Pass on the kindness

There is a way that one's behavior can be affected by other people's actions. It could be negative or positive. I have seen some people vowed never to render some certain assistance again because people they did it for in the past didn't appreciate them. Some paid them back with bad. On the other hand, some people are ready to repeat the acts of kindness to others because they were recipients of such acts in the past. The prompt asks us to give an example of the latter.

It was about 15 years ago when I got admission into the university. I went to Jos for registration and on my way back to Abuja, I encountered one chance robbers.

One chance refers to a popular style of robbing unsuspecting passengers whereby a seat in the car is left unoccupied by the syndicate. The six seater car would be occupied by five members of the same gang. They would leave the sixth seat (one chance) for the potential victim.

I board an Abuja vehicle from Jos. The journey was smooth. We arrived at the Nyanya park which was the last bus stop. I was going to Zuba, a town on the other end of Abuja. I went to the section of cars going to Zuba to board a vehicle but the price called for me got me discouraged from following a car from the park. I picked my bag and went to the roadside to board any commercial vehicle in motion.

I waved at a passing car and it stopped for me. We negotiated the price and the fare was about 50% less than what was demanded at the park. I quickly hopped into the car. I met five passengers in the car. I completed the required number and we began the journey.

After about thirty minutes, we got to a bushy and silent part of the highway. The driver slowed down and got the car packed with the reason that he wanted to add water to the radiator. After a lot of back and forth drama, they came out clean of who they were. They robbed me of my money and phone before driving off.

I sat on the ground shivering. I was traumatized. After staying for a few minutes, I decided to look for a lift. The area wasn't safe so I had to leave immediately. I started waving passing vehicles, pleading with each of them to assist me. Once I told the driver that I didn't have money on me, he would hiss and drive off. I stopped almost ten cars without getting any assistance.

When I was almost giving up, a private car stopped for me. A man, who was the driver, and his wife were inside the car. After listening to my story, they were ready to help but were skeptical in giving me a lift themselves. The man reached for his save and gave me 1000 Naira. The cost of getting home was 200 Naira.

They explained their skepticism to me before giving me the money. I didn't blame them because I knew how notoriously dangerous that part of the highway was. Giving someone lift in that manner could pose a danger. They genuinely wanted to help and indeed they helped.

I boarded the next available vehicle home. It was an assistance that saved me from further troubles.

About six years later, I was participating in national youth service in Bauchi State. I used to travel to Jos on some weekends to spend some time with my friend. Each time I was on the road and I came across students or someone else in need of lift, I gladly rendered assistance.

There was a day that my friend and I were traveling from Bauchi to Jos. There was a crisis in a town and students from an institution located there were stranded because they couldn't afford the cost of transporting themselves to safety. Upon sighting them, I asked my friend to park so that we could help them. They rushed to meet us and began to ask for the transportation fare immediately. I asked them to board the vehicle without delay. Five of them joined me to fill the car to capacity. We took each and every one of them to their individual houses in Jos without collecting a dime from them. They were full of appreciation.

In my mind, I remembered the way a total stranger had helped me out of danger in the past.

Till this moment, I don't hesitate to help anyone that I come across who is in need of help if it is something within my capacity to do.