Lessons from a bus conductor

By Mubanga Chilatu

So, I’m on a bus heading home from work. Needless to say, the bus conductor is what most women would classify as a hot guy…yes he’s hot, I said it. Nice clean shaven face, no funny smell, clean clothes nicely toned muscles, no messed up hairline and “all things hot” to say the least (sorry to whomever this description may make jealous but it’s for illustrative purposes…Lol)

So in my head I’m like “dude, whatever happened….” Not to look down on the job of a conductor but honestly speaking, most of us people have the perception that some people deserve ‘certain’ jobs based on their outward appearance. I remember when I was in high school, there was this nice-looking nun and most if not all of us questioned why she chose to be a nun with her killer looks. It’s not supposed to be like that but it’s the nature of us humans. When I was growing up I attributed good looks to success. But of course, as I grew older, life proved me wrong.

Okay, back to the conductor. So he’s seated next to some overly excited Munali Girls pupils and as expected, he has drawn their attention… Now, this conductor, upon noticing the attention, strikes up a conversation with the pupils and as I listen in, I’m impressed to note that his English is better than most of our politicians’. He also seems to have a considerable grasp of most subjects at secondary school level. The pupils, in their amusement, ask him questions in various subjects and he’s able to answer confidently and correctly – even I am amused. At this point, his driver, in a jealous tone, says “Fumeni apa nefi skulu fyenu, iwe naine we are same.” This has people on the bus roaring with laughter! When the laughter dies down, the conductor goes like “So, before I was rudely interrupted, the formula for mass is bla bla….”

To cut the story short, the guy is smart. The pupils are surprised and they ask the question on my behalf and perhaps on behalf of everyone else – WHAT HAPPENED? He then narrates his ordeal to them in a rather emotional manner. Apparently, he completed his grade 12 at Kabulonga Boys and had 16 points. I did not in any way doubt that he actually did…he is smart. His father passed away following a battle with cancer when he had just completed his secondary school and his mother passed away the following year. The eldest of all his siblings, all his efforts to find a decent job proved futile and the only option left open was to be a conductor…I wish I could hear more but the narration was short lived and we had to part ways.

So I board another bus heading home and on this short trip my mind rests on some valuable lessons from a person I least expected; life, death and the distress that comes with it.

You know, no one ever prepares for death…even if a person has been sick for a long time, we do not prepare for their death like going window shopping for a coffin, or stuff like finding a grave site in advance… Truth is death is death and when it comes it gets the better of us.

Death unexpectedly comes with so much change and adjustments. You will find that within a snap of a finger death will make you homeless, death will suddenly open your eyes to reality, death will make a useless spoilt brat responsible, death will make a ‘mummy’s boy/girl’ face reality… Death, in short, will change you.

I had a certain high school teacher who always said, “Your current situation should make you work harder to get out of it.” Sometimes people have blamed death for so many things, “I am a thief because death happened, I am a failure because death happened and what not…”

Death has its toll on each one of us but when the death of one we wholeheartedly depended on occurs, it should not be a reason for us to die also…it should be enough reason for us to ignite our spirits and fight with all the fight we have in us…after all we owe it to the dearly departed who fought with everything they had in them.