The okada man who stopped mid-ride to pray for me

I entered okada from Ogbete to New Haven last Tuesday. The man was wearing a Chelsea jersey that had seen better days, and I remember thinking, this one will charge me extra because of traffic. We were somewhere around Zik Avenue when he suddenly pulled over, killed the engine, and removed his helmet.

I thought maybe the bike had developed a fault. Instead, he closed his eyes and started praying. Not the small sign of the cross o. Full prayer. Binding and loosing. He prayed for his family, for Nigeria, for his customers, and then he turned and prayed for me specifically. 'Lord bless this my passenger, let him reach his destination safely.' I sat there on the back of that okada, holding my bag, not knowing whether to say amen or ask for my change in advance.

We finished the prayer, he started the bike, and we continued like nothing happened. When we reached my stop, he charged me the normal fare. No extra charge for the spiritual service. I have been thinking about it since. In this Lagos and Enugu of a thing, where everybody is hustling and nobody has time, this man stopped his own money-making to pray for a stranger. I don't know if it was faith or if he just needed a moment. But I entered that okada as one person and came down feeling like I had attended a mid-week service. Has any okada man ever done something like this to you, or is it only me?