One Great Weekend

 One Great Weekend

So it was, the heat of the journey and the harsh weather yet no sight or sound of a downpour of rain and we had no choice but we were bound to proceed on the journey. It once uses to be a smooth journey about 13 years ago, we all would travel this path with all enthusiasm and anxiousness just to get to back to school. 

I bet you, we can never have those times back: those good old days when "Wella" (Prof. Akin Wale)our then HOD would walk and work the courtyard and down-studio (locations in the department) with the requirement of a good director or was it the time when Prof. Zikky Kofoworola an over 70 years old lecturer, who would crack a joke in class and still, be laughing at this unfunny jokes 10 minutes after the joke, it gets so bad that his hilarious way of laughing would drag out the humour from the entire classroom and we all would join in the laughter for about another 6 minutes, with different tones of voices, after which we would resume back to the usual class. 

It was never a dull moment with Dr Felix calling you “Weree Weree” and Mr Shina Adegbite writing “B.A Begin Again” on the drawing paper of half of the class, so what more did we not see. Oh! Yet another is the Drama cum grammar lecturer, Mr Rasheed, now Prof Abiodun Adeoye who would compete with Pastor Chris Okotie in a speech contest: "this test remains sacrosanct".  Oh! How we missed the days of “Tadpole, rotten materials” and rolling on the floor for missing rehearsals. If you don’t know, well you don’t know.  Wait right there, before I get you stranded in between my gibberish.

Well I speak of our Performing Art experience: Yes same as Theatre Art or Creative Art undergraduate experience, where we had a slight Paramilitary training and majority of the students longed for another course less demanding like Performing Art. Yes, it was a jealous course and we strived for our graduation day from our 100 Level days, not until our 200L when most students started settling in properly and accepting the course like the best gift fate had to offer. I had gone far in my thoughts, while on the journey when suddenly  I was jerked out of that world of schools days. I looked up and saw we gotten to Ogbomoso road, which led to Ilorin, Kwara State. We were on our way for a merry weekend. Now the strange sight of the trailers and tankers shocked Tossen, Oseun and I, as we travelled in the same car.

This journey was for a 3day reunion, which was to be a convergence of old students of the Performing Arts department of University of Ilorin set 2005/2006. The journey down to Ilorin was quite interesting and scary at the same time. The roads were terrible and loaded with a heavy duty vehicle. What is happening to our railroad? And why are these heavy duty vehicles destroying our roads and endangering lives? Well, these are still unanswered questions that I wouldn’t allow to disrupt the weekend. We were glad about the welcome we got from Sunday Oladele and Femi Amosu upon arrival in Ilorin. We were treated to a welcome meal of Amala and ewedu with a meat bowl where we had assorted meats like 'wara'  (meat made from milk mix). 

Indeed it was the beginning of a great weekend. We were later ushered to our hotel rooms after which we all refreshed and joined the gyration night party. The Olalusi Twins melted our hearts with photo albums of our 499 performance pictures, which gave a nostalgic feeling to everyone seated. While this was ongoing Tayo Adeyemi was in and out with bowls of pepper soup, Asun and more. We had so much to eat and drink especially with our protocol team: Femi Amosu and Sunday Oladele who served drinks, they were officially the barmen for the night. The night became too short due to the fun and varieties of activities that spur each moment. We soon started the gyration night: wow! It was more like we were around Baba PASA (the great statue of a drummer which stood in front of our department), dancing and dancing till everyone around the bar took us for entertainers.

Two 2 Major Highlight of the night was about the two peculiar jokes:

Ebelebe to Pastor White: Pastor to n pin oti, se e le ri orun wo bayi (Pastor serving beer, will you ever make heaven)

Pastor White to Ebelebe: Se eyin le di kokoro orun mu ni (Are you the one with the keys to heaven’s gate). This joke threw everyone into a world of laughter and as if that wasn’t enough Tee’ sighted Bee’ a newly wedded old student and she asked her an innocent question:

Tee: Bee’ wa , igbo ohun nwo pata sun (Bee come, is it true you sleep with your pants on)

Bee:  Omg! Tee what’s that?

