One of the richest men in Nigeria, Femi Otedola, was one of the passengers in a commercial bus popularly known as Molue.

On its own, Molue readily qualifies as a tourist attraction, being peculiar to the nation’s commercial capital, Lagos State.

Molue is notorious for the unusual ways operators jam-pack passengers, with less people sitting and more people standing, packed like sardines.

Molue is variously called Osa Straight!, Maul E, etc., as a result of some terrible accidents involving Lagosians’ popular means of transportation in the 1980s. 

Then, a handful of Molue buses had been involved in gory accidents that led to the death of tens of passengers; while, on at least one occasion, Molue drove straight into the Lagos lagoon during an incident credited to brake failure, sinking all the passengers on board.

In the early hours of the day when Lagosians are rushing to their various places of human endeavors and also in the evening when people are returning home, the Molue is known to ‘overflow,’ with passengers sometimes hanging on the ‘tailboards,’ sometimes for the suicidal fun of it, and, more often, to avoid paying the fare.

In the late 1980s at the peak of gory accidents involving Lagosians’ most popular means of transport, the state government tried to ban Molue, but it met with unspoken, stiff resistance, as Lagosians clung tenaciously to their yellow-bus-with-two-black-stripes.

Since coming to office, the incumbent Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, has attempted to replace Molue with ‘corporate’ commercial buses, as did his predecessor, Babatunde Fashola, whose administration launched a range of commercial buses under the BRT scheme.

Though the BRT buses were fully air-conditioned and comparatively cheaper than Molue, with no standing or noise pollution occasioned by hawkers that sometimes make Molue ride a bumpy one, the spirit of Molue overcame many administrations’ attempts to phase it out.

While Otedola did not tell his IG followers the reason for his unusual — if bizarre — decision to take a ride in Lagos’ ol’ Molue, he does share the video of his ride with his followers today.

The video, which generated 92,064 views within two hours, shows him sitting in the bus as a fellow passenger standing next to him, a female, advertises a product.

He saunters down, Lagos style, when he gets to his destination.

He claims to have boarded the bus from Sango, Ogun State to Agege, Lagos State.

He captions the IG post, “Recently took a ride on the Molue from Sango to Agege 🚌 … F.Ote💲”

Femi Otedola is known to operate in the oil and gas sector.