Molue: Is Lagos’ King of the Road going into extinction?

A few years ago, ‘Molue’ buses were the most popular means of public transport in Lagos.
On a daily basis these rickety buses criss-crossed the nooks and cranies of the metropolis ferrying passengers, majority of them the downtrodden masses, to and from their places of business.
Beginning from 4am till midnight, one could hear the voices of conductors of the Molue buses hollering, ‘Oshodiooo’, ‘Ojuelegbaooo’ among others signifying the route they were plying. To the regular patrons, these mark the beginning of a new day.
But these old, rickety vehicles with their“49 passengers seating and 99 others standing” capacity, to borrow a few lines from late Afro Beat king, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, added a flash of vibrancy in the often frustrating, gridlocked streets of Lagos.
With inscriptions like ‘Atlas motors’ and ‘Ali Balogun’ written across their sides, each bus was also adorned with religious and nationalistic artworks. In fact, no two were identical in design.
Some had inscriptions such as, ‘Slow and steady’, ‘The Grace of God’painted on them while others also had quotations from the holy books, depending on the faith of the owner.
At the various bus stops, the confused state of passengers below, when viewed from bridges at Obalende, CMS, Oshodi or Ojuelegba, coupled with the never ending queues of the yellow and black painted vehicles waiting to pick passengers, remained the same. At peak hours, one could read the apprehension and anxiety on the faces of those waiting to board the buses at the different bus stops.
In the morning, most of those waiting to board could be contemplating how they could get to their various places of work as soon as possible. When the bus eventually arrived, the struggle began.
In a desperate bid to force their way into the moving vehicle, the more determined but experienced passengers would cling onto the bus by the window side, wriggling themselves through the tiny holes called windows, while others got trapped at the two entrances while trying to board.
Those scenarios went on until the bus slowly but steadily screeched to a halt by the side of the road.
Here, only the fastest not the strongest survived. Those who were skillful in the art of boarding the Molue would on sighting one, start running after it and board it even before it stopped.
These however created opportunity for pickpockets to frisk passengers and steal their valuables.
Perspiring, the lucky ones continued to wrestle their way onto the few available seats. The unlucky,overcrowded passengers are, however, left standing throughout the journey.
The bus conductors were not only annoying but also frustrating as they watched passengers trample upon themselves as they tried to board the vehicles before announcing their destination which often times wasn’t where the passenger was going to. They were then left with the problem of disembarking and running after another molue.
Until the recent introduction of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) by the Lagos State Government, molues were the way most people travelled.
The molue buses are modified Mercedes Benz and Bedford vehicles that carry between 80 to 100 passengers on benches.One or two more passengers ride with the driver in front.
The seat in front is best and reserved for the union members. One can travel across the city with about N100. It was said to be the cheapest public transportation in the world.
The ride is, however often bumpy and the drivers may drive erratically.
Riding in a molue had all the excitement and charm of riding a roller coaster. But it was really cheap and a good way to meet many nice localfolks. Those who rode in molue were usually knowledgeable in current affairs. To while away time, while the journey lasted, they engaged themselves in the affairs of government and how few top government officials were squandering the nation’s wealth, while the general public suffered in penury.
Amidst the fascinating discussions, local sales men also use the opportunity to advertise their products.
Interestingly, only two auto companies are the manufacturers of those yellow buses that once adorned the streets of Lagos. They are Mercedes Benz with their 911 model and Bedford.
In a dusty workshop at Ijora Badia, Tolu Makinde, a panel beater, said it took an artistic mind to redesign Mercedes Benz or Bedford truck into buses that could be used for transportation.
“Way back then, it used to be fun reconstructing trucks into buses for transportation.
“Apart from redesigning the new ones, the older buses come into our workshop for repairs,” he said.
Sam Okojie, a Lagos-based businessman who moved into the metropolis in search of white collar job in 1979 told Daily Trust on Sunday about his experiences.
He said while in a molue bus, there are rules passengers must abide by certain rules.
According to him, these are: “Do not be careless about your safety and as a matter of fact inform someone of your whereabouts before embarking on a journey.
“The second thing is don’t count huge amount of money while inside a molue. This can save you from a whole lot of trouble.
“There is no room for someone who is very slow. Everyone is rushing to his destination.”
He said at first he found it difficult but right now, “I am an original Omo Eko.”
Lagos lawyer and human rights activist, Chief Gabriel Giwa Amu, said he picked up some of his experiences as a junior lawyer in the molue bus.
He said  he often travelled from Egbada to Igbosere High Court and back those days in molue.
“To survive the harrowing experience, what I did was to put my suit, shirt and wig in a nylon bag. I change into my official coat, not suit, at the back of the court.
“I tried as much as I could to arrive early. This afforded me the opportunity to tidy up myself before entering the court room,” he added.
Kamal Huntonu, a politician and member of the National Union of Road Transport Workers(NURTW), Ojo chapter said there were certain things one should know about molue drivers and their conductors.
According to him, almost all commercial bus drivers in Lagos have a way of making people angry, adding that an argument with one of them could mess up ones whole day, if not properly managed.
“A Molue driver is no respecter of person. He can yell and hurl insults at anyone as long as the person is a passenger on his bus.
“They often berated passengers who dared pay them in higher denominations. No matter the time of day you get on a bus, the constant anthem the conductor drums into your ears is, ‘I no get change o’ or ‘Enter with your change o’.
“But the union has a way of flogging them back into line when they misbehaved. The only disturbing aspect is that passengers are usually in a hurry and would not wait to get justice,” he added.
But this “people’s wagon is fast going into extinction with the ban on it on major roads by the previous administration
No Molue bus is allowed to cross any of the three bridges linking the Mainland part of Lagos with the Island. These are the Third Mainland, Eko and Carter bridges.
The state government insisted that the decision was taken in the best interest of residents as well as its determination to ensure adequate monitoring of bus operators regarding compliance with traffic rules and regulations.
To make this work, the state government licensed City Bus, a company that was set up by Cross Country Limited, to carry out transport business in Ikoyi, Lekki and Victoria Island. Cross Country runs inter-state transport services.
City Bus boasts tie-wearing graduate drivers and conductors and air-conditioned, neat buses and minibuses. The buses are painted white, with the blue-white-black city bus logo painted on the sides.
Its fares are too high in some places though reasonable in others. For example, a bus ride from Obalende to Falomo cost N50;the yellow and black danfo buses charged N20 at the time.
The introduction of the BRT buses caused a problem between their operators and the area boys also known as ‘agbero’.
The fracas erupted following the realization that they would no longer be able to extort money from ‘Molue’ drivers, it was gathered.
Analysts believe that the introduction of BRT bus by the state government has finally driven the nail in the coffin of the ‘Molue’ bus. But is the era of the molue over? only time can tell.