Why I boarded train with the masses- Mercy Johnson, actress
Mercy Johnson with daughter Purity |
My picture and that of my daughter,
Purity in a Lagos train has surfaced on-line 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 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 masses and not the -so-rich. 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.
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