05/07/2025
Tales from the Road – Episode 21
Title: The Jollof War at Ore Park
It was supposed to be a smooth trip from Ibadan to Port Harcourt. Everything was set — the weather was cooperating, Big Uche Bus was washed to factory reset, and passengers boarded with the usual prayers, "May the engine not overheat like last time, Amen."
We hadn't even passed Ijebu when trouble began to cook — literally. One mama, let's call her *Mama Esther*, had brought a steaming cooler of jollof rice for the journey. You know the kind of rice that announces its presence before it's even opened. The aroma spread like divine prophecy across the bus, and that was when the unrest began.
Two passengers at the back began whispering:
"See as that rice dey smell like wedding reception rice..."
"E be like say na party rice oo!"
Mama Esther, unaware she had just started a culinary revolution, finally opened the cooler at Ore Park. The smell hit everyone like Holy Ghost fire. Before we knew it, someone shouted from the back:
"Aunty please, you fit sell small? Just one spoon and two meats?
She laughed it off… until a man in the front removed his headset and said, “Abeg, I get ₦500, just help my destiny.”
Within 10 minutes, the bus was no longer a means of transportation. It was now Big Uche Mobile Canteen. People were ordering, some were haggling, one woman even asked for a vegetarian option — for Jollof rice!
Then it happened. The fight.
Two passengers fought over the last portion. One man accused the other of taking more meat than rice. The accused replied, “Na me carry rice cooler come? Mind yourself!”
The bus driver had to intervene, yelling, “If una wan chop rice, make I go open buka now now!”
Eventually, peace was restored, but only after Mama Esther promised to cook again on the return trip — for a fee.
The rest of the journey was calm… until one passenger asked if she could bring her own cooler of fried rice next time.
Sometimes, it’s not the road that causes delay — it’s the rice fight.
At Big Uche Transport We Don't Just Drive - We Create Memories