By: Douglas Ogbankwa Esq. @douglaogbankwa@gmail.com
Flowerbudnews: When you enter into the University of Benin, from the main gate, driving about 200 metres, you are either bending to the left or to the right, if you are not careful as a student, your life will bend along side the bend.
In our days in the University of Benin, it was fun, but wait for it… if you were not very careful, it will not be funny. You have to be careful how you handle people, even in the most inflammable circumstances, else they will print your posters with “Gone too Soon”. So, if you want to be popular and still last, discretion is the better part of valour.
▪︎The Halls of Residences
In our days, we had Hall One, Hall Two, Hall Three and Hall Four. Hall One girls can “form”. In local parlance it means, pretending to be what you are not, just like Hall Four Boys. Hall Three Boys are the “Aro” boys. Always noisy and boisterous. I remember vividly when an “ugly” girl showed up in Hall Three, they sang the “Wowo” national anthem for her, using the melody of the Nigerian National Anthem as Follows .”wowo, wowo, wowo, wowo wowo wowo, wowo wowo wowo, wowo wowo woo ..”
A busty girl passes by Hall 3 Boys and they shout ” Cowbell, our milk”. The funny thing is that the girl laughs.
Another boy holds a girl by the shoulder and they shout at the boy ‘Assistant Boy Friend’.
▪︎Off Campus (Off K)
There were 6 major places off Campus. Adolor, Uwasota, Osasogie, BDPA, Isihor and Ekosodin. If you were not strong, you don’t live in Ekosodin. A boy thought he was in boarding school in Ekosodin, he went to look for trouble, when they started looking for him he ran and till today he never came back to school. Ekosodin was always the centre of cult clashes. What caused the cult clashes?
▪︎Girls
It was so funny that many guys joined cults because they wanted to have the power to struggle for girls. Many of them are dead and the girls have since moved on.
▪︎The Lecturers
The University of Benin had its own fair share of the good, the bad and the ugly, when it came Lecturers. However, ever each faculty had its star. The Faculty of Engineering was Professor Salami, Law – Prof. Richard Idubor (Bob Allan ) and Social Science – Marx Wagbafor. Some Lecturers will say:
“A” is for God ,”B” is for me and “C” is for you . Those were some of the sadists. Lecturers in UNIBEN are still treated with utmost respect and reverence. The discipline there is unparalleled.
▪︎The Fellowships during the Day and those at night
The most popular slogan in UNIBEN back in our days was “Who Cares ” and we would answer, ” NCSF does,”. This was the slogan of the Nigerian Catholic Students Fellowship. There were too many fellowshipsv – CU, NIFES later: CU-NIFEST, CASOR, BLW, DLSF, Winners, etc. We always looked forward to the Christian Union Drama Unit (CUDU’s) drama . There was also.the fellowship at night. Hmmn! I cannot comment much on that.
The University is a complex place. You have to go through it with sense.Things are not always the way they seem. The higher your class, the deeper it becomes.
▪︎The Fashion Trends/Shows.
Some of Nigeria’s biggest broadcasters and comedians come from UNIBEN. We had some Campus celebrities. Sulai (Sulayman ) Aledeh was born a celebrity, together with Chris Ellems of Channels Television. Both were class mates of Linus Idahosa, the husband of the Nigerian Thespian – Shephenie Okereke and Jude Imagbeghian, who later became my call mate in the Nigerian Law School. He was one of the major presenters of Campus Life with the late Samson Ohimokhai, who was a nephew to High Chief Raymond Dokpesi. Chris Ellems, Osasumwen Asowata, Mary Ajayi, Tracy Osadolor, who incidentally is a staff of the Public Relations Department of UNIBEN were all well known in the institution. I also did my thing at the Popular Radio Programme “Can you Guess “,with some UNIBEN Greats like Okenwa Christopher, Ibrahim Momoh, Agbons Omoregbe, Agbons Erhuwense, Fredrick Omo-Izobo, Osazuwa Osahon Daniels, Osazuwa Nosayaba Peters, etc.
Basketmouth, godfather, Gandoki, Efex the Entertainer all started from UNIBEN. They were the spice of the show. Miss Skomit, Pick a Brain Award. Miss Skomit was hosted by one of my Classmates Angela Joma Imude, a zany personality, who was very intelligent and very playful. Sadly, she is died, but her memory lingers on. I also mourn my other class mates, Nana Okumah, who wrote the book, *Obaseki*, Mary Ugowe, Malachy Idehen, Mr Okosun, who died recently etc.The last I saw most of my Class mates was either in the Nigerian Law School or Peemos Place in Sapele, before we graduated.
