Babe, please hurry... I just hit a boda man!

Picture this, you’ve woken up well, left everything well back home, hopped onto your small car and driving peacefully to work. Just to get courage to face your nasty boss and chilling Eastlands driving experience, you are listening to uplifting music.

It’s always a torturous affair navigating through Eastlands traffic. The roundabouts are like a riot scene. Like all peace loving women, you are extra keen obeying all NTSA rules plus more. Then kapput! A boda man is on the ground right next to your front wheel.

You have no clue where the bugger came from or what hit him. But apparently it’s you!

That is exactly what happened to me last week and it was a hair-raising experience. Even the devil knows the poor guy was on the wrong side of the road. Immediately the small accident happened (the guy just got a bruise on his hand but he was pretending he was dying), a swarm of goons embarked from the blues and surrounded my small car, ready to attack. Panic attack hit full swing and I could not think straight.

With shaky hands I rolled up my car windows and did what every woman does when caught up in such a mess. I called my husband.

“Babe, please hurry I have just hit a boda man and they want to kill me,” I said with a shaky voice.

I expected my husband would jump to my rescue. But the typical man he is, he just told me to be calm and handle the situation.

“You can do it babe, exit the car, assess the man’s injury and organise to take him to hospital if he’s hurt. But stay calm the cops will be there in a minute,” he told me with a firm voice.

I felt so alone but I knew I had to take charge. I said, “These men were not going to bully me.”

I breathed in and out, wiped my sweating face and came out of the car. Luckily, the man was not very hurt and he could stand.

He was even negotiating with the others the ‘compensation’ he wanted from me.

Thank goodness, before I started pleading my case, a gentleman came to my rescue and helped me handle the situation soberly. I learnt a lot from that episode.

When such an unfortunate incident happens to you my sister, first do not panic. Two, immediately it happens, lock all the doors and windows and get a grip of yourself.

Breathe in and out. If you are the faith type, pray, then leave the car and lock all doors and windows. Tough as it may be, you need to be bold and take charge.

Most probably it will be like a market scene with a shouting match. Talk less and listen more. If you want to talk, be as polite as possible. Rudeness here is suicidal.

Always identify a level-headed goon to explain what happened. And please don’t cry. Before you realise it, a cop or a Good Samaritan will come to your rescue.

The writer is a married working mother of a toddler boy and a preschooler daughter. She shares her day-today-life experience of juggling between career, family and social life.