Bunmi Hammed, a 35-year-old Lagos woman, who worked as a ticketing agent with the Lagos Bus Services, tells EMMANUEL OJO details of the unfortunate incident that led to the crushing of her leg by the same bus she worked with
You had an accident while working with the LAGBUS that led to the amputation of your leg. Can you narrate how the incident happened?
It happened around Kosofe, along the Ikorodu Road. The bus switched lanes and entered the service lane. There were two vehicles in the front and it was trying to slow down. I can’t even explain how exactly it happened. Suddenly, I fell off the bus and landed on the road. I had some money with me, but the money had already fallen off my hand and scattered everywhere. So, when I realised that, I felt ashamed. I discovered that people around me were looking at me. So, I made efforts to quickly get up; that was when I discovered that I couldn’t lift my right leg again and that was how I fell back to the ground. I fell by the side of the front tyre of the bus and unknown to me, my right leg was close to the tyre.
I screamed the moment the bus wanted to climb my leg. I screamed and that was when it halted, but it was already on my flesh. At that point, the flesh covering the bone had opened up and I could see part of my leg already stuck to the tyre of the bus and it left the lower part of my leg shattered.
When that happened, what action was taken to save your life?
I was rushed to an orthopaedic hospital. The incident happened in the morning. By the time we got to the hospital, it was past 12pm. The doctors didn’t attend to me quickly and I was there till some minutes past 4pm. So, I was scheduled for surgery and then a second surgery. When we went in for the second surgery in the theatre at the emergency ward, the doctor asked if money had been deposited. My siblings were there at that time. So, they asked him what the money was for and the doctor said it was to prove that there was money. He said we should first deposit the sum of N2m and that it was after that amount was deposited that he would be able to say the main point.
What did the doctor mean by the main point?
He said with the amount, he would try to revive the leg but he couldn’t guarantee us that they won’t have to amputate the leg eventually.
What was your reaction to the doctor’s statement?
When he said so, I told my aunties to hold on and take me out of the emergency ward because I couldn’t understand immediately what the doctor meant. So, they took me to Ward A where I saw some nurses with their equipment and they started treating the leg. However, when it got to the point that the pain was too much to bear, they said they would amputate the leg. My aunties that were there were asked to sign for the leg to be amputated, but they ran away and insisted that they couldn’t sign for my leg to be amputated. When it got to a point where I couldn’t bear the pain any longer, I said to myself that I couldn’t watch myself die that way. So, I had to request that they let me do the signing myself and I signed (for the leg to be amputated). That was how they amputated the leg.
It happened suddenly. The bus suddenly swerved to the service lane and there was a yellow caravan bus (Danfo) at the front and another vehicle was at the front of the yellow bus.
Was it the impact the Vehicle had on the yellow caravan bus that threw you out off?
I can’t really say how it happened. All I can say is that I just saw that I eventually fell out of the bus. We usually stood at the front door as bus agents.
When exactly did the incident happen?
It occurred on May 31, 2022, between 10am and 11am.
How long had you been doing the job before the incident?
I had been on the job for three years before then. It was the red Vehicle and it’s not owned by the government but it’s being run by private investors. We plied Ikorodu to CMS and back to Ikorodu.
Most females who sell tickets for such buses usually stay at the bus stop. More often than not, there are more males riding with the buses as bus agents. What would you say prompted you to take up the job?
It was someone who gave me the connection with which I got the job. When I was looking for a job and I couldn’t get one, the person asked me if I could do the job of a bus agent and I said yes, and that was how I was connected to the job.
It used to be a practice that agents reserved seats for themselves when booking tickets for passengers. Why didn’t you reserve a seat for yourself but preferred to stand by the door?
There is nothing like that. That only happened during Babatunde Fashola and Akinwunmi Ambode’s administrations. Now, we sell all seats to passengers; no seat is reserved for the agent. It used to be a government-owned business, but it’s now being run by private investors. They bought it from the government and they are in charge of it.
Was there any assistance from the company after the accident?
