This morning, someone was preaching inside the bus, and with every other sentence, tiny droplets of saliva found their way onto my friend, who was unfortunately seated directly across from him. It got so uncomfortable that my friend had to borrow my bag just to shield his legs from the unintended “blessings.” Despite clearly noticing my friend’s discomfort, the preacher only offered a brief apology but didn’t make any effort to adjust his manner of speaking.
I asked my friend why he didn’t just speak up about the situation. He sighed and said he didn’t want to come across as disrespectful. So, we endured the entire journey in silence. When we finally reached our destination, he shared an interesting perspective with me: What if someone else had stood up and loudly declared, “Selu Alanabi Li Kerim” (a common phrase in religious gatherings)? I replied, “Salala Alehi Salam,” as expected. He then pointed out how, in such a scenario, those who had previously ignored the discomfort would suddenly start taking sides, arguing that since the preacher started first, he should be allowed to continue uninterrupted.
Well, lesson learned. Next time someone tries that nonsense with me, I’ll pull out my mobile speaker and blast some Naira Marley at full volume. Let’s see how that plays out!
