I rejected him because he Was a Bus Conductor -Now I Regret It Everyday

Title: I Rejected Him Because He Was a Bus Conductor — Now I Regret It Every Day

: The day I said no

: ⁠It was 2019. I was 22, fresh out of FUNAB,and I thought I had life figured out. Ola was a bus conductor on my ifo to abule Egba route. Every morning he saved me the front seat, called me "Aunty graduate", and gist me about ogun while collecting ₦150 from other passengers.Then one Saturday he showed up at my shop in ilepo with a plastic of small chops and said, "Șhúkroh , I like you. I want to marry you."I laughed. Not because it was funny. Because I was embarrassed. Me, a FUNAB graduate, dating a conductor? What will my friends say? What will my mum say?I told him, "Ola, find someone your level." I still remember how his smile disappeared. He just nodded, dropped the small chops, and left.

: What nobody tells you about “levels”

After ola, I dated David . Banker. Clean shirts, good English, family in Lekki. My mum loved him. My friends loved him.But david never once asked if I had eaten. He forgot my birthday 3 years in a row. When my dad died, he sent ₦20k and said “Take heart” on WhatsApp.Ola? That same Ola used to buy me Topptaste bread + Coke when I looked tired after lectures. He noticed when I cut my hair. He prayed for me when I said “I have exam tomorrow.”David had money. Ola had attention. I chose money.

: Where Ola is now?

Last December I entered a blue Corolla Uber at ojuore . The driver turned around and smiled: "Aunty graduate."It was Ola.He’s not a conductor anymore. He saved for 3 years, bought his own korope, then upgraded. Now he owns 2 cars on Bolt and 1 shop in attan otta. Married, with a baby girl.He dropped me at gateway hotel and refused to collect fare. “Na for old times sake,” he said.As I walked into the as I walked into the gateway hotel , I cried. Not because he was rich now. But because he became everything I prayed for, after I told him he wasn’t good enough.

: What I learned about love in Lagos

  “Level” is a scam. The banker that ignores you will hurt you worse than the conductor that adores you.

: Attention is currency. ₦500k means nothing if you’re crying alone at 2am. That ₦150 Topptaste bread Ola bought? I remember it 6 years later. People grow. The guy you reject today because he’s “struggling” might be the guy you beg God for tomorrow. I’m 28 now. Single. David married his boss’s daughter last year.Sometimes I pass through Abule Egba  and look at conductors. I wonder which of them is another Ola, being rejected by another version of me.

: To the girl reading this If a man respects you, prays for you, and shows up for you consistently — don’t let “what will people say” feed you.Because people won’t cry with you at 2am. People won’t remember your birthday. But that “conductor” might.

Share this with that friend who’s waiting for a “Lekki guy” while ignoring the good man in front of her. Inside life.

#Ogun#Love#Relationship#Nigeria#TrueStory

This One Pain Me to write 😭