By Lolade Sowoolu
I was almost shocked to see the uniformed woman driving a huge SUV behind me just when I navigated the Oregun link bridge this morning. It set me on this thought lane: Have you seen a female police officer drive before? Don’t know if it is against the police law but until yesterday I had never seen a uniformed policewoman drive either a police van or a private vehicle. In fact, the only capacities I have seen a policewoman act is as ‘counter officer’ (don’t know what the official title is) in the police station or as a part of a team of ‘junction officers’ collecting tips – never as members of a highway patrol, never one to initiate or make an arrest, and of course never with a gun! As a matter of fact I do not know the rising rate for females in the police force.
The few female D.P.Os (Divisional Police Officer) I have heard of are Olympic medalist, Chioma Ajunwa (Lagos) – whose promotion I have interpreted as a reward for her sporting prowess, and Caroline Afegbua – who allegedly killed and covered up a murder in Benin and was ‘effectively’ transferred to Lagos in the heat of the 2013 case. Perhaps there are a few other high ranking female officers in the police force but the point here is that, they are VERY few and hardly (perhaps never) in the line of reckoning.
I remember growing up in Abesan Estate and NEPA officials would harass us by constantly showing up with ladders to disconnect our power right from the electric poles. This exercise was common especially around festive periods when consumers are desperate for joyful celebrations. In those days, there was no shame in your light being disconnected. Rather, we’d beg and bribe just so they (the officials) do not take the (disconnected) wires away. In the middle of the hullabaloo, my attention was usually fixated on how the female officer ticked her register and the male (ALWAYS male) climbed the ladder. I had NEVER seen a female on the pole yet I’d come in contact with a number of them at the Akowonjo NEPA office where I went occasionally to pay our light bills. So I decided I’d study Electrical/Electronics Engineering – just so I could climb the poles!
This piece isn’t about females in the police force or in NEPA (now PHCN) offices. Rather, it’s an attempt to show a bit of different things. Half the time the average Nigerian woman drives, she is looking to disappoint your perceived notion of her sloppiness so she becomes stingy. Stingy with her right of way, stingy with letting you into her lane, stingy with her fuel – even when the husband drives her car, he needs to refuel it while she inspects for scratches before she takes over. And because the men are constantly looking to exploit her laxity on the roads, she tries to over-compensate.
Today, some men still have problems with seeing a female behind the wheels, just like many men have problems with reporting to female bosses. I have met a few fantastic female drivers and I have also seen a number of ‘my-driver-didn’t-come-today’ male drivers. Point is: gender is not a guarantee of competence or lack of it. And women certainly aren’t their own worst enemies especially when it comes to driving. Rather, the sisterhood connects in traffic like a victimized gender especially for the sake of the common enemy – men! So when next a sister pulls up next to you in traffic, give her a wink and flash her a pretty smile.
1 comment
hmmm… ok. Female Bouncer nko?