Adventures Of Oko Ashawo The Uber Driver 15

Na wah.......

I was out with my friends chilling out at a lounge one evening when a young lady who should be in her mid- twenties walked up to me. She introduced herself as Moji and asked if I still recognized her. You know, with ladies, once they have changed their hair style and have heavy makeup on; it may not be so easy to identify them.

 At the mention of her name, I recollected immediately. She looked so different now, ,she had added some weight and her skin was lighter


I  embraced and introduced her as an old friend to my guys who looked at me with their ‘side eyes’. It was really exciting seeing her again since we had lost contact for a few years. We got talking excitedly and tried to catch up with old times. She told me she came to hook up with a guy who was yet to show up at the lounge.

I met Moji a few years ago while she hustled on the streets. She was one of those girls who stood by the road side waiting for clients but it seemed like levels had changed for her because she looked more stylish now. I ordered a drink for her while we talked.

I asked about her son and if she had reconciled with her family. She told me her son was fine and that she was yet to go and see her parents. She said that as far as she was concerned, she does not have a family. She then urged me to change the topic since she was not willing to talk about it.

I still remember very vividly the day I met her. It was a slow day with very little clientele. I spent almost the whole night sleeping in my car at the front of the club where I usually parked. When it was about 5am and there was nothing much to show for the night’s effort, I decided to leave. By this time, some girls were still hanging around by the road looking for customers.

As I made to leave, Moji approached me and asked that I assist her with transport fare saying that she had toiled all night and had nothing to show for it. She said she knew I was a cab driver because she saw me park my car outside most nights as I worked. I told her I couldn’t help out at that moment because I was in the same shoes with her, having stayed up all night with very little. She  cried and asked me to give her any amount so that she could take transportation home . She said she had tried asking for help from a few others and didn’t get anything. She even asked that i borrow her money and she would pay back after a successful outing.


I looked at the little money I had on me and wondered why I should share my money with a street girl when I also had my pressing needs.

 I brought out a 500 naira note and gave to her. She leapt for joy and called me a darling that had saved her from embarrassment. This was the beginning of my friendship with Moji.

I set out to work later that night and there were more activities because it was a Friday night. After doing a few pick-ups and drop-offs, I went to the front of same club to reposition for more jobs. Shortly afterwards, Moji came to join me in the car and thanked me profusely for bailing her out . She stayed with me for a while talking and left to continue with her hustle. 

She asked for my number and promised to patronize me whenever she needed a cab service as things get better for her.

Before long, we got really close and she told me the chilling and pathetic story of how she became a street girl. She was just 18 when her parents drove her out of the house because she got pregnant. She was still fresh from secondary school and was awaiting admission into a higher institution. she said she had a boyfriend she loved so much; a student in the University who promised to help her out with her admission.

when she got pregnant for the guy, He denied the pregnancy, accused her of having other boyfriends and told her he never wanted to see her again. She was left all alone and one of her friends advised her to get rid of the pregnancy, which was already 2 months at that time.

She said she took all sorts of concoction and herbs but the pregnancy still remained. It was her mother that first noticed something was amiss and she confessed to her that she was indeed pregnant. Her parents being elders in their church said she had brought disgrace to the family and she was disowned. Her father told her to pack out of the house and meet whoever was responsible for the pregnancy.

After she was disowned,she moved in with her friend, Dorcas ( student who stayed off campus) and stayed there till she gave birth to a baby boy. Dorcas was there for her all through, assisting her in every little way she could until she was overburdened and told her she couldn’t carry the extra weight anymore.

Moji in turn resorted to begging and was able to get a very cheap one room apartment in a face-me-I-face- you building not far from where her friend Dorcas lived. She tried to fend for herself and her little baby in every way she could but it was really difficult. More so, she could not go back home to her parents who had already disowned her.

While narrating her ordeal, her eyes were teary. She talked about how she had to resort to stealing to feed her son. She would go to a shop nearby in the pretext of buying something and while the owner of the shop was not looking, she would steal his/her money, sachet of milk or any other valuable. She would tuck whatever she stole quickly into her bra or pocket, depending on what she wore. She also sometimes stole from her neighbours when the opportunity presented itself. She described the food she gave to her son sometimes as oversoaked garri with milk, which was what she could afford.

