baba ezekiel's lot

My recent 'Africa by Okada' post about Fabrice Dubesset, the Frenchman riding through Africa on motorbike - got me thinking about the above picture. Showing a row of commercial mopeds waiting for passengers, it was taken in Abeokuka, Ogun State, Nigeria on 22nd August 2004. The men were not even aware of my presence. But a conversation between 2 market women behind me about the scene has stayed with me, and makes this picture special.

"Ah, won ma n ya awon Baba Ezekiel ke?" - mocked one, surprised that Baba Ezekiel and his lot were worth photographing.

"Ehn, eniyan saa ni won!" admonished the other. I could translate her words into: "And why not? After all, they are people too." Amen to that.