Flashback Fridays: Before Naija Frats Were Bastardized [Photo]

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Friday, February 27, 2015

The genesis of secret cults on Nigerian campuses today had always been with good intentions; it was all for a noble cause, one of which was predominantly to eradicate tribalism. 

The University College, Ibadan (which later became University of Ibadan), was at a time a breeding ground for the worst kind of tribal thinking clubs; the Students' Representative Council, all forms of student activity, including sports, became mere expressions of tribal pettiness.

It was against this background and to combat these negative tendencies that seven students founded the Pyrates Confraternity (PC) in 1952. Their original scroll written and signed by those founding fathers, listed below, remains a most valued item in the Pyrates Treasure Chest.

According to the Pyrates, the “Magnificent Seven”, as they called themselves, observed that the university was populated with wealthy students associated with the colonial powers and a few poorer students striving in manner and dress to be accepted by the more advantaged students, while social life was dictated by tribal affiliation.

These men known as the Original Seven are:

1. Wole Soyinka

2. Ralph Okpara

3. Pius Oleghe

4. Ikpehare Aig-Imoukhuede

5. Nathaniel Oyelola

6. Olumuyiwa Awe

7. Sylvanus U. Egbuche

The original seven at Tedder Hall Quandrangle, University College Ibadan.
From left: Wole Soyinka, Ikpehare Aig-Imoukhuede, Sylvanus Egbuche,
Pius Oleghe, Nathaniel Oyelola, Muyiwa Awe, Palph Pkpara

Soon their rank increased to fifteen to become the "fifteen men on a dead man's chest". To combat tribalism within their ranks, they adopted pyratical names, different from their "lubbish" names, with no trace to any tribe or origin. Thus was born the Jolly Rogers l (JR1) deck which for a long time remained the mothership of the pyrates Confraternity.

However, as new confraternities were formed, they became increasingly violent through the 1970s and 1980s. By the 1990s, many confraternities largely operated as criminal gangs, called “campus cults” in Nigeria. Besides normal criminal activity, confraternities have been linked to political violence, as well as the conflict in the Niger Delta.

Source Material 1 

Source Material 2 

Flashback Fridays: Was the Past Better Than the Present? [Photos]

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Friday, December 19, 2014

And so for this week's Flashback Friday, I present a collection of pictures which make me to question if the past was better than the present. It's very easy to assume things were better in the past than they are today and that is usually because of the things we tend to focus on. In actual fact there are very many things which make today better than yesterday, its because human beings are in the habit of forgetting their blessings and remembering their worries. 

And so here are some pictures that could make one reflect - was yesterday better than today?

Asiwaju Tinubu and wife on traditional wedding day, 1987.
Tinubu looked more handsome back then compared to today shey?
His wife, Remi, is one ageless wonder...she still looks as pretty today!

I wish I could get a clearer photo of the quality of the clothes the
Nigerian Youth Service Corps members wore in those days.
Check out the quality of their caps...its a far cry from what is being
produced for Corpers today. 

Back in the 1970s billboards like these were a popular outdoor advertising medium.
Every strong brand could be found on one of these.
Today, Billboards have become digital, electronic, mechanical...
yep, they definitely got better.

This card was the Visa to free education.
Anyone who had it was entitled to free primary education
back in the days. There's no such thing today anymore

The Obasanjos look like one big happy family in this old photo taken around the 1980s
before things seemed to 'politically' fall apart. Mrs. Remi is seen 2nd from Right
and Iyabo is seen 3rd from Left.

Have an awesome pre-christmas weekend y'all!

Photos courtesy @SeeMeSeeNigeria et al

Flashback Fridays: A few Steps Back in History

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Friday, December 05, 2014

History is one interesting bit that makes us reflect on how things were back in the days and we compare it with what things are today. Many times it looks as though history had it better way back then than things are today (like in the pix above when it cost just N17,430 to travel to New York from Nigeria in the now defunct Nigeria Airways) but that's because we tend to reflect on what worked back then...you can't compare it with what's working today. Okay, this looks like something for another topic or post. For today, let's flashback into different tit bits of Naija's history. Special thanks to @SeeMeSeeNigeria for most of these awesome pictures

Nigeria's football history: Etim Henshaw,Nigeria's 1st National Team
Captain against B' Auckland FC in 1949, played barefooted during the UK tour

Former Presidents, Abdulsalami Abubakar
and Ibrahim Babangida as juveniles

Former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar
as a young Nigerian Customs Officer

Yes...that's Ikorodu road in 1947

Above is Ikorodu road in the '70s and below is Ikordu road today

Lagos, Circa late 1960s, with Barclays Bank, Ford,
and the Lagos Municipal Transport.

Miss World Beauty Pageant in the '60s

See Prof. Pat Utomi way back as the Director of Socials
(Students Union), University of Nigeria Nsukka in March 1976

President Jonathan (Left) as a teenager with friends in Port Harcourt
hmm...he's wearing shoes. I thought he...never mind.

