Metro
Tourism and Culture: The Molue Crowd
By Frank Meke
Cookies they say easily crumble, yet I wonder why some people love and relish cookies. And since Ms. Hilda Baci broke the world records for longest cooking hours, a crown she lost before the cookies could again crumble.
Trust Nigerians and our copy, copy Taiwanese mentality (some say we copy like the Chinese and there’s nothing wrong with good copying), everyone simply woke up to family cooking competitions even government agencies now go festive, cooking for hungry Nigerians, even when they know that they don’t have any business cooking food for over two hundred million Nigerians, many who poke, deride and nose up these new deceptive and clinically wasteful adventure.
So what exactly is wrong with us? While smart people, the oyinbos in our midst, will cook food and invite you to the table, these same guys will cleverly tie the eating to charity issues and get you to pay for it for the sake of helping the less privileged but to our wasteful father xmas government appointees who cook for their pockets in the name of feeding our hungry poor.
Now, I don’t have issues with feeding our poor, but I just wonder what the National Emergency Management Agency and Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs does with their budget. Abeg ooo, this does not mean that I am calling for the auditing of these agencies, but I am just wondering why food matters, cooking and distribution of food to select poor Nigerians is now the new game in town?
Now, if states governments budget and spend billions of naira on entertainment (buying tea, biscuits, sweets, and kolanuts), it should not be strange to know that prospecting for contracts and a possible manifestation of misappropriation and misapplication of funds through entertainment window, would gain ground.
One comedian poked at our new Culture and Entertainment economy for being at the head of this fanciful entertainment spending profligacy since Nigerians love fake lives, fake hair, fake plastic nose and sneeze out nonsensical and banal extravagant lifestyles.
Now, let me tell you my molue story. Hmmm, growing and indeed being born in Lagos, Nigeria is not an easy matter, particularly if your parents were patriotic and Catholic about being faithful to keeping their hands off the national purse. Please, don’t ask me if my father was once the Accountant General of the Federation ooo.
All I know is that my late father, like others in his generation, was accountable during his time out at the Nigeria Ports Authority, where he held his duty post without fear or favour and for thirty five years, only came home at each end of the month with his well deserved pay, which couldn’t get me and my siblings to ride in posh cars to school.
Now to the Papa song, a welcome lullaby often the exclusive musical preserve of kids (not for this Gen z ones ooo), I only had Evening Times, a publication of Daily Times as my reward, no sweet, meat pie, or chicken and fried rice.
My dad taught me to read, every day, and through the influence of reading the newspapers, it became fashionable for me to welcome you to my house with newspapers well laid out before being entertained and that is if the contents and headlines don’t get you provoked on issue(s) that may annoyingly frustrate you, leading to your premature walk out.
Indeed, don’t ever read our national dailies at breakfast table if actually you don’t want to go out on empty stomach for the rest of the day. There is so much rubbish going on across the country in the name of national development and political achievements.
Okay, sorry for the digression. I don’t know how to describe the molue, but simply to say, it is one of the earliest homegrown public transportation systems in lagos, affordable to the masses, and could move passengers in numbers.
To the best of my knowledge, the molue crowd was very obedient to instruction and would shift from one point to another depending on where one would disembark during the very slow, laborious ride.
There were no car stereos in the molue then, but every driver and I must confess accidents were rare then, must be a lover of the music of late Ayinla Omowura, the apala music genre exponent.
As a young and unassuming primary school student, I will board the molue from Otun Oba, Mushin Road, and would take count of the number of passengers who would “shiftingly” and like a lamb disembark before me and honestly I do wonder why they don’t complain at task of making way for others even when it’s not necessary or convenient to do so.
So, at my Ishaga bus stop and location of my primary school, Christian Primary school, Ishaga, (now I hear it has been converted to moslem primary school), I would simply jump down, yes that is the right word as the molue itself has a high board attached to the body for the purpose of disembarkation.
So, the board or step, call it whatever, became a practice ground for my mischievousness. So all those who claimed to be Lagos boys or born, please come share your molue experience or forever remain silent.
