Why I Boarded The Train With Ordinary People On March 2 – Mercy Johnson

Article written by actress Mercy Johnson Okojie…
My picture and that of my daughter, Purity in a Lagos
train has surfaced online and quite a number of people
have asked me what I was doing in a train and in Lagos
for that matter; not Paris or London.
I was around Iddo at Ebute Metta when my Range
Rover developed a mechanical fault and I had to make a
very important appointment in Ikeja regardless of the
usual traffic congestion in Lagos.
Luckily, a member of my management team was
around, he suggested a train ride and we were in Ikeja
in less than 30 minutes but that is not the crux of this
statement.
Like I mentioned earlier, I have had to answer
questions in private and public as to why I would board
a train because trains in Nigeria are considered a
means of transportation for the ordinary and not-so-rich
people.
A friend called and said I just devalued my brand by
being on the train with ordinary people. I couldn't help
but laugh.
Are we extra ordinary people because we are
celebrities?
In as much as I understand the concept of branding,
packaging and exclusiveness, I will never trade the
experience to sit, interact and feel the pulse of so-called
ordinary people.
By the way, I am part of the ordinary people. I grew up
as an ordinary person among ordinary people.
Why would I avoid them now? Would that be because I
am now famous?
Without these ordinary people, how would I have been
famous in the first place?
Without the so called ordinary people, where would
Nigeria's growing population of so-called well packaged
celebrities be today?
For the purpose of clarification, I was not on that train
due to lack of money to get a well packaged cab or to
get somebody to bring another car from the house but,
my car developed an unforeseen fault and I needed a
fast , reliable and convenient alternative immediately as
there was urgent business to be attended to and I
respect time a lot.
The train was available where I was; most importantly,
I did not want to turn down the opportunity to be with
the people who would ordinarily not have access to me
so I grabbed the opportunity with both hands and here
we are.
I want to thank my co-passengers, officials of the train
for treating me with absolute respect and courtesy, I am
indeed, very grateful.