk for for the purpose of talking.
There is a clear difference between a debate and noise making. A meaningful debate will have Jurists. It will be well organized. People will be allowed to talk in turn unlike what operates today where everyone will just want to contribute. These are few among the ways in which people tamper with the peace of others.
At this juncture, I think it is necessary I make myself clear. This article is not meant to defame any group or individual. I only decide to call for your undisputed attention to the issue and not your ovation. We should not call a shovel a spade. The ingredients of this article will be missing if I spot a problem in our society without providing a solution. For every problem lies a solution. It is crystal clear now that we have lots of disturbances in the public buses. Some times, it often lead to health issue for some people. Below are the preventive measures I think we need to embark on to curb the virus.
We should know that curbing the virus is the work of everybody. Not just “one man work”. All of us have a vital role to play. The disturbance can be eroded it the following is put in place;
1. Orientation : Both the driver and the conductor needs serious orientation. They need to be taught how to manage public buses. It is not just about knowing how to drive. Federal Road Service Corp (FRSC) and LASTMA can arrange a three day seminar to address drivers and conductors in how to manage individual differences. This seminar should be made compulsory. Certificates should be issued to attendees. Any driver without the certificate should be penalized.
2. Prohibition: Government should strictly prohibit selling, preaching, praying, admonition, etc in the public buses. The law should be followed by penalty if anyone is found guilty. All protocols should be fully observed to ensure peace in the society.
3. Creation of Agents: Government should create agents that will be moving from one place to another on the look out for defaulters. This will also serve as an avenue for job opportunity. A long time graduate without work will never joke with it.
4. Public Awareness: There should be online program sponsored to orientate the masses about the evils of disturbing others in the public buses. Consequences of the acts should be stated. There should be a law under the constitution banning playing of music loudly in the public buses.
Here, I will like to reserve the ink of my golden for another day. Anyone with a contrary opinion can as well fault this. My advice is : temper justice with mercy in your rejoinder.
Abideen Muhammed A’Salam wrote via
muhammedabdsalam@gmail.com