Again, there’s one molue crowd trait unknown to many people. Since it was mandatorily compulsory for each passenger to have the right amount of fare as it’s sacrilegious to go against the molue’s “universal rules,” one may be at mercy of poisonous tongues of the molue crowd.
As a cultural community, though of our transportation genre then, the molue family was a kind of university or college its own. As students, we sometimes get assistance in various forms from elders we hardly know and when we err, trust the molue crowd to tongue lash you, sometimes with some, particularly mothers volunteering to visit our schools to report our misdemeanours for further disciplinary action or, where a student reportedly took ill during the ride, they would take it upon themselves to ensure that the school did the needful.
I recall a day that the molue broke down. It was a day the crowd decended on the driver and conductor without mercy. Molue drivers were like airline pilots hardly seen except for the privileged two passengers sharing the front seats with them, but the molue conductor was the king.
Most molue conductors were street boys, toughies, and potential kick boxers, and so were reverred and feared by all, but this day, power changed hands.
The conductor, who in total disregarded of the molue operational ecosystem, cleverly selected passengers in two or three as a group for refund, and hell was let loose.
As students, we saw the once high moral dispensing molue crowd literally beat hell out of the driver and conductor and instigated incendiary rebuke to molue drivers and conductors who felt the world belong only to their ilk.
Now, the same crowd seems to populate our tourism and culture space. It’s almost six months, and we gladly stand in the gap to excuse escapasism, laziness, and lack of direction to our industry since the coming of this administration.
Our two ministers, as molue drivers, simply exposed us to ridicule, divisiveness, and shame. Mrs Ayeni Lola Ade-John is sick, and we have prayed for her recovery, but must the ministry be grounded to ignominy and inefficiency?
It’s sad that almost six months into this government, we shiver around like lost sheeps, rudderless and prone to mockery because we have a ministry peopled by most undeserving work force.
Now I ask retrospectively that even if we have an incapacitated minister as political head of the ministry of tourism, do we also excuse the failed permanent secretary as the accounting task master of the ministry of tourism?
I just kind of wonder at this development and why the presidency is watching this critical sector go up in smoke and directionless.
If Mrs Ade-John on proper account of her best of health, is not fully fit to drive an active and result oriented ministry, Nigeria as a show of gratitude should pick her hospital bills, relieve her of the burden of leadership of ministry and find a replacement, not just political jobbers.
Unfortunately, Mrs Ayeni Lola Ade-John has the wrong molue crowd watching her back in the identified and focal agencies watching her back. It is human to break down, but it’s an unexplainable hazard to have subordinates who can not confidently take up the steering wheel in the event of a breakdown.
This country is bleeding despite huge resources at our doorstep, but we gladly tolerate deceptive characters, failures, and the worst of low bellies as seen in our tourism space.
Just take a look at the so called Nigerian Tourism Development Authority and you will poke at how a once vibrant and result oriented tourism promotion and marketing agency was brought to a place of tourism abbaitor and skined to the bones in less than six years.
Please juxtapose what is going on at our airports, immigration and other high flying agencies under this government in less than four months to the emetic failings and shame on-going at NTDA.
In the culture sector, Hannatu Musa Musawa is simply just confused and shouldn’t have been so perplexed by huge expectations in the sector. I have patiently waited for her to come to grips with the fast Pacing deliveries expected by the president and Nigerians on the culture economy but it’s seems to me that Hannatu isn’t sure of what to do and it’s sad.
Why am I worried? Hannatu has some of the most accomplished agencies leaders, men that could be described as culture strikers, and from evidence of verifiable deliveries on their mandates, should help Hannatu come to terms with her call to duty.
Let me boldly state here that the National Council for Arts and Culture under Segun Runsewe remains the key driver of that ministry mission agenda. Indeed, and I won’t debate with nay sayers because in Nigeria, we hate and envy those who are outstanding in public service and choose failures as our pals. Otunba Segun Runsewe is the godfather of Nigerian cultural rebirth, and as he did in tourism, he is aggressively pushing culture to its economic growth and potential metrics to national and international attention, birthing a new exclusive ministry by the President.