I really felt for her as she kept recounting her travails. Oftentimes, she went to bed hungry and all she was interested in was taking care of her innocent child. She only had a mat she slept on and her son slept on a very small mattress, given to her by her friend, Dorcas. She said she never bought diapers for her son as she could not afford them. Instead, she improvised by cutting her wrapper into small bits and her son often had skin rashes.

Subsequently, Dorcas who often assisted her introduced her to prostitution as she got to her wits end. When I asked about the baby as she went about her hustle, she said she always drugged him to sleep all night so as to enable her concentrate on the street. She also said she had mastered the dose of drug that would keep him asleep till she got home in the morning.

I listened in horror as she told these things and my heart went out to the baby who at this time was already about 11 months old. I honestly wished I could help her but I also struggled with my own needs too. All these endeared me more to her and once in a while, I assisted in any little way I could by giving her money to support herself and her baby.

Subsequently, Moji was able to make an arrangement with an elderly widow in her compound for a little fee to take care of her son whenever she was out. This gave her the needed freedom to explore and make more money for herself on the streets.

One night, Moji called me to come pick her up from her friend’s place, where she had spent the evening. It was already past 11pm and they had to be at the club to hustle. When I got to the street, I called Moji and told her that I couldn’t proceed any further but she and her friend should walk out and join me in the car because further down the street was really flooded and I wasn’t sure my car could make it through. Her friend convinced me to pass through the water and that since it was raining, they didn’t want to get wet and smear their makeup.

I wasn’t comfortable but wanted to please my clients so I ventured further against my instinct. The next thing I heard was a thud as my car sank into a deep part of the water and got stuck. I was so irritated and angry when this happened. I had to seek help immediately but there was no one in sight because of the rain. I called Moji and explained to her what was going on. I asked to speak with her friend and protested on why she had to deceive me into getting into a bad place and getting stuck. To my astonishment, she said that was my business and I shouldn’t have entered when I knew that it was too deep for me.

I didn’t know when tears rolled down my eyes. The rain kept pouring and I was there in the car still stuck thinking of what to do. As I raised my head, I saw Moji and her friend with an umbrella strolling out towards another car that parked before the flooded part of their street. What pained me most was that they ignored me as they walked past and entered the other car that came to pick them. I called Moji as they left to express my grievance but she refused to pick my call.

I was there till the rain subsided at about 1am but it was already a hopeless situation. I resigned myself to fate as I reclined my seat to rest. It was a scary situation as every little sound I heard made me frantic.

I had to wait till early morning before I got help from some people who were on their way to resume work as labourers. I had to part with 3 thousand naira for them to push out the car before I went home to rest. I felt really betrayed by Moji and she didn’t even call me to find out how I went about sorting myself out with my car. I learned a big lesson that day to always follow my instincts.

Months later, I got a distress call from a lady one night at about 2am early on Sunday morning while working overnight. The voice sounded familiar but I didn’t have that number saved. Alas, it was Moji who called with her

alternate line. She begged me to come pick her up from a place she described and I could hear her crying as she said I should come quickly. Luckily, it was not too far from where I was and I called her as soon as I got there.

She joined me in the car and I noticed that her dress was torn as she adjusted herself. She had bargained for 5 thousand naira ‘short time’ with a guy, joined him in his car in the company of 2 of his friends and drove off. She only realized they were robbers when the car was stopped by the roadside as she was asked her to surrender her valuables. Her Android phone and 7 thousand naira cash were taken away from her. She tried struggling with them but was overpowered as they pushed her out of the vehicle and sped off. Luckily, she still had her small phone in her pocket.

She cried as we drove back to the club lamenting about her loss while apologizing for the wrong she had done to me previously when she abandoned me with my stuck car. I told her that I had since forgiven her knowing that God also forgives us our sins and wrongdoings. I then resolved to go to church later in the morning.

I left her at the club, worked a bit and went home to rest. I was really tired but needed to partake in the monthly Thanksgiving Service in church. I had not been to church in 2 weeks and this was an opportunity to thank God for His mercies and protection.

I had planned that I would sit close to the back during service but one ‘stubborn’ usher took me to the front even though I told her I preferred to stay at the back. I didn’t realize how tired I was until the person seated next to me nudged me and whispered that I was snoring as the sermon was going on. The Pastor then said ... “that was a loud one” while all eyes were on me. There was laughter in Church and I wished the ground would swallow me at that moment .

Body no be firewood abeg!