Lagos tout celebrated for saving man from five thieves

A Nigerian entrepreneur, Chukwuma Ezeh, has taken to social media to celebrate a Lagos tout identified as Isaac for rescuing his colleague from being robbed by five thieves.

In a LinkedIn post, Chukwuma opined that human beings irrespective of their rough or tough past life, are very much capable of contributing positively to the society.

He explained that Chess in Slums Africa, a non-governmental organisation he works with, had on Friday, December 3, visited Oshodi ‘under bridge’ in Lagos to reach out to the street kids there.

The organisation had sought to access the lives of kids in the notorious Lagos area using the game of chess.

Chukwuma said one of their volunteers Moses had taken to the pedestrian bridge in the area to get a clearer photo of the organisation’s activities.

Moses was almost immediately surrounded by a group of five rough-looking men who were at the point of dispossessing him of his valuables when Isaac showed up.

Isaac swiftly gave one of the thieves a punch in the eye and flogged another with a cane causing the thieves to take to their heels.

Sharing photos of Isaac and himself, Chukwuma appreciated the tout for saving the day, stating that not all heroes wear capes.

Chukwuma wrote; ”Not all heroes wear capes.

One of us was almost robbed today at oshodi underbridge. But luckily, an unsung superhero was there to save the day.

So Chess In Slums Africa has for been reaching out to street children at oshodi underbridge, one of the most notorious places in #lagos. We are using the game of chess as a framework to access these kids, get them out of the streets, rehabilitate them, get them back to school & ultimately set them on a life-path of becoming assets to our society.

Today, something remarkable happened.

One of our volunteers, Moses, climbed up to the pedestrian bridge nearby to get a clearer shot of our activities. As he was recording with his phone, a group of 5 rough looking guys surrounded him. They wanted to take his phone & valuables.

We the other volunteers didn’t realize what was going on. We had no idea one of us was being mugged a few meters away from us.

Suddenly, a random guy near us realized what was happening. He shouted & in a flash started running towards & up the pedestrian bridge. Towards those 5 guys that surrounded our man. We still didn’t know what was happening.

On reaching them the random guy gave one of the 5 guys a punch in the eye. He used the cane in his hand & flogged the back of another. They immediately started scampering away. That was how our guy moses & his valuables were rescued.

Who was the random guy? Why did he come to Moses’ aid? Why was he bold enough to face 5 thieves alone & was able to make them run away?

His name is Isaac & He’s a “tout” that lives at oshodi underbridge.

When our leader Tunde Onakoya first came here, he first of all approached these senior touts. He told them what he wanted to do in their territory.

Especially for the street #children there. They welcomed the idea, took him to their “boss” and even volunteered to be part of the facilitators of the project. They paved the way for us & made sure no one dares touch or interrupt us as we interact with the kids. They, the ones we ought to fear are now our guardian angels.

Isaac is one of these “touts” of oshodi underbridge. Since we came he’s been supporting the project with so much zeal. He’s a scary looking guy, he’s well respected in these parts, so no dares cross him or people he protects.

He was the hero who saved the day today.

What’s fascinating for me is how these “touts” even though they be far gone into a life of crime and drugs, even though they do not see themselves changing overnight and achieving their childhood dreams of becoming a doctor or lawyer.. are concerned about these street kids in their slum. They don’t want them to end up like they did. They want a better life for them.

It goes to show that not all “bad” people are actually bad.

This is a story about of humans like Isaac. Humans who despite the rough life they’ve had, are still capable of doing good & contributing to a better #society if given the #opportunity.

Thank you Isaac, our superhero

#OshodiChessJourney #hero #africa”