At exactly 1:05 am, an 18-passenger vehicle roared into Alayabiagba Ultra Modern Rainbow Market located in the Ajegunle area of Lagos State on Tuesday.

I was in the vehicle alongside the driver and his motor boy on a journey that started some minutes after 8 pm in Iwo, Osun State, the previous day. It was a voyage of discovery, risks and fears as we travelled on the lonely Iwo-Oyo road to Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State.

The shortest way to Ibadan from Iwo had been made impassable by an angry erosion in Ibadan the previous Saturday and Sunday. The route from Iwo to Ibadan was almost cut into two in the Olodo area of the city, making it impossible for vehicles to go beyond the damaged portion of the road.

READ ALSO: REPORTER’S DIARY: A Night at Ajebo, a Strange Market in Ogun, Where No One Needs Money to Get Foodstuff

Given the time we arrived in Alayabiagba market, I had hoped we would only get to see one or two night guards watching over the food market. But I was wrong.

We were ushered into the market by an area boy. His greetings to the driver after he greeted us in a street language suggested that the entrance we took was less used by drivers when conveying goods into the centre of the market.

“Baba (driver), you just dey starve us all this while. You no make us see food chop as you no dey pass through this gate again,” the area boy said to Topola, the driver.

‘MEN WHO DON’T SLEEP‘

Dozens of people, mostly men, welcomed us into the market and immediately descended on the vehicle to empty its content. The vehicle had transported more than 100 medium-size sacks of fresh maize valued at ₦2,000 each at take-off point.

Some men gathered before a television set to communally see a movie, one without a shirt on, others fully clad, enjoying a Spiderman movie. A group of people were busy chit-chatting in front of a food vendor selling noodles. Having worked all day, one would expect that the night would be their rest time, but they remained active.

READ ALSO: REPORTER’S DIARY: At Lagos Market Known for Cheap Food Items, I Got 10 Tomatoes for N1000

As soon as they loosened the ropes that held together the protruding maize sacks, about six offloaders emptied our bus. I was amazed by their agility and determination to eat from the sweat of their labour.

I observed some other men carrying buckets of water with their hands some minutes after 3 am. Some placed buckets on their heads going to the bathroom to wash down their thick sweat. I could not confirm if the bath was for the previous day’s work or the new day.

While the offloading was on, an alms beggar came around, soliciting money from everyone. He said prayers that could make one empty one’s pocket for him.

TAKING SHELTERS ON BIKES

Some okada riders I saw by the roadside some distance from the market’s main gate were homeless.

We left the market at 3:24 am. At 3:26 am, the driver stopped by the roadside to fix something scratching the road under his bus.

As he slid under the bus, I roved my eyes around and noticed a leg stretched under a large umbrella. Trying to be sure my sight was correct, I looked again and it was actually a man’s leg. This time, I saw more legs. I looked more carefully and found that all the big umbrellas at the spot actually housed human beings and their motorcycles: the umbrellas served as roofs and the motorcycle seats served as their mattresses. The drainage by the roadside, I thought, was their urinary spot if they needed to empty their bladders during the midnight.

READ ALSO: REPORTER’s DIARY: With a Few ‘Jumps’, Criminals, Contraband Can Pass on Nigeria-Benin Waterway

This is Lagos, where rent for a single room apartment can break one’s back. Charges for house agents and tenancy agreement fee could double the original rent for a room. These men must be taking a lot of risks in the face of little or no protection.