Charged

She boarded the bus from Oshogbo to Lagos

She didn’t board the bus from the motor-park

There was a formula for getting cheaper rides all over the state

The “raiding buses” were the key

Sometimes someone driving a company car could decide to make some quick bucks

At other times a private car could offer you a ride

But the raiding buses were the most reliable

Some of them were registered to the local motor park and needed to break away from the long queue at the motor park because they were in a hurry

Others just hated observing the protocols of the motor-parks

They would drive all over the hot-spots in the city calling passengers early in the morning

Sometimes the seats would be filled up within fifteen minutes and they would be on their way

At other times, they would drive back and forth and eventually embark on the journey with a half empty bus!

One of the advantages of such buses was the transportation fare

Unlike the buses that were in the motor park with fixed prices

The cost of transportation for such buses were very negotiable

Passengers would haggle with the conductor until a bargain is struck

Depending on where the passenger would be disembarking

It is rare but not impossible to see passenger bus with just five or six passengers on such a long journey

But that evening, she found herself in one of such buses

There were only six of them in the bus when it took off

She had expected that the driver would take some more time to fish for passengers

She understood that transportation was a business and the six passengers on board would barely cover the cost of fueling the bus

When she realized that the driver was moving determinedly out of the city towards the highways, she was happy

Sometimes the raiding buses are a time and a life saver

At other times, they were death traps through which many had lost their lives to kidnappers, ritualists, armed robbers, and human traffickers

At a point during the journey the conductor started talking to a passenger

Conductor: Sir, the package you put in the booth accidentally opened when I went to lock the booth and I saw the content. Are you sure we are safe? We don’t want police trouble!

Passenger: The police can never suspect you have such a precious cargo if you kept your cool. Money doesn’t make noise, people do

Conductor: Hmm, my driver, what do you think sir? Should we risk it?

Driver: I don’t really get what the issue was all about. What was in the bag?

Passenger: Please Mr. Driver, it is full of US Dollars. I am taking it to Lagos for cleansing!

Driver: Cleansing?

Passenger: Yes. Eight of my friends had tried to spend out of it. As soon as they took one bill out of the whole bag, they died within 24 hours and the bill returned to the bag mysteriously. After much consultation, it was decided that the money is demonic and should be taken to Lagos for spiritual cleansing. That is the mission I have embarked upon

She was reading a novel but heard the conversation clearly

She didn’t know what to make of it

All she wanted to do was get to her destination in one piece

Then the driver said “But as you know that a secret is best kept to only one person, now there are si passengers including you (referring to the man who claimed to have a bag full of dollars), my conductor and myself, making eight people in total. How do you ensure the people here would keep their mouth shut?

Passenger: I am willing to share the dollars equally with everybody! But I will not bear the risk alone. The cost of cleansing the money is 2 million naira and if we all divide that cost equally, we will share the dollars equally

Another passenger said “How much would that be?”

Passenger: 250K each and in return we all get about 200,000 dollars each

They talked on and on

She focused on her novel

Other passengers seemed tantalized by the idea but she could see right through the scam

The problem was how to get out of the bus without suffering any bodily harm

She wanted to give them the impression that she didn’t care but they kept involving her in their conversations

Then the driver said “What if somebody doesn’t want to participate in this great idea?

Passenger: Such a person would be deemed a traitor and snitch who would report us to the police. We are talking about a life changing amount of money here. Anybody who tries to prevent one from getting to be top deserves to be thrown into a cliff. I will do whatever it takes to make it in life. My age mates are building mansions, doing internet fraud and killing people to make money! This is neat money and I will not let this opportunity pass me by

She knew they were watching her, looking for a reaction

She closed her novel

Looked up and started speaking in tongues

These people did not understand who she was!

She started quoting the scriptures in her spirit

"Though I walk through the fire I fire I shall not be burnt, the flood had no power over me, I am the inheritance of the Lord

These people trust in their charms and their wicked heart but I trust in the name of the Lord my God, they are brought down and fallen but I am stand upright in victory"

The conversation continued

By that time, she could no longer hear them

The wind had started gathering pace inside her spirit, she could feel it, like a hurricane, she had stirred her inner man, the cocoon was literarily covering her, her ears were locked to their conversation, the entry point of fear and torment was sealed up!

They rambled on and on but she could only see their lips moving

She had been in the bus for one hour, they were approaching Ibadan already

Suddenly she sighted a police check point

She laughed aloud and started clapping her hands

The talk stopped

Tension everywhere

Hey didn’t know what she was doing or why

What if she cried out to the police?

What if the police gave them a chase or stopped their vehicle?

The driver slowed down

What was happening?

She sneezed!

The conductor trembled with dread

Something strange was happening

She laughed again and started speaking in tongues aloud

The driver slowed down (he was caught in between telling the conductor to pull her out of the bus or parking to address the situation)

Driver: What is she doing? What is this strange noise? Should we drop her? This lady Is one of those people o! Should we drop her or should I drive on?

By now they were a few meters away from the police check point

She sneezed again!

The conductor panicked, jumped down from the bus and ran into the bus beside the road

The driver switched off the ignition and did the same, leaving the bus right in the middle of the road

The passengers all fled into the bush

The police men saw them and pursued

She was the only one left in the bus

She picked her bag and her novel

Alighted from the bus and started walking away from the scene

She continued to pray in the spirit, glorifying the Father

She walked for about ten minutes and found herself at Ojoo in Ibadan

She took another bus from the Motor Park to Lagos

Ps: This event happened in 2015, September

You can never be at a disadvantage in this life if you live by the spirit

Charms, invocations, incantations and fraud would be far from you

Without living in the fullness of the Holy Spirit in your life

You will be susceptible to a lot of wicked plots and twists of life

Be a victor, start speaking in tongues today

Speak until the living waters gush out of you

Speak until you carry your own divine atmosphere with you everywhere you go

Speak now