Tales of an Otondo: On Public Transit in Kano

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Packed. Stuffed. Crowded. Congested. Cramped. Swarming. These are some of the adjectives that could be used to describe the content of a sardine tin.

Photo Credit: lindaikeji.blogspot.com

Keep that image in mind. Now replace that with a ragged object that look(ed) like a vehicle but  could be mistaken as metal trash. Also, substitute the fishes for humans. See what I see? Voila! That is the true picture of people when commuting in commercial vehicles in Kano. My time spent commuting in Kano was only done via public motorcycles popularly called Okada but known as Achaba in the North, because of this short fall. This alternate  means of transportation was not any better although it was the best option as at then. The swarm of Achaba was unending and the Mai Achaba (Achaba rider)  rode these motorcycles like the passengers were on death row and it was their duties to execute the sentence. The way they rode lead me to the invaluable conclusion that they either saw men as goats like the biblical case of the man who saw men as trees or that they did not have value for human life whatsoever.  Hence, my word of caution to the Mai Achaba when riding was ‘ankali, dan Allah’. I am sure that became one of the most popular phrases in my vocabulary during my stay in Kano. Well, in spite of these things, we give God the glory because my time was accident free. Or was it?

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