Tee: New brides don’t sleep with pants o. Wa la sile ni ( you have to let the gates open with no barricade)

This joke threw both the guests and friends into a realm of laughter without pause. Well, the night went on and on with so much fun. The next morning had ladies queuing up at Oseun’s door for a great makeup session. Mayjeb’s makeover did a great job that the least expected face had the best face beat. She travelled down with her entire engine room. While this was up Busola and Adumati were in Ezekiel Peter’s room running a serious intellectual debate over matters of class 2006 and juxtaposing it with theatre presentation of recent time. With audiences like Peter, Dupe, Ebelebe, Bunmi Junior and Tossen, it was a great timeout in that room.

Yes, I forgot to mention we also had to attend a wedding which was another exciting time with great folks dancing till mama calls. Oseun was the last to get to the wedding venue and with empty chairs and no more guest in sight yet she had a message to pass across to us all. Yes you might say party rockers often come into the party later than others but I tell you she came in at a time when the packing of decoration was ongoing at the back of the hall yet she made us understand, you can start a party even when the party has just ended and you can make lemonade out of your lemon. Did you know that we almost left the party without dancing but her arrival transformed us into earth shakers as we created our own dance floor and responded to every hit of the DJ back to back? The groom couldn’t resist joining our team of dancers. We all soon retired outdoor for “selfies” and some of us, especially I, would not want to return to the hotel, for fear of washing off my elegant makeup. People wondered if I was the bride, due to the kind of face beat I had. So would you not I rather sleep with it than wash it off. But then we had to exit the reception hall affect dancing on heels and securing ankle pains.

Indeed that evening was yet another interesting evening, as we retired to the hotel rooms, changed outfits and dashed off to yet another beautiful hotel where we had round a table discussion over different meals and drinks, which was served as desired. Oluwakeye Blessing, Egein Seyeifa and Tony Olaniru made us proud with great jokes. The evening soon took another mood with the remembrance time out:  oh boy! The room suddenly became quiet and cold as the discussion of that great Ankpa accident, which claimed the life of one of our old friends “Ade” and left many students seriously injured and in a coma. Yes at this point the room echoed the name of Prof. Olu Obafemi and his play which was to be staged in Kogi state but with the unfortunate accident happened on the way to the location, it became a gory production. Each one told his or her experience before the accident, till the point it happened and how they laid for days on the sick bed, at UITH Ilorin, Kwara State. This was an accident that shook the entire school. Soon we had to return the night to the groove mood and it became the reunion night with great decisions made on that table that night.

That entire weekend was such a beautiful one, that it gave November the name, "Sweet November". Sunday morning witnessed everyone hugging one another as each one returned to their destinations. There was later, great reports of safe arrivals in Ilorin, Berger-Lagos, Ajah, Abeokuta, Akure and Canada. I had almost forgotten about the reunion when today a lady who rarely writes an epistle on our group page, Toseen wrote a testimony on the Agbo Jedi made by Sunday Oladele and how the Agbo had worked wonders for her. It was beyond just a mere chat, rather it was an epistle spiced with encomium and prayers for a lanky fair, young man who took out his time to present gifts of Agbo Jedi to almost all the friends who came down to Ilorin. Oh! What a dramatic parting gift that levels the bowels and gives the waist want for more signal. Well, not just him but Tayo Adeyemi did not also hesitate to present a bottle of Agbo to our Canadian friend. So I am proud to have friends who would not just speak queens English and act on set like Angelina Jolie but friends that can also make potent “Agbo” that leaves your body better and keeps you with your heartthrob till Christ comes.

Buy Your Agbo Now!!!

Thank you for your time with Olabusola's Review as I review my best weekend in November.