Guts and Glory!!!!!

Arriving at an intersection, slowing down, I see the reflective jackets of 1,2,3,4 it’s a complete squad of the “popo” (the boys in blue, or black as the case may be). I pull up to them, I’m flagged down and they request for my “papers”. I reach into the glove compartment and hand the papers over to Emmanuel. (I could tell from his name tag on his uniform). He flips through the mount of papers and asks “where is your road worthiness paper”? I begin to loose my cool at that point and I ask what the F**K is Road worthiness? Is that not the F**KN same as MOT? (My huge eye balls were already flaming red at that point). He eye balls me, flips back and forth through the papers and locates the ‘expired’ MOT papers.

Yes’ they were expired, they had been for over a year. He then puts the mount of papers in my face and says ‘they’re expired’. He follows with the very familiar statement, ‘you need to follow me back to the station’. (I knew the game was up so I started to think fast). I said in a really harsh tone, the expired papers must be a mistake, (I quickly look around and identify that none of them are armed). He then insists we go to the station. I Hiss really loudly, I start Slama (she refuses to start the 1^st time) I slap her into drive and zoom off ever so lazily.

Yeah, I did, I left all the papers with Emmanuel. I had a secret of my own though, I have two sets of papers in my car at all times. I knew such a day would come and I was prepared.

I was guilty of driving with expired MOT papers, but Emmanuel as is the case with most Law enforcement agents in Nigeria are guilty of playing on the fact that most Nigerians don’t know what the law says regarding most traffic offences. A few weeks earlier, Fashola gave an order that no 1 should be arrested on any MOT related issue. (Because most MOT certificates were being faked). Instead, such a person should be ordered to visit a genuine test centre to obtain a new certificate. I knew this so I knew Emmanuel was just “boboin”. He knew from the beginning that my MOT papers were expired, but just to obtain more money from me (MOT certificates are obtained for a mere 1grand) he called it Road worthiness!!!! What he didn’t know was that I knew all the names of all papers a car is supposed to have. I knew from having been caught by road safety, VIO, Lastma, Highway patrol, traffic warden a.k.a yellow fever when I was still driving ‘Lord Lugard’ (my Dad’s old 520 Bmer, that car didn’t have 1 registered paper).

Yeah, I was experienced and Emmanuel didn’t see that coming!!!!!