This post is dedicated to the true city dwellers.
Those who actually understand the workings of the city. The UNDERBELLY portion, that is. They definitely don't reside on the island; that would be a misnomer because their socio-economic status and indulgent upbringing would not allow this. (Sue me, nau?)
They are the mainland residents. The everyday-type.
They appear at first light with their wares in tow; backpacks, baskets, sacks, a sharp eye, a furtive glance and a fearless stance.
Today my hustle took me out a bit earlier than usual and you know what I saw?
Two full grown men eating a fully prepared breakfast as early as 4.45am under the early morning dew sitting on a bench at CMS. I stared at them like they were the missing Chibok girls and began to wonder. For them to find a fully prepared meal by 5 a.m., the food seller must have started cooking it at about 4 a.m.(give or take an a.m.) and that invariably means that the industrious and ambitious food merchant must have gotten up as early as 3 a.m.
3 a.m.? WTF??! Is she related to Batman? Excuse me for making a ruckus out of all this but if she got up at 3 am when did she sleep?
Here I was thinking that we (the upwardly mobile, semi-social class) were the ones that make the city what it is. But I just realized that if we are the ones that make the city the bustling socio-economic giant that it is, they are the ones that make us.
With their selfless loyalty to their trades, they have given the city a subtle lifeline that keeps us all greased and machine-ready to deliver in our own fields.
So I hail those out there (Not able to even read this because they are unable or presently on the streets) plowing the curbs and corners of the city.
We see you! Even if we pretend not to. And we understand that we are all a well-greased team, oftentimes working in tandem to make this city better.
At the risk of sounding like a pot-bellied political aspirant, I bring my ranting to a close with an overused but nevertheless apt statement, Eko oni baje!
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