::OAUQuarters.org::

Obafemi Awolowo University Staff Quarters, Ile-Ife, Nigeria.

Monday to Friday was pretty much all about staff school, or moremi high (my 'tush' way of saying it) as the case may be, but Saturdays was the day - D day! No School! Saturday morning was about watching sesame street on BCOS. For those who don't know what BCOS is, just imagine - before there was cable and before there was satellite, there was BCOS! The morning matineé (at least that's what they called it!), and the classic intermission - "We apologize for the break in transmission. The programme will continue shortly" or something like that! Ebenezer Obey would be playing in the background. Wonder what was the problem? Maybe the video broke down? Or the tape got tangled? Can someone can proffer an explanation. Any takers??
Then, there was the going to Leventis for the weekly shopping! Still remember stopping to get the usual treat - maybe a yogurt or ice cream, the grocerer, and for those of us comic fans, a quick stop at the shack in front of leventis! Hmm - still remember the smell of those comics (could use a time machine right about now!)! The real trip of quarters though, was the endless crop of groups, clubs, fellowships, programmes and events that happened over the years. Let me just punctuate that and say that if it was left to our parents, our extra curricular activities would have begun and ended with the after school lessons! That is another chapter on its own - I refrain from names (okay, I said it - I'm scared of law suits!), but there were a lot of Ghanaian teachers!! There were lessons on road 12, 13, 14, 23, 9 and probably others. Most held either in the BQ (boys quarters) or the garage! Men!! The thrashings - now I want to break that time machine! Thank God for some people who were a little more visionary. Those who founded Happiness club - everyone that was anyone was a one-time member (It feels that way sometimes!), Love fellowship (just recently celebrated twenty years! Congratulations!), Teen and Twenty, Quarters Christian Youth etc. Then, there was Livingspring. The largest music festival in Nigeria (I think!) - The lights, the stars, the resources! All of these influences also led to a barrage of groups - Anointed Fellowship (This held for a while at the Rd 8!), the anointed singers (you don't want to know who was in it!), the brothers, Salvation "Stealin', killin', all-over-the celing!" Crew (This was a revolutionary trailblazing rap group), Jesus League (bunch of bored soon-to-be jambites!), Saved (boys who later became men!), Songs of Solomon (praise and worship became cool and popular!), Rhythms of Joy (school was closed for 7 months and look what happened!) and on and on and on, to the break a, break a-dawn… Time and space fails me to mention swimming in staff club, shehu's suya, the many hill climbs, the zoo picnics, museum (I really think the lion is scary!), old and new buka. Aaah! I do hope this helped though!