After the accident and I wanted to have the second surgery, I sent a message to my boss. The total amount required at that point was about N407,000. People went on my behalf to beg him, requesting financial assistance for the surgery and he said he had heard their request. So, out of the N407,000, he paid N300,000 and the balance was paid by my family members.
After that was paid, was there any other assistance the organisation rendered to you?
They didn’t get involved in the treatment after that, fortunately, in April this year, with the intervention of fasting and prayers, I went to meet him (boss) in the office. Before I went, I used to send him voice notes on WhatsApp, where I would cry and beg him. So, when I went there to meet him, he said that he would be paying my salary. He has been paying my salary for the past two to three months. He has been paying but I begged him to help me get an artificial leg. He hasn’t responded to that. I still use crutches at the moment.
Are you getting your full pay like when you were working?
No, I’m just getting a part of my pay now, about one-third of the amount I used to earn.
When you were told that your leg would be amputated, how did you feel?
I felt very bad and there is nobody that will feel happy on hearing such news. Nobody will be happy after being told that his or her leg will be amputated and the person will be left with no option but to tell them to go ahead and amputate her leg, even when it wasn’t that the person had diabetes as an ailment.
You recalled that your aunties ran away and refused to sign for the leg to be amputated. What was the reaction of your other family members?
They also didn’t agree. None of them consented to it.
During the surgery, were you put to sleep or you witnessed the whole operation while awake?
I wasn’t put to sleep. I was only given an injection that made the thigh and entire leg non-sensitive to pain. When the thigh was deadened, as they were amputating the leg, I could feel that something was happening but I didn’t feel the pain.
Did you see it as they were cutting off your leg?
I didn’t see it. They used something like a curtain to cover my face. So, I didn’t see it.
What was your marital status before the incident took place?
I had been married before then and I already had children.
How many children do you have?
I have four children.
Did your husband also approve of the amputation of your leg?
He didn’t accept. He utterly rejected it. He didn’t consent to it.
What was your children’s reaction when they saw that your leg had been amputated?
Well, when they saw me, the ones that could cry started crying and the ones that couldn’t comprehend the fact that I am now with only one leg, ran away. The ones that could wait started crying.
Since then, have you been able to get any other source of income through business that could sustain you and the family?
I have not been able to work since and hunger has dealt with me. I have been living on God’s mercy.
Did not having a job at the moment put your husband under more pressure financially?
Ahh! My husband has even left me. He left me and ran away because he couldn’t cope. It’s God that has been sustaining me and the children. God has not left us. There are people in the neighbourhood that assist me once in a while. I suddenly did not see my husband again. I tried his phone number and it didn’t connect.
With the kind of job you do, did the company give you tips on how to stay safe while riding and selling tickets for passengers?
There is nothing like that. They didn’t give us any form of safety tip.
Will you say that the job has a high level of risk or it’s a moderate job?
The risk on the job is high. It’s very risky but as it’s being said, a place where one is having her daily bread and there is a little reward for labour at the end of the day, one has no option but to face it. Nonetheless, it’s very risky.
How will you compare the job of a LAGBUS agent to that of an agent (conductor) working with the regular 1`Danfo buses in Lagos?
There’s no difference really. They are both in the same category. It’s just a little difference between ours and theirs, but in behaviour, it’s the same. The LAGBUS agents display the same character as the yellow bus conductors.
How did you handle your passengers who refused to pay their fares?
I usually had issues with them. Some would have money but they would just refuse to pay, although I was always diplomatic in the way I went about it because I don’t have the strength for trouble. Once in a while too, one would display that crazy attitude in order to get the money from them (passengers).
How did you manage such passengers?
I disagreed more with men who refused to pay than women. The women don’t really give us problems as men do. Men make too much trouble. They would have money and say they didn’t have it. Even at that, instead of calmly saying that or communicating that to whosoever is collecting the money, they will rather call the agent names.
What is the number of passengers you are required to take per trip?
We take passengers that are willing to stand too. There is fixated number of people that we must take. There is no maximum number. The company would only give us a target. So, I always tried to meet my target. You have to convey as many passengers that are willing to board the bus in order to meet your target.