▪︎The SUG Presidents/ Campaigns.
You don’t just start speaking English that you want to be the SUG President. You must consult with all the stakeholders during the day and at night, or you will go missing and resurface after the campaigns. Complex plots of deep things are what plays out before you see a UNIBEN SUG President. Before I entered UNIBEN, I was fascinated by the exploits of the likes of the irrepressible Ogaga Ifowedo, who led the SAP Riots of 1989 William Ubong, Charles Titiloye, Brother Seyi, Mike Oshio, Ken Saro Wiwa. In our time, we had the likes of the irrepressible Obey Razaq, Chris Ekiyor,Martins Okonta, Karl Marx-Taiwo Akerele, Eduvie Efekhoda. Once they start singing … this one, this one, gentle man no dey o; the spirit of death is hovering about. If you are not careful, some body will die !
▪︎ National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) Conventions*
NAN was dominated by some very intelligent people at the beginning.NANS, then National Union of Nigerian Students (NUNS), played a prominent role to checkmate the Independence Government of Tafawa Balewa in stopping the neo-colonial Anglo Nigerian Defence Pact.The likes of Femi Okunnu SAN and the late Chief Tayp Akpata led that group . Olusegun Maiyegun , then a Student of Psychology caused the Babangida Government a night mare, over the profligate Better Life Programme for the Rural Woman of the Flamboyant then First Lady-Maryam Babangida. We had other NANS Presidents like Daniel Ojei,H.E. Philip Shaiubu, Dr. Tony Nwonye, etc.
However at a time , NANS because a complex place, where grammar does not matter. What matters is the number of guns and bullets you have. NANS Conventions was not for the faint hearted. NANS was politicized after the death of Moses Oisekede on his way to Markurdi, Benue State of Nigeria, to fight the cause of some students of Benue State University, who were being victimised. NANS died with him. What we have thereafter were self-serving charlatans, giving awards from State to State. What a shame!
The Vice Chancellors :
From the no nonsense Professor Allele Williams ,to Professor Andrew Andrew Onokerhoraye, Professor Richard Abulimen Anao, Professor EAC Nwanze, Professor Osayuiki Oshodi,Professor Osasare Orumwense and the current VC- Professor Lilian Imuetinyan, UNIBEN has been lucky with Vice Chancellors , with the exception of one or two .The Vice Chancellors run the school , with a whole lot strategem,that will even shock the students , if they knew .
The Spots:
If you have not been to dream or Coca-Cola Village in our time , then you were not in UNIBEN .June 12 was some where most people eat , Campus Bukas, Bukas 1 to 12.Campus Sheraton.If you had money you go to town to Prest Motel ,Blue Edge or Hexagon.
The Shows :
As stated earlier, Basket Mouth ,Efex the entertainer,Gandoki all started from UNIBEN as students.UNBEN got talent and so there were very many issues .Like Miss Hall One , where the compete asked a contestant “What is your discipline”, she said “I will discipline my children”.We had Miss Skomit .Pick a Brain , Elsa Play House , CUDU Drama , Pharmacy JAMB, the parties in Hall one and Hall two car parks .Parapo Days , the most interesting being the Bini and Edo Days, where Osaromore Joseph sings in one of them.It was fun .
I thoroughly enjoyed my stay in UNIBEN, with the 36001 Students in our time . We used to ask “Who is that 1?
(Douglas Ogbankwa Esq., @ douglasogbankwa@gmail.com, is a Lawyer , Writer and Policy Analyst, is the President of the Benin Writers’ Society and the National Movement for the Actualisation of Good Governance (NAMAGG).)
About Flowerbudnews
Established by Hon. Biola Lawal, a former Acting Managing Director of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Flowerbudnews is a consortium of active journalists, media veterans and image makers in both public and private sectors of Nigeria’s media Industry determined to enhance the practice of responsible journalism.
Lawal, on his part, is also a former Honourable Commissioner for Information,Youth, Sports and Culture of Osun state, his home state.
Biola Lawal had also successfully served two tenures as Press Secretary to the ECOMOG Force Commander in Liberia during the Liberian and Sierra Leone Civil wars.
Lawal holds the honour of being the only journalist that served two terms on the ECOMOG international assignment due to his high professionalism and decency)