Ado Yahuza of National Institute For Cultural Orientation ( NICO) is another great go-getter in the Hannatu team, yet she is groping around in darkness. Ahmed Mohammed Ahmed, another cultural developmental specialist with deep knowledge of global expectations on culture and so progressively wooled, picked up the National Troupe of Nigeria from the gutters, cleaned it up and brought young and committed artistic influencers to flourish our dance Troupe, bringing global honours with vista to make huge foreign exchange from global and local engagements.
Today, the Nigerian dance troupe is in high demand outside our shores but needs a ministerial political head that could break grounds running and market our dances to a waiting world.
Four months ago and during the last international arts and culture expo, specifically dedicated to marketing Nigeria arts and crafts to the world, a gathering which with brand attraction to the international community in Nigeria, China and Turkey even Cuba promised to provide and assist in the training of the Nigerian youths and young persons with skills in the craft ecosystem.
Last week, Segun Runsewe unveiled the Nigerian crafts and arts village, a vision with desirable melting pot for marketing our huge and diverse arts and crafts works, showcasing our fashion, food and dances.
The mini theatre in the place, manifestly painted in our national colours, brings excitement to our creative economy and to add, affordable for culture entrepreneurs and startups.
I just kind of wonder how Hannatu Musa Musawa could just pretend that these realities do not exist and choose to waste time grandstanding at the villa before the vice president instead of going out to the streets to create jobs.
January would soon be here, and possibly time to assess leadership deliveries as expected by the president and Nigerians, so what these two sectors ought to have brought to the table should not be left to imagination.
I can see Hadiza Bala Usman, waiting with a sledge hammer, and let no one cry women not helping women. Hannatu has the best team in the system, but what she wants to do with them determines whether she would score culture goals or go down as an opportunity waster.
Following the fatal crash on the Lagos–Ibadan Expressway in Ogun State involving world-renowned boxer, Anthony Joshua and his team, the Zonal Commanding Officer (ZCO) of the FRSC RS2 Lagos Zone, Assistant Corps Marshal, ACM Ann O. Oladayo, on Tuesday conducted an on-the-spot assessment of the accident scene, even as the incident has generated widespread public interest and conflicting reports, the National Association of Online Security News Publishers (NAOSNP), can report
Speaking with pressmen during the assessment visit, ACM Oladayo said the inspection was necessary to establish the true facts, noting that some FRSC operatives were already present at the corridor when the crash occurred yesterday. “A lot of reports are out there, but we decided to come for an eyewitness account because some of our operatives were here when it happened. We needed to ascertain what actually occurred,” she said.
According to the FRSC, preliminary findings from eyewitnesses revealed that a trailer conveying soya beans was properly parked off the road, waiting to be offloaded, when a speeding vehicle conveying popular international boxing champion, Anthony Joshua and his friends ran into it. “From what we gathered, the truck was not on the road. It was waiting to be offloaded and was well off the carriageway when the vehicle ran into it,” Oladayo explained.
She dismissed claims that the FRSC failed to respond promptly, stressing that the Corps arrived at the scene within minutes. “Immediately we heard of the incident, we were here in under three minutes. Our priority was rescue. Unfortunately, we lost two lives, but the injured were rescued and taken for medical attention,” she said.
The Zonal Commander added that suspected over-speeding and possible wrongful overtaking were being investigated as likely causes of the crash, noting that the impact force which pulled out the trailer’s tyres suggested excessive speed. “On this highway, the speed limit is 100km/h. From the impact, it is likely that the vehicle exceeded that limit. Investigation is still ongoing,” she stated.
An eyewitness, Yusuf Ajala Oluwaseun, who was at the scene when the crash occurred, blamed persistent speeding along the highway. “We just heard a loud boom. At first, we thought it was a tyre burst. People overspeed a lot on this road. Just last week, an 18-seater bus speeding here hit a man and overturned. FRSC came and rescued the victims,” he said.
Another eyewitness, Sodiq Ayo, confirmed the swift arrival of emergency responders of FRSC and described the moments after the crash. “I heard a sound and came out. People were shouting that someone was still inside the Jeep. When we realised it was Anthony Joshua, everyone gathered, a lot of people were doing video of Anthony Joshua. But before people arrived fully, FRSC came and rescued them,” he recounted.
