Growing up in the late 70s and early 80s in the rustic town of Ado-Ekiti like any other youth of that time was a wonderful experience. One of the pranks of adolescence was sneaking out to disco parties called ebo at that time. The first time I sneaked out to a disco party was in 1981 when I just finished my school certificate examinations. I went out with Oga Laisi, a neighbour of ours who was much older and experienced than me at that time. After Oga Laisi's pleas to my father to allow me go with him to the all night party fell on deaf ears, he said I should not worry. He devised a way of smuggling me out to the party when my parents were already asleep. Smuggling me out was easy because I shared a room with my younger brother. Oga Laisi was already working as a clerk in a small company in the town so he was free. I came back to meet my dad waiting for me as early as 5am. The punishment meted out to me by my disciplinarian dad was more than what my younger brother suffered when he was caught playing kalokalo (gambling in a casino). I was thoroughly flogged with koboko (horse whip). Anyway, I enjoyed the disco party and it was the first time I attended an all-night disco party and tasted alcohol because I wanted to do what other guys were doing. I was desperate to attend the party because Oga Laisi always told me of his escapades with girls at parties. I also wanted to explore other areas of life as I was tired of watching T.V soaps like Masquerade (Zebbrudayya), Hotel De Jordan (Kokori, Idemudia et al) and Village Headmaster in the evenings. I first learnt of tight dance from Oga Laisi which is a way of dancing to soft (blues) music while holding the opposite sex. When we got to the venue of the disco party, I first noticed that there were bouncers at the gate bouncing intruders which is called 'fencing'. Many guys were fenced from entering the disco hall. On sighting Oga Laisi, the bouncers allowed him immediately but stopped me. He told them I was his boy and they allowed me. I was following him about the disco hall and suddenly he shouted at me to be a man and get loose.' Stop following me like a mumu, get yourself a girl, drink, dance and if you want to smoke tell me I will give you cigar! I obeyed him. I took a cup of beer (Top beer) from his own and I instantly became another person. I forgot the punishment that awaited me at home for sneaking out. I was tipsy! Music was blaring through the Kenwood sound system. It was Fela's suffering and smiling that was playing followed by Evelyn King's I am in love, Dynasty's I have just begun to love you, Kool and the Gang's Ladies Night Celebrations, Gap Band, Stacy Lattisaw- Sneaking out, Bob Marley's Kaya, Bongos Ikwe's searching for true love, Sunny Okosun's Papas land, Cloud 7's beautiful woman, Christ Okotie's I need someone, Jide Obi's kill me with love, Felix Liberty's Lover boy and Michael Jackson's Off the wall. Another was Grace Jone's Pull up to the bumper and Night Clubbing. Of all, Felas music, suffering and smiling was most fascinating even though I realised years later, the import of what he meant when I was in the University of Lagos. A research recently confirmed Fela's suffering and smiling when it concluded that Nigerians were the happiest people in the world even though they are suffering. I managed to ask a lady for a dance but she turned me down. I didn't care because I was getting drunk. I approached another one and didn't bother to ask for a dance, I started toasting/wooing her. We called it' base' or 'spin' in those days. So I based her. She responded positively and we ended up dancing. Then came the music of Chris Okotie entitled, Caroline which was a soft music. I looked to my right in the dimly lit hall and met the gaze of Oga Laisi, who was holding her own girl and he signalled to me to hold the girl tight but I didn't have the courage despite my tipsy state .As I was contemplating whether or not to hold her, there was power failure and the music stopped. I felt relieved because my master, Oga Laisi would have scolded me for not being smart. Before the generator was switched on, the lady excused herself to sit down and I followed her. Oga Laisi was furious at me. He said I ought to have asked her to stroll with me outside for fresh air and I would have had ample time to seal the relationship. He was very mad with me on our way home when I told him I had forgotten the name of the girl. He got angrier when I said I remembered her school but not her name. He scolded me for getting drunk over a cup of beer compared to his own four bottles. We finally left the party about 4.30am in Oga Laisi's rickety Volkswagen Beetle. What brought about this memory was a disco party I attended last November. The party was organised by a colleague. I initially didn't want to go but curiosity took the better part of me. I have not attended a disco party in the last 20 years so I wanted to know what a modern day disco party looked like. Since it was a colleague's party, I contemplated going with my wife but I later decided against it when I remembered the story told by an uncle based in Port Harcourt. His wife kept pestering him about following him to a bachelor's eve; he obliged her and put on a jeans and T-shirt. A young boy who was drunk at the party suddenly grabbed her boobs from behind and the woman was so embarrassed that she told her husband they should leave immediately. My uncle could not do anything he only told her, 'but I warned you this place is not for married women' What I first noticed at the party was that ladies in skimpy dresses doubled the number of guys. Their dresses could tempt any man. Some of the ladies were smoking heavily and drinking Big Stout. The DJ initially started playing oldies like Holiday by The Natives, Ray Parker Junior; I wanna pour myself all over you, etc. The girls didn't dance, they were only drinking and smoking so I was wondering what the matter was. The music changed to that of whizkid's pakurumo and the whole hall erupted in screams. The ladies especially went wild. They were dancing with one another. If pakurumo made them wild, Kanga's o sare kabakaba sent them into frenzy and the way they were dancing made me started thinking about my two daughters and I suddenly became sober. There was another track which sent the ladies crazy again. It was Skally Damushe's dadubule sidioke (meaning lie her down and raise her bumbum). The girls started lying flat on the floor and were demonstrating sex. Ginger de swagger, by Terry G. was another number that electrified them. The boys were not different some of them wore earrings and sagged their trousers. Another thing I noticed was lesbianism. I later learnt that the girls dancing with one another were lovers and I asked nobody in particular, what is this life turning to' I noticed some of the ladies were haggling about price with the men before they could follow them home or wherever. I asked a younger colleague the meaning of Pakurumo and dadubule, he just smiled and said in Yoruba,' Bros, ee ja si at all' meaning, Bros you are not abreast of current trends'! It was at this point that I remembered the disco party I attended in 1981 with Oga Laisi. Though Oga Laisi's friends and other guys there went home with ladies, it was not a money issue but relationship. I heard many lyrics that made no sense to me but it sounded nice in the ears of our boys and girls of today. Tracks like Igboro ti daru by Clever Jay, oti yanyanan, Ori e foka sibe by DJ Zeez and Alhaji. Some of the contemporary music that was a bit okay compared to the rest, were Ice Prince, O le ku, Implications by Tu Face Idibia, Mr. Endowed by D'Banj. By the time I left the party about 3.30 am the population of ladies had thinned. I started thinking about my two daughters and questions came flooding; will my girls also dance pakurumo' Will they not grow in the midst of all these wild girls' How can we have the decent good old days back' As I drove away, I still heard the echoes of O seyin bi aya, owa saya bi eyin o wa sare kabakaba...'Jamiu writes from Ado-Ekiti
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