Police Is Your Friend - Share Your Experience Around The Globe. - Travel

I travelled to Ivory Coast some months ago, so I settled in a remote area to reduce cost as a newbie.

One day I was going to an office for registration. Before I could meet up at the junction by 9am, the vehicles heading towards my proposed destination had all gone out. So I stood by the junction for sometimes with the help of the tree branches acting as shed and protecting me from the scorching sun.

A woman selling stuffs by the roadside asked me why I hadn't stopped the police officers on patrol to carry me along.

I said ... Me?

She said Yes, you. Stop them and they'll definitely take you (in french)

I was shocked 

I declined the offer (because I was still running on the Nigerian operating system version 1.0

She insisted that they'll gladly be of assistance to me.

So there was a large number of the police officers coming in their 2 Hilux vehicles and about 8 motorcycles running behind the Hilux.

I waved at the Hilux in fear. Make Dem no lock me up in the process. The Hilux carrying some officers stopped. I wasn't fluently speaking the french. I gesticulated much while dishing out the little french I had in me. One of the officers politely told me they were not heading towards my direction and zoomed off.

The woman insisted that I stopped the ones on the motorcycles. I did and they stopped one after the other. They pulled over along the verge of the road.

Then, I told them where I was headed. The others told me they weren't heading towards my direction but 1. Only one out of them all was heading towards my direction. He asked me to join him.

  

Na police be this or what? And one thing about these police officers here is that they are always neatly dressed. Clean from head to toe. Clean shaven.

That was how we rode till we got to the office, then I alighted. The distance we covered, on a proper commercial vehicle costs 1k here. Yet a police officer was able to render such help.

The woman said that's how they live here and I'm a testament of that fact.