Chronicle Editor
Mbulelo Mpofu, Showbiz Reporter
THE month of March was commemorated as Women’s Month and all the spotlight was on feminine beings for their contribution to the social and economic landscape of the globe.
Women are known to be torch-bearers of peace and drivers of economic development in any space they occupy.
Amidst all the praise heaped on women, men also saw an opportunity to steal a piece of the limelight as well.
The past days saw men headlining media publications for all the wrong reasons as popular figures, American comedian Chris Rock and veteran actor Will Smith blew the internet off its roof.
Our own Zimbabwe’s improvised reality show also got underway too.
Somewhere in the country, a video of two men beating to a pulp, an old man emerged last week, and with it, popular words that have gone viral.
What the old man was beaten for is an issue for another day, but perhaps the most striking part of the video was what he said during the beatings.
“Vakomana ndiri baba venyu,” has been the talk of talk and never in our lifetime have we ever heard someone insisting and pleading that they are someone’s parents to no avail.
This phrase has been so popular that even commuter omnibus operators have got wind of it and have started using it on their vehicles.
Our sister paper, H-Metro posted a picture of a long-distance bus with a placard written this famous “Mjolo proverb”.
The Gokwe-bound bus sparked conversations on vehicle signage and the inspiration behind what is usually written on public transport vehicles.
What inspires the inscriptions that we see every day on commuter omnibuses since these range from names of public figures, proverbs, city names and a whole lot more?
Saturday Leisure engaged members of the public to pick their brains on the subject and the answers were hilarious, to say the least.
Clive Goredema said the idea behind such inscriptions emanates from everyday activities which impact people’s lives.
“People don’t just write these things for the fun of it.
Rather, they are inspired by what would have happened.
For example, in the Vakomana ndiri baba wenyu inscription on that bus, there is nothing funny about the incident itself, but there’s always something that offers comic relief around an incident.
“The way that man insisted on being the boys’ father was rather hilarious and now, people are using it to lure customers since everyone would like to board the bus with that inscription,” said Goredema.
John Phiri said the inscription alluded to how old the bus looked as it cut a somewhat father figure to other buses plying the Gokwe route.
“This is self-explanatory.
This bus has been on the road for quite a while now and in layman’s terms, it is a father figure to the new ones plying that route.
Of course, it emanates from that video, but I think the point here is, the bus has been in service long enough to be given a father-figure status,” he said.
Last season, popular London outfit, Chelsea Football Club ruled the roost at the Uefa Champions League tournament and came up trumps and that was reason enough for one commuter omnibus operator to inscribe Chelsea’s player N’Golo Kante’s name on his kombi.
“I’m a staunch Chelsea fan and whenever we play good football, I get goosebumps hence our trophy overhaul last term was enormous so I had to do something to commemorate our success.
The best way I could celebrate our rich vein of form was by inscribing the name of my favourite player, N’Golo Kante on my kombi,” said the commuter omnibus operator.
Khulekani Tshuma said initially, these writings were used to be a guide to show passengers which route the bus or kombi was plying.
“This started off as a way to show commuters where the bus was headed so that it’d become easier for them to know which bus to board.
There’s nothing more difficult than going round in circles looking for a bus or kombi that plies the route you want to go to, but not getting any help.
“It’s counter-productive and hence, commuter omnibus operators devised a plan that would lighten the burden on passengers,” said Tshuma.
These inscriptions are not only on kombis and buses but rather, trucks and heavy-duty vehicles have them too.
Usually, most ask whoever is reading to grade the driving skills of the man behind the wheels.
Sometimes, a telephone number is written for people to report the driver if he is being reckless on the road.
Not only is this trend trendy locally.
In Nigeria, there was once a bus that had a funny inscription about women.
The inscription read, “Fear women and save your life”.
Now, that’s a new twist to this whole debacle!
Physically, women are the last species to worry yourself about, but then, whoever wrote that had his/her reasons to champion the idea that women are dangerous.
In Zimbabwe, this type of branding is even found in rural areas where donkey/ox-drawn carts are used as a mode of transport for villagers.
These carts are written all kinds of things your mind can fathom.
Village folks are one creative bunch you can come across surely!
I once came across a cart written: “John Cena” and another one written, “Brooklyn” and this is a testament that these folks are not “laggards” as most people would envisage them to be.
When asked about the John Cena inscription on his cart, Khulu Samuel Nyoni said one of his grandchildren, Musa Ndlovu wrote it.
“My grandchild Musa visited us from Bulawayo last year.
We had recently bought a scotch cart and we decided to let him inscribe it as it is a tradition that we inscribe our carts.
I believe he wrote, ‘John Cena’ because of his love for the wrestler. Only he knows,” said Khulu Nyoni.
Which are some of the funniest inscriptions you have seen or written? Let us know on our social media handles.
— @eMKlass_49
Londile Moyo
Online Reporter