The Okada Man Who Wanted to Argue Law With Me at Ikeja Under Bridge

Rain was falling small small on Tuesday, so I stopped one okada at Ikeja along. Before I could hold the back, the man looked at my face and said 'oga, na five hundred.' I told him the normal fare is three hundred. He started laughing like I insulted his ancestors.

Then he said 'you no know say fuel don go up?' I said my brother, I buy fuel too. He said 'abeg, you be lawyer? You dey talk like lawyer.' I told him I work in court. Ah, that was my mistake. The man removed his helmet and started quoting me 'Section 1 of the Constitution say I get right to charge my price.' I stood there in the rain, a Chief Registrar, listening to a man misquote the law at me with full confidence.

I paid the five hundred. Not because he was right. Because the rain was entering my shoe and I had a 9am matter. But I told him one thing before I climbed, there is no section anywhere that says okada fare is fixed by anybody's mouth. He just laughed and said 'oga, na the same constitution wey dey hungry me.'