Danfo 001; Stadium to CMS, 2023, Charcoal & Palm oil on canvas, 40 × 50 cm. The physical art is unavailable, only jpegs.

Standing at Stadium bus-stop, Surulere, I patiently await the Danfo buses whose final destination is CMS. I couldn’t miss the stern look on the conductor’s face, a term used to refer to the Danfo drivers assistant, who is in charge of yelling the names of their intended location to prospective passengers, collecting the trip fares, and sometimes another pair of eyes to the driver. As the bus came to a halt right beside me, I began to admire the zeal and dedication of these men, who keep us moving at an affordable rate in Lagos, Nigeria. I am inspired by the lives of these men, who I am oblivious to how they survived during the Covid pandemic lockdown. For if their means of livelihood depended on the moving colorful buses, how were they able to survive during the restriction of movement.