The FRSC Zonal Commander, Oladayo noted that the damaged trailer has been moved to its facility using a heavy-duty tow truck, while the SUV involved in the crash is currently in the custody of the Ogun State Police Command, as investigations continue. She used the opportunity to caution motorists to plan their journeys properly, avoid over-speeding and reckless overtaking, and ensure their vehicles are roadworthy before travelling.
The Corps reaffirmed its commitment to rapid emergency response and road safety enforcement.
The operatives of Ondo State Security Network Agency aka Amotekun Corps, have arrested 39 suspected terrorists who allegedly fled Sokoto State following the “powerful and deadly” United States airstrikes targeting militants linked to the Islamic State (IS) group in North-western Nigeria.
The Commander of Amotekun Corps in Ondo State, Adetunji Adeleye, disclosed this on Tuesday in Akure while parading a total of 61 suspects apprehended across various parts of the State during the Yuletide period.
According to Adeleye, the 39 suspects claimed during interrogation that they escaped from Sokoto State and moved towards the South-West in the aftermath of the airstrikes.
“These 39 suspects themselves claimed they fled from the Sokoto area,” he told journalists.
He said the suspects, aged between 18 and 45 years, are currently undergoing profiling, adding that those found in possession of incriminating materials would be prosecuted according to the law.
Mr Adeleye further revealed that the Amotekun corps has intensified patrols and strengthened collaboration with sister security agencies, particularly along border communities linking Ondo State with Ekiti, Osun, Ogun, Edo, and Kwara states.
Giving a breakdown of the arrests, the Amotekun commander said that out of the 61 suspects paraded, 50 were arrested for various breaches of law and order, two for offences related to anti-open grazing laws, six for kidnapping-related crimes, while three were arrested for gender-based violence and rape.
He explained that the ember months patrol would officially end on Tuesday, but assured residents that security operations would not be relaxed, as Operation Le Jade Phase Two is scheduled to commence on January 1.
Adeleye added that the Amotekun Corps has also increased its 24-hour surveillance across the state, with the deployment of Amotekun Rangers to forest reserves.
He attributed the numerous arrests to sustained and coordinated efforts by officers and men of the Amotekun Corps to rid the state of criminal elements.
While commending Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa for providing an enabling environment for effective security operations, Adeleye said the state government has continued to support security agencies without hesitation.
He also lauded the Nigeria Police, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, the Nigerian Army, the Department of State Services (DSS), vigilante groups, and members of the public for their cooperation.
Providing details of some arrests, Adeleye said two suspects – Mustafa (34) and Philip (45) – were apprehended for kidnapping around the Ofosio area of Odigbo Local Government Area.
“In the Isua-Akoko axis, three suspects identified as Idris (18), Ibrahim Abdullahi (20), and Lawal Idris (23) were also arrested for alleged criminal activities.
On rape and assault cases, he disclosed that Daniel Ojo (19), Usman (33), and Bejide (41) were arrested in Isinkan for rape and for assaulting Amotekun officers.
“The corps also arrested suspected armed robbers identified as Ola Tunbosun (30), Ibrahim, and Shahidu in Akure North, Oba-Akoko, and Oba-Ile.
“The suspects were allegedly part of a robbery gang that recently stole a vehicle in Akure, with plans to transport it to Abuja for sale. The stolen vehicle, as well as a taxi reportedly used to rob unsuspecting passengers, were recovered and displayed during the parade,” he said.
Adeleye explained that the gang’s modus operandi involved operating in densely populated areas, picking up passengers, introducing another gang member as an extra passenger, and then using a firearm to dispossess victims of their belongings before pushing them out of the vehicle.
He advised members of the public to remain vigilant, particularly when boarding taxis without proper markings or readable registration numbers.
