Ezinne Osuagwu: While I Was Minding My Business…

As I returned from choir rehearsals last night, I saw a girl screaming, close to my estate and she seemed to be running away from a guy who kept holding her down. At first, I passed them, Lagos style, minding my own business, until I saw her pick up her slippers and literally flee but the guy caught her, pulled her down, and was sitting on top of her. I saw RED.

You see, at that point, what I saw, regardless of whatever their story was, was a woman, who didn’t want to be there at that time, and was being held down against her will. I reversed, and told the man to stand up or I was going to crush the keke they were trying to get her into, I was driving mom’s SUV so it would have been a possible. One look at me, he knew I was serious, and he started to explain to me, how she was his girlfriend he brought from the village she was trying to run away and he didn’t want her to. I screamed at him to get up. Mind you, I was still in my car, with my doors locked and my windows cracked barely open in case shit goes down. The moment he stood up, the girl picked up her slippers and fled. As for me, my job was done. My friend inquired deeper and found out they really were lovers, the girl was from the village and the guy didn’t want her running away from him, because she knew no one in Lagos. She started to scold me for letting her escape. But here were four things I saw;

1) This girl needed time out, and the guy pinned her down. I didn’t care who was at fault, no one should be held down against their will. It’s wrong.

2) The young girl, even after seeing “help” didn’t wait to tell her own side of the story- she fled. To me that said, she couldn’t be bothered, at that moment, and she would return eventually, if the case was as trivial as he tried to paint it.

3) My friends pointed out that the girl, after coming from the village, may have found a new man, and wanted to leave this young man, who is responsible for her and answerable to her family. That’s valid.

4) It could have been a setup to lure nosy Nigerians and rob them of their belongings. Yes, it could have been worse. Maybe I should have thought it over more carefully, when I got home, and let the girl face whatever it is she was running from. It would help me decide better if I’d intervene, faced with another scenario like that. *RollingMyEyes*

Do I feel bad about my actions yesterday? Not at all. I must admit though that I took it a little personally because, she was obviously not in a position of strength at that moment. Had it been two women or two men, I wouldn’t bat an eyelid.

I have had experiences where I wished someone had intervened and the outcome scarred me for life; however, I did promise myself that faced with the same situations, rather than cower and be bullied, I’d die first and I’d die fighting. What is life if you have to feel crappy about yourself as long as you live.

What do you think guys? What would you have done?

Photo Credit: Dreamstime