I stated at the end of my previous post on "The Journey", that one of the passengers was a soldier. He is an officer of the Nigerian Army. He sat at the front seat next to the driver.
He became the drivers get out of jail free card - a free road/checkpoint pass. When a driver realized one of his passengers is military, he always reserves the front seat for that passenger. He knows the benefits. And most Nigerian military likes showoffs.
I didn't know we had a Soldier until about 5 minutes into the journey when we met officers from the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC). They usually stand on the road, in the path of oncoming vehicles. Once they spot a "Fish" - one they can extort money from, they will signal the driver to stop, and park along the roadside. They do this more to commercial drivers, many of whom are lawless (I complete vehicular parts, expired licenses, etc).
When we got close, one of the officers signaled our driver to stop, the driver slowed down and the Soldier with his had out the side window, said: "I'm a Soldier".
Without wasting a second, the officer signaled the driver to drive on. And he zoomed off.
What? How is he sure the man is a Soldier? He didn't confirm the claim, and he let us go. Perhaps he was avoiding this
Hahaha. This can happen, literally.
My curiosity was piqued, and I thought to myself " Is this man really a military officer or he is just being too bold and brave - claiming to be one?". There have been incidences where civilians claim to be Soldiers just to enjoy the respect and benefits that come with it.
My curiosity was gratified 10 minutes later when we got to a Police checkpoint. An officer signaled the driver to stop, the man did the same thing and said
"I'm a Soldier"
Police Officer: "You are a Soldier"
The man: "Yes"
Police Officer: "Can I see you ID Card"
The man handed his ID Card to the officer who checked and confirmed his claim.
Well, he is really a Soldier. Good!
With him, the amount that would have been paid by the driver was reduced, instead of more than #1000 Naira, he got to pay just about #200. Also, the time that would have been wasted answering silly questions at checkpoints all just to vet money from the driver was minimized.
Though the "Soldier man" wasted out time on two occasions when he saw familiar faces at two Army checkpoints. Perhaps they were from the same platoon or deployment. Well, this fully satisfied my doubt - what if the ID Card was fake. Hahaha! Where are these Emoji when I needed them.
Surprise package: We arrived at our destination, and I walked towards to boot to get my luggage, I heard the "Soldier" tell the driver
"Oga, how far settle me na"
What! He is asking to be paid for his assistance. The story for another article.
To be continued...
Read the first part here - The Journey
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That line "Oga how far settle me na " summarizes the state of the Nigerian nation. Most people only offer assistance when they are expecting something in return.