Friday morning met me on 3rd Mainland Bridge in Lagos.
It was 5 am and I was speeding up the longest bridge in West Africa.
Enjoying the cold breezy wind gushing on my face.
I tasted some and it was sweet.
My destination was Oriental Hotel on Victoria Island.
We were executing the 2nd Day of AOT Lagos 1.0. A Tech conference and bringing together a whole new wave of Lagosians to drive innovations that will pave way for the evolution of a smarter, digital, and more efficient Lagos.
Curated by Eko Innovation Centre.
Day 1 was super awesome and went according to plan, except for a few technical glitches. So here I was rushing to Victoria Island to co-execute Day-2. A colleague was with me in the car as we proceeded further into the Bridge, looking forward to another successful outing.
Suddenly, my car started jerking, lurched, spluttered violently, and then came to a halt.
Gosh! What just happened!!!
On 3rd fucking Mainland Bridge?!
I was scared as shit.
I ignited the car again and it went flat.
No response.
I tried something my mechanic taught me, I connected a conductor wire both to the battery and the kick-starter,
Then ignited it.
The car came alive.
Excitedly, I jumped into the driver’s seat.
We moved.
Two minutes later, the car jerked violently again and stopped.
This time, the Third Mainland Bridge traffic was building up and I was causing congestion. The car wasn’t still starting.
I tried the short-circuit method again and it worked.
Again, we moved.
Two minutes again, it stopped.
I was both confused and angry, drenched in sweat.
‘God! Not today! I need to be at Oriental!
Today needs to be smoother than yesterday!’
I yelled in anger as I hit the steering wheel.
I opened the bonnet and short-circuited.
Again, we moved.
Again, the car stopped a few minutes later.
Ughhh! I sighed and gave up.
Then I braced up and quoted aloud one of Henry Ford’s sayings.
‘I will go anywhere as long as it is forward’.
I tried the short-circuit again and we moved.
Then it stopped.
I repeated this cycle about five more times and the story stayed the same.
Then, I got tired.
Dejected, beaten, clueless.
I made a few calls. Of course, not my pastor.
I called my mechanics. Three of them.
One around my home, one around my office, the third recommended by a friend.
They said the same thing.
“The fuel pump is probably faulty and either needs to be serviced or replaced.”
“Cool. So what do I do now to get me out of this shitty bridge?” I asked impatiently.
“Allow the car to rest for about 10 minutes”.
20 minutes later,
I ignited the car.
This time around, it picked the call.
And took me safely to Oriental Hotel.
Woah.
Then I learned a new course in Relax 101,
It’s called ‘calming down’.
I figured that sometimes when we are in deep shit,
All we need to do is stay calm and talk to the right people.
Then start again.
Today, this week, this month, this year.
Breathe deep, calm down, and make that call.
The solution might just be within the response.
Farabale.
#EKO.