When the National Theatre Lagos first opened ahead of FESTAC ’77, an architectural marvel, a symbol of the cultural soul of a nation ready to introduce its artistic brilliance to the world. Modelled after the Varna Palace of Culture and Sports in Bulgaria and constructed between 1973 and 1976, the National Theatre was designed as an emblem of Nigeria’s ambition to be Africa’s cultural capital. Its 5,000-seat main hall, festival arena, exhibition spaces, and state-of-the-art acoustics made it one of the most sophisticated performance complexes on the continent.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the Theatre became home to Nigeria’s most iconic productions, from Hubert Ogunde’s epic plays to international dance festivals, orchestral performances, film premieres, and global conferences. It was a beacon for African creativity, a place where culture, identity, music, and storytelling came alive. But by the early 2000s, the Theatre, though heavy with cultural memory, had fallen into disrepair. Years of inadequate maintenance, stalled concession agreements, and structural depreciation left the building struggling to meet modern technical and creative demands. The symbol of national pride had become a shadow of its past promise.
Recognising the scale of cultural loss and the opportunity embedded within it, the Bankers’ Committee, with Access Bank playing a pivotal role, initiated the largest cultural infrastructure revitalisation project in contemporary Nigeria. The decision was both strategic and patriotic: Nigeria’s creative industry, now contributing significantly to GDP through film, fashion, music, design, cultural tourism, and digital content, urgently needed a modern, centralised hub that could support global-standard production and creative entrepreneurship. Reviving the National Theatre would not only restore a national icon but also stimulate job creation, attract international collaborations, and reposition Lagos as a premier African creative economy hub.
The renewal of the National Theatre is therefore more than a restoration project; it is a necessary economic intervention, a cultural renaissance, and a visionary step toward building a more inclusive and future-ready Nigeria. And for Access Bank, supporting this transformation is a natural continuation of a long, deliberate commitment to art, culture, and creative empowerment.
Access Bank’s Legacy of Championing the Creative Economy
Well before Nigeria’s creative industry gained global recognition, Access Bank had positioned itself as a cultural investor and ecosystem builder. For over a decade, the Bank has supported transformational initiatives across music, visual arts, fashion, film, sustainability, and youth development.
Access Bank has helped spotlight emerging and established African artists on a global stage through partnerships and collaborations with platforms like ART X. The annual fair, now one of Africa’s most influential contemporary art events, has benefitted immensely from the Bank’s commitment to nurturing young talent, commissioning bold projects, and providing a meeting point for creators, collectors, and global art enthusiasts.
In film and entertainment, Access Bank has backed festivals, documentaries, youth-focused storytelling, and creative incubators, recognising that Nigeria’s cultural exports are among its most powerful global assets. Across literature, community theatre, design, and public art, the Access brand remains synonymous with innovation, creativity, and cultural elevation. The revival of the National Theatre is thus an extension of this commitment.
A Cultural Renaissance Rooted in National Development
The National Theatre project is designed as a two-phase undertaking. Phase One, already significantly advanced, focuses on restoring the original theatre structure. This includes upgrading the main stage, cinema halls, exhibition spaces, lighting systems, acoustics, seating, ventilation, and accessibility infrastructure. The goal is to return the iconic building to world-class functionality while preserving its historic architecture.
Phase Two introduces a modern Creative Industries Park, a multi-purpose development designed to house film production studios, music recording labs, fashion houses, IT and gaming centers, photography studios, coworking spaces, and training academies. This innovation hub is expected to host thousands of young creators annually, enabling them to produce, learn, collaborate, and scale ideas into globally competitive businesses.
With Access Bank’s involvement through the Bankers’ Committee, the project has attracted international partnerships, institutional investors, technical specialists, and creative collaborators. It is poised to become one of the most significant cultural and economic catalysts in West Africa.
In a world where creative exports have become a major source of national influence, from Nollywood films to Afrobeats, digital arts to global fashion, infrastructure is destiny. Nigeria’s young creators generate some of the world’s most consumed cultural content, yet the ecosystem has lacked the physical and institutional support systems needed to harness that potential fully.
The revitalised National Theatre is therefore a launchpad for Nigeria’s next creative era.
With Access Bank’s long-standing commitment to empowering Africa’s creative industries, the revival blends heritage with innovation, history with ambition, and art with economic development.
From art fairs to creative hubs, sustainability initiatives to youth empowerment, Access Bank continues to champion platforms that inspire, educate, and elevate communities across the country.
By supporting the transformation of the National Theatre, the Bank has once again placed itself at the heart of Nigeria’s cultural renewal, bridging past and future, preserving heritage, and building an ecosystem where creativity can thrive without limits.
