THE NATION FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2013
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SOUTHWEST REPORT
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OR Mr Leo, popularly called Yellow, a young business executive, no other bus holds so much fascination than the midi-yellow buses, known by the locals for its alluring sobriquet-Molue. Found almost on all routes in the state, at least up to the early 90s, the Molue, has so much history, and holds so much fun for commuters. Like Leo, virtually all adults living in the state has, at one time or the other, ridden the Molue in the past. Noted for its affordability and ruggedness, the Molue is regarded as the opium of commuters, because of the near absence of a government’s response to providing the public with alternatives in road transportation. A common sight on Lagos roads until a few years ago, the Molue was the king of the roads - from Ojuelegba to Ketu or from Ikorodu to Iddo, Oshodi to Costain, to Obalende, and from there to Apapa, then Orile Iganmu to Mile 2 and further still to Okokomaiko and Badagry. On the southern fringes of IyanaIpaja, Pen Cinema, Egbeda to Sango, Agbado Ijaiye, the Molue was found everywhere commuters were. As it carries more passengers, the fares are cheaper than in smaller commuter buses. To the evergreen Molue the great, the late afro-beat legend Fela Anikulapo Kuti waxed the song Suffering and Smiling, putting permanently on vinyl life inside the Molue, a huge mass of welded flesh with “44 sitting, 99 standing.” Leo, who lives in Orile, relied on Molue to take him to his office at Ebute-Ero on Lagos Island. Before the directive banning their voyage across most of the bridges in the state, by the General Manager, Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, Mr. Babatunde Edu, Leo had no problem getting to his destination. Now, with the ban in place, he is forced to patronise the cabs, known to the locals as Kabukabu as the buses do not find that route attractive. That has come at a higher cost though. Edu at a meeting with the branch chairmen of the Lagos Urban Bus Owners Association of Nigeria (LUBON) said the ban was to further prolong the lifespan of the bridges. But many commuters are finding the ban too much of a burden on their finances. On the direct effect of the ban, Leo said: “I am not finding the ban funny. The trip that used to cost me less than N200 before now costs an average of N400 and about N1,000 to and fro office daily.” Invariably, Leo spends a minimum of N20,000 on transportation monthly, about N240,000 yearly. Coping with such humongous expenditure is the latest worry for him and many of his ilk. Like Leo, life has become a burden since the ban to Tajudeen Adigun, a Molue driver. “Though the news of the ban came on Wednesday, we were allowed to carry passengers. When the ban eventually took effect the next day, I had to move to the Oshodi-Orile route,” Adigun said. For many patrons of the Molue, the attraction is that it is the place to catch fun on the go. Take the nuances of the conductor who charge commuters in husky, barely audible voices. “Wole pelu sense e o,” (don’t board without having your appropriate change, but translated literally to mean enter with your sense intact). Or if a woman wanted to disembark you find the conductor saying: “Duro fun o. O loyun o ponmo o fa bag o.” (wait for her, she is a pregnant nursing mother with a baby and straddling a bag). The conductor, usually a haggard looking teenager who is sparsely clothed in a long pant and dank singlet, is the permanent eye of the driver as you intermittently hear, “duro fun o” (wait for him), to indicate where the driver ought to apply brake, or “wole kanle” (enter the lane, the road is clear). The conductor is also a study in slangs, as he has developed various slangs for most of the common cur-
Going... going... Molue buses By Wasiu Adeyemi
rency denominations, such as fiber for N5, Kala for N10, Shandy for N20, and Wazo for N50. Other higher denominations equally have their slang names for the conductors’ comfort. Besides the conductors, the Molue is also a mobile varsity where itinerant drugs and herbs hawkers, preachers, and the likes interface with commuters. Two or three peddlers could enter the same molue with each catching the attention of the sweating commuters with such funny pranks and jests like a male hawker saying: “How many of you can wash your wife’s pants. I do that every day before entering Molue to sell this drug.” The Molue is the place you get drugs almost as a freebie, as most are usually sold for half the price because they are for: “ipolowo and isodimimo”(marketing and awareness creation). Besides drugs, you also have those who sell practically anything, from ICT pamphlets, to herbs that could cure a million ailments and much more. Even beggars often find a foothold inside the Molue, hopping in as the bus loads at its park, only for them to hop out as the driver hoots or engages the gear as he moves away. There are also the baby preachers whose audience is the Molue passengers. These people offer a comic relief in the rickety but stuffy buses. One such hawker who simply identified herself as Mama Risi, who hawks cosmetic products, inside Molue on the Oshodi to Sango route said she hawks to take care of her family. Barely literate, she said: “Kile fe kin se nigbati mi o ninkan ti nma fi bo awon omo mi.” (What do you want me to do when I don’t have anything with which to feed my children). She said the trade helps her to make ends meet and since there is no alternative, she could not stop hawking even with its attendant risks. Another itinerant hawker, Iya Bola joins Molue from Oshodi to AgbadoIjaiye daily. She is popular among the drivers and conductors. She said: “Look at that side (pointing to the rows of new shops along
