Adventures of Oko Ashawo The Uber Driver - 10

Cab drivers see and hear a lot in the course of their work. I get to hear lots of conversations from my passengers but I try to be as professional as possible by maintaining confidentiality.

Often times, some of the things we hear are so ridiculous and inconceivable. Other times, they are hilarious and quite entertaining. At some point, you
turn out to be a counsellor of some sort because you are required to give a little advice here and there.

Recently, I got a request from one of the e-hailing platforms. I called the lady and the voice sounded quite familiar but I didn’t have that particular contact on my phone. She described her pick up location; a white garment church in the area I was and I got there promptly.

I called the lady and told her that I had arrived and she came out in a few minutes to join me. Excitedly, it was an old client, holding a little girl of about 4 years old. What a pleasant surprise! I hadn’t seen Temmy in a few years. She was much fairer now and had put on some weight too. She was so happy to see me and told me she lost my contact and had changed her phone number. We hugged, exchanged pleasantries and she entered the car with her daughter while I started the trip.

We got talking on the way as we caught up on old times. She told me she is a single mother and currently sells bags, shoes and accessories. We went down memory lane as we talked and it felt so good to be reunited with an old client. I dropped her off in her house at the end of the trip and saved her number. She promised to keep in touch while I went about my business.

I got to know Temmy when she was about 18 years old while seeking
admission into the higher institution; a young, beautiful and intelligent lady. I met her through another cab driver who gave her my contact when she needed a ride as he was out of town. I later became her steady cab driver when she learnt that I drive at nights unlike the other guy who introduced her to me.

I picked her up regularly, knew most of the places she went, the guys she hung out with and her residence. One astonishing thing about Temmy was that she had a retinue of boyfriends and she knew how to play her game so well that none ever ran into the other. 

 At a particular time, she was my highest paying client and I rendered cab services to her at least 3 days in a week.
There was a particular day I picked her up from home in the evening and took her to a hotel. She called me after a few hours to pick her up from there to another hotel. Around 6am the next morning, I got another call from her to take her to one of her boyfriend’s house.

This time around, the hotel I picked her from was different from the last hotel I dropped her in the night. I imagined how one girl could be so energetic jumping from one man to another all in one night. I kept these thoughts to myself.
Subsequently, I got to know her other friends who are into the same runs with her. One of her friends, Bukky had housing issues and Temmy offered to accommodate her temporarily. They often went out together and sometimes, I may be required to pick them up from different locations and take them home together.

One particular early morning, as I was taking them home, Temmy told Bukky about one of her boyfriends, Mike who has been misbehaving lately by not giving her attention and spending money on her like before. Bukky inquired about the particular Mike she was referring to and asked if it is the same Mike that has a small dick living in so and so place. Bukky affirmed also that if it was the same Mike she was referring to, she is not concerned about the size of his dick since he is very generous and gives her a lot of money.

Immediately, Temmy flared up and accused Bukky of snatching her boyfriend saying no wonder he does not give her attention anymore. There was a heated argument in the car as Bukky tried to exonerate herself saying that she never knew they were dating. After hurling insults and abusive words at each other, Temmy eventually called Bukky a boyfriend snatcher and asked her to leave her house since the place can no longer contain a traitor like her. She accused Bukky of stealing Mike’s number from her phone when she must have been asleep.

Bukky abused her back telling her that she also is a boyfriend snatcher and a home breaker, that after all, she is the one who made a certain Alhaji leave his wife all because she has laced her toto with juju.

It was too much drama for me that early morning and I wished the journey would end as fast as possible. Eventually, we got to Temmy’s residence but she insisted that Bukky had to leave at once.

Bukky had no choice but to pack her things and leave. She begged that I wait for her to take to yet another friend’s place where she can stay for the time being.

On the way out of Temmy’s place, Bukky then told me all about Temmy and how she is a very evil person. She said a certain Hausa man did a charm for Temmy with full chicken and also gave her a charm with which she laced her private part. She also said Temmy is always running around to different spiritual houses looking for charms and has ruined many homes. I kept listening and didn’t interrupt her. I love this kind of gist and was eager to hear even more.

She said Alhaji promised to build a house for Temmy if she got pregnant and she is suspecting that she is already pregnant for him.

She also talked about how greedy Temmy is, even with all the money she was getting from Alhaji, she still jumped from one man to another.
After dropping Bukky off, I reflected on these things and wondered what type of life these girls lived even at that young age. They get a lot of money from these runs but have very little to show for it because they spend heavily on clothes, shoes and gadgets just to keep up.

Seeing Temmy again with a little child made me wonder also if the child was for Alhaji. Oh well, what do I know? I am just a cab driver who is trying to make ends meet.

*Hmmmmm Iya Dolphin Gist eeeeh!!!