13/05/2026
Taking Hold and Standing Against Your Fear
Fear only has power when we hand it the keys. Taking hold and standing against it doesn’t mean you stop feeling afraid. It means you decide that fear won’t be the one driving.
The Danfo Driver Who Learned to Speak Up
Chinedu had been driving a danfo on the Ikorodu route for 8 years. Every morning he’d see conductors shortchanging passengers, and he’d stay quiet. “Na Lagos be this,” he’d tell himself. “If I talk, dem go vex and I go lose my job.”
One day a young woman called him out for it, and she said, “Uncle, if nobody says anything, nothing changes.” That night he couldn’t sleep. The next morning he spoke up to the conductor and to two other drivers at the park. It was awkward, his voice shook, and some people laughed. But within a month, three other drivers started doing the same.
Fear told him he’d lose everything. Standing against it meant he gained respect, and the route became safer for passengers.
The Corper Who Took the BRT Alone at Night
Aisha finished her PPA in Victoria Island and was posted to an office in Surulere. For weeks she’d pay for Bolt after 8pm because she was terrified of the BRT at night. The stories she’d heard in camp replayed in her head: pickpockets, harassment, “Lagos no dey play.”
One rainy Thursday, her phone died and she had no cash for a ride. She had a choice: sleep at the office or take the BRT. She took it. She sat near the driver, kept her bag in front, and watched how everyone else was just trying to get home too. Nothing happened. The next week she did it again. Now it’s her normal route.
Fear made the BRT a monster in her head. Action showed her it was just a bus full of Lagosians trying to beat traffic.
The Shop Owner Who Reopened After the Fire
Mama Nkechi’s provision shop in Oshodi burnt down in 2023. She lost stock worth ₦400k. For months she sat at home saying, “I’m too old to start again. If I borrow money and it happens again, what will I do?”
Her daughter, who sells on WhatsApp, kept sending her videos of other market women rebuilding. One day Mama Nkechi took ₦50k, bought a small table and a few cartons of noodles, and started again by the roadside. No shop yet, just a table and fear in her chest. Six months later she had enough to rent a kiosk.
Fear wanted her to stay small and safe. Standing against it meant she started small and free.
In Lagos, fear speaks in the voice of “what if.” What if I lose my money? What if they laugh at me? What if it goes wrong? But courage speaks in the voice of “what now.” What can I do now, with what I have, right where I am?
You don’t have to be fearless to move. The danfo driver, the corper, and Mama Nkechi were all scared. The difference is they moved anyway.
Take hold of your fear by naming it. Stand against it by taking one small action that proves it wrong. Lagos is tough, but it’s also full of people who became tougher by refusing to let fear write their story.
Your turn is next. What’s the one thing fear has been stopping you from doing, that you can take a small step toward today?
Image BBC News Pidgin