Bolade-Oshodi) I had a shop before, but when the government demolished the market and rebuilt it, I could no longer afford the cost. “Imagine asking me to pay a million naira for a new shop, where do I get that? So, I resorted to selling biscuits, sweets and, at time, drugs inside the Molue.” She said she would never lack patrons because the Molue would always have patrons. “People who patronise me are poor. Where will they get the money to board Fashola’s buses which charge N150 to N200 for the same route while Molue charges between N70 and N100. “Do you expect those poor people to go and buy drugs from pharmacy or chemist? A man once said, he used to spend like N3,000 or more monthly to buy drugs for his family but when he tried Molue drug which is far cheaper he has been saving a lot of money every month. Drugs inside Molue are cheaper and we do not sell fake or adulterated ones.” A conductor said a drug peddler would give him Paracetamol every night before they close and this according to him saves him the money and rigour of going to a pharmacy. When told about the ban on Lagos Island route, she shouted: “This government self. What is the difference between Molue that was banned from going to Island and LAGBUS going there. One is owned by the people and the other by the government. “Molue is stronger than Fashola bus, see them how many years and
see how old they are. Compare them with Molue buses which can last 30 years.” JOB OPPORTUNITY Daily, a driver and two conductors could go home with an average of N7,000. Mr. Kola, who plies Oshodi - Sango route said: “Apart from delivering N11,000 to the owner, we get average of N10,000. “I take N5,000 while my two conductors take N2,500 each.” He said to make the money, they have to make four or five trips starting from as early as 5am. On the ban on Molue from operating on Lagos Island, Kola said: “It is a pity my brother. Our colleagues that are affected have now moved to Oshodi and are plying our routes. I hope it will not affect us too.” To Mr Tunde, who makes six trips on Oshodi-Iyana-Ipaja route, the daily ‘delivery’ to the owner depends on how new or old the vehicle is. According to him, “I deliver N9,000 and make up to N10,000 with my conductors. We have to make six trips to make the target. Our day begins at 5am in the morning and ends between 8 and 9 pm before retiring to my family.” However, to Leo and his mates who used to ply Lagos Island before the ban, it’s been like starting all over again. “The money is not much as we used to get on Island. We are new on this route (Oshodi to Orile). My brother since morning, I’ve not
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Molue is cheaper and can carry more passengers than other commercial vehicles. The drivers always show mercy to those who are stranded. If you don’t have money for transport and you beg the driver you will ride free
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made up to half of my daily takings (around 3pm). “Initially, we were told to make our vehicles motorable with valid documents and valid driver’s licence. But all of a sudden what we heard was that we should not pass through Apongbon Bridge anymore. Many people have packed their buses somewhere without knowing what the next thing is. “ Then, the latest bombshell. I don’t know whether our route will affect the Fashola Megacity plan. The people at Ebute Ero are poor; you see it on their face. I wonder how these people are part of Megacity. We are afraid if the ban will not be extended to other areas.” THE MASSES SUCCOUR Mr Okon is a regular passenger. He lives at Agbado-Ijaiye and works in Mushin. He said he could not imagine banning Molue totally in Lagos State with “uncountable benefits inside.” His words:“Molue is cheaper and can carry more passengers than other commercial vehicles. The drivers always show mercy to those who are stranded. If you don’t have money for transport and you beg the driver you will ride free. “Can you do it inside LAGBUS? You buy ticket of N150 or N200. So there is no room for sympathy at all my brother.” Another passenger who was staying at a distance while others were boarding the bus, said: “I’m waiting to take standing which is half fare of sitting. So, that is the advantage we poor people are getting from molue.” MOLUE AS HOME? It is not uncommon to find a Molue driver and conductor passing the night inside their bus. Kola, a conductor told The Nation that he sleeps in his bus. Asked how he feels making a Molue his home, he said: “This is where I grew up. Many drivers also sleep inside their Molue. Most of us don’t have a home, because the distance between our houses to the garages would also impede business as our business is first come first serve. “The buses begin work about 4am or latest 5am. If you are not in the garage you lose your slot to another. So, we usually take our turn the night before and we sleep in the Molue.”