Advice:  Road Users,Transport Operators and Christmas/New Year Celebrants

The festive seasons are here again - Xmas and New Year as we see the enthusiastic folks engaging in one thing or the other with a tingle of excitement in preparation for the holy festivals. Christmas - as an annual festival that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, is usually observed by Christians every 25th of December and accompanied by New Year festival.Though these festivals mean different things to different faithfuls as some chose to celebrate them while others denounced their observance, perhaps owing to their different theological beliefs and perspectives. Nevertheless, I share the opinions of the very few others who see these seasons as an avenue of purging or relieving themselves of distress, emotions, sorrows, hurdles and worries that struck or occupied huge spaces in their minds over the time and move on gleefully with a rekindling of hopes as they enter another fresh year. My dear comrades, brace up, I'm not here to bombard you with the regular preaching of gospel rather to leave with you some sublime words of advice that will guide you as you go about preparing for these forthcoming festivals.
  As a pedagogue concerned with moral principles and human problems, I feel greatly perturbed and groan with twinge even when I choose sometimes to remain mute in the face of too many hiccups in our ambience especially when such are borne out from human insubordination. This humanitarian concern has spurred me or formed the basis for doing this writing. So, the first but compelling words of advice springing out from the advisory repertoire in my brain go to the road users. Though our attention shall dwell chiefly on those commercial motorists always cruising our highways. Believe it or not comrade, the commercial motorists are in one way or the other the demi-gods on our roads while their commuters remain their humble servants. In any where a topic of this kind is discussed - especially as regards to the safety of travellers on our highways, after the Omnipotent God - the sole Saver of lives, there come the commercial motorists. In fact, they remain the chief determinants of the safety and success of every journey that takes place on our roads. On account of this, these demigods/goddess must do the needfuls to safeguard the precious lives of their devoted servants who sought protections under their wings. Comrade, it's unarguably indisputable to go a bit hurry on the road with skills, expertise and patience yet don't be too much in a hurry as slow and steady wins the race. Like a pilot flying a plane on air, you must let the lives of your commuters come first. But how do you realise these to ward off accident on our highways?
  The first step you must take (after meeting up with the primary prerequisites that qualified you as a driver) is to put your car in a good shape by ensuring that all parts have mechanical touching before plying any road. As a driver on our roads, you must be a person of sound health and sane mind and by reason of experience and training, you can safely operate the type of commercial motor vehicle you drive. Comrades, you must wear eagle-eyes as to enable you see far beyond than the commuters, abstain from consuming alcoholic drinks as it may affect your vision, judgement and slow down reaction. As a driver, you should not overload your vehicles with goods or passengers. The passengers stand very high risk of severe injury or death in overloaded vehicles. You should always fasten your seatbelt and ensure that all the commuters in the vehicle wear their seat-belts as well. You must not over-speed as this may lead to a ghastly accident or collisions with vulnerable other road users such as pedestrians and motorcyclists but tootle with the normal speed rate and observe all the traffic laws and regulations as you zoom off on the highways during the upcoming festive seasons.
  Next after the road users are the transport operators who without qualms purposely increase the price of fares. It has now become an established culture of greed and exploitation among the transport owners to increase fares at exorbitant rates during festivities without minding the impacts such action may have on their customers. On my visitation to one of the transport industries few days back, I was taken aback after interviewing one of the transport workers in their bus station (though pleaded for anonymity) on the reason for sudden increment in fares during the festive season. 'Oga, make una mind una business, shebi na where person dey work, nai person dey shop,' he said jocularly with his face beaming with a smile and later he spoke straight. 'Well, to be honest with you, apart from the scarcity or normal increment in the price of fuel, some of them just decided to increase the fares because they know quite well that this period, passengers have no choice than to dance to their tunes as they are very eager to travel home to celebrate Xmas and New Year with their families.'
  Moreover, a lady-passenger in that same bus station who was very furious about this unnecessary surge in the price of fares roared in response when I approached her for questioning 'Bros, these people are just cheating us. After all, we are quick to scold Buhari whereas we are worse off than him. Just two weeks ago, this bus station charged N3500 from Minna here to Lagos and now because of Xmas and New Year are here, they decided to increase the fares to N5,500 and this increment may continue unabated until the seasons run out. Is that fair?' She queried loudly with her eyes becoming very red-shot. Comrade, in all frankness, it's not fair. There's no justification whatsoever for such increment except there's a rise in the prize of fuel and perhaps some logistic issues which only may warrant that. As a Christian faithful or believer of any faith who's equally observing these holy festivities, you must stop the exploitation now if you want the Kingdom of God or else you face the wrath of your lord.
  Finally, to the celebrants, particularly my dear restively intoxicating youths of today who grew protruded teeth but have no lips to cover them. They are very repulsive and get drunk easily about the whole ideas of youth exuberance. They want to be enmeshed or try their hands in so many illicit activities. They turned holy seasons into the seasons of anomy. They get carried away with the mere mention of words like SEX, DRINK and DRUGS. My dear Comrades, what I witnessed in Lagos with my two naked eyes last Xmas as I strolled out in company of my chums to attend night picnic left me wandering whether these celebrants are truly Christians as they claim or not. It's sardonic, saddening, ungodly and quite hypocritical seeing the celebrants of these holy festivals engaging in unholy activities like inebriation, impurity, sexual immorality, hard drugs, theft, lesbianism, etcetera without a proper understanding of importance of Christmas. The Bible says in Corinthians 6:18 'flee from sexual immorality.All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.' As a celebrant of Christ, you must abstain from all these sinful and immoral activities and celebrate your Christmas in a holy way especially by decorating your house with different ornaments, erecting Christmas tree, giving gifts to the needy, going Christmas Carolling, meeting or inviting friends or family over for diners etcetera.  From the modicum I know, I believe that's what these holy seasons entail. Phew! We have just returned home from the burial rite of 2017. Phew! 2018 are you there? Phew! I can hear you calling. Happy Xmas and New Year in advance. Shalom!

                                                                                      Rabiu Kassim
                                                                                      Writer/Author
                                                                                     Tel: 07038772027
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                                                                                      FCT, Abuja