The joggers that make you wonder if you are the only one who’s got a job. Do you see your life? You could have been in your sexy outfit, sweating it out on this bridge. But here you are, queuing to pay the government to use the road.
The helicopters flying over the bridge, heading towards Victoria Island; the music they make, whose chorus scream MONEY. Yes, people do go to work in helicopters in Lagos. Why sit down in a car, curse the traffic and stop for every red light when you can just fly over it? But hey, the thought of your bank account quickly reprimands your brain that it should not be thinking about helicopters. Focus on your needs at the moment.
The speed boats that beguile you and at the same time, remind you how fearful water makes you feel. These speed boats are nothing compared to the one Hortense left Jamaica in. There is a great difference, as showcased by the distance per time. How do people find the courage to ride in a small boat, inside a big body of water? Why would anyone get on it voluntarily? Has water ever choked you in the shower? Exactly! Now you know that death by water wouldn’t be pretty. At least you’ve never had a taste of death by height, so the idea of riding in a helicopter to work still sounds cool. However, you are still fascinated by these fast objects riding on water, but would rather pay the Lagos state government ten times over to use a road, than get on one of those things.
The pedestrians whose day begin each morning on ground level with footsteps, weaving the traffic together. The pedestrian is the noose around the neck of the earth. I am uncertain he sees the helicopters, there is no doubt he hears them fly over his head. But does he see them? Well, not with his mind so focused on getting to his workplace before his boss gets there. These ones, they keep fit by proxy.