Tesilimi Thunderbolt Balogun pictured here in 1955 was
the first Nigerian footballer to play with clubs in the UK
The newest stadium in Lagos is named after him.

Tinubu Square in 1960 (above) and as it is today (below)

Once again thanks to the following for these awesome photos:

www.abiyamo.com 
@SeeMeSeeNigeria

Have an awesome weekend!

Flashback Fridays: Basi And Company - Classic Naija Sitcom

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Friday, September 12, 2014

Who ever remembers 'Basi and Company'? Oh...okay, let me rephrase that - how many of you were born when the 'Basi and Company' series ran way back on NTA between1985 -1990.

Well, this is my Flashback Friday reminisce...

Basi and Comapny was a comedy series that stood out way back then for many reasons.

• It was one of the first if not the first Naija comedy sitcom that had a laughing background audience.
• It gravitated from being a TV show to being published as a comedy fiction book series.
• It also had album series for listening pleasure.
• Its comic references and material was unique and so different from that of other funny sitcoms in those days.
• It received syndication to stations across Africa. 
• It 'derived inspiration from African folklore, and lampooned widespread corruption in oil-rich Nigeria while highlighting its consequences'.
• So far, 'to date, it remains one of Africa's most watched comedy programmes, with an estimated thirty million viewers during its peak'.
• It was written and produced by the late great Ken Saro-Wiwa a writer, television producer, environmental activist, and winner of the Right Livelihood Award and the Goldman Environmental Prize.who was criminally executed by a specially convened tribunal in 1995.

Late Ken Saro-Wiwa

The series was also reputable for its use of impeccable spoken English which was deliberate. Saro-Wiwa once stated in an interview in 1987: "We should go for proper English so we can relate to the rest of the world...one reason Basi is so popular is that young people are using it to learn English".

Another memorable aspect of 'Basi and Company' was its well defined character who all had well defined mannerisms. Each character had their own peculiar catchphrases.

Basi (aka Mr B) - To be a millionaire, think like a millionaire!; Holy Moses!

Madam (aka Madam de madam): Come in if you're handsome and rich; It's a matter of cash!

Alali: I'm hungry, Mr. B!

Dandy: Hell, I should have known that!; Can I have a piece of the action?

Segi: Ciao!

Has any Naija comedy sitcom of today been able to match up to the peculiarity of 'Basi & Comapny' today? I don't know of any at all.

Or does anyone know of any?

I someday hope the series could be rebooted...or rather another sitcom that applies the same peculiarities.

I rest my case. Have an awesome week y'all!

Flashback Fridays: Naija Michael Jackson Copycats

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Friday, September 05, 2014

Okay, I gotta apologize for letting this slip...this post was actually meant to go up on Michael Jackson's birthday last week friday but I don't know how I managed to just forget. I knew I was cracking my head up to try and remember what special entry I was planning on doing in memory of MJ but i couldn't so I just did the vague one I did last week...afterall, I had to say something nah.

Anyway, in today's Flashback Friday...I suddenly remembered what I wanted to do and it was on Michael Jackson copycats in Naija, way back in the early 80s. Back then Michael was such a hit that Nigerian artistes, both established and upcoming (and even the unknown) started imitating his style. The trend became a social epidemic on the music scene; all manners of wannabes flooded the scene. Some even went as far as outrightly copying MJ in looks or in name.

My people, no be today Naija dey do copy copy oh. Check out the photos of old school 80s albums way back then.  

Chris Mba was popular to a measure back then but man what's with these MJ album cover rip offs? The first photo is a copycat of MJ's 'Off The Wall' album (see MJ photos above) And what's with the orange sef?. The second is also a rip off of MJ...notice how he deliberately displays his white (abi na brown?) socks - a Michael Jackson dress trend.

I don't know who the two dudes above are but the first album (Emma Dorgu) has the dude outrightly striking the 'Off the Wall' pose completely, no creativity just plain copycat. I don't know if he thought he could differentiate with the cap on his head. It just resonated as another 'okoro feeling funky'. As for the artiste below (Rap Dazz - which kain name be dat sef?) he still manges to strike his own pose while trying to copy the MJ look (Hair and funky Jacket) from the 'Beat it' song.  

Jeffery Bon also does a partial copycat by having the 'Off the Wall' look and then striking a pose which is a partial copycat of the MJ Thriller album. As for Kiki Gyan, he wears the 'Off the wall' look and completely copies the 'Thriller' album pose. Maybe it wasn't easy to acquire a white suit or maybe there was fear of getting it dirty in the photo studio used back then.

 

I left this last dude for the last because his own case was far different...not only did he rip off MJ's last name, he also adopted an identical facial look! He wasn't even so bothered about his costume looking exactly like MJs (Or could it be that he couldn't afford a black or white suit?) he just banked on his name and face doing the work; with all the jerri curls, penciled eyes and glossed lips. Now that was a good one, I wonder how many Nigerians where entranced by his Naija version of MJ. I never heard his music back then, so I wonder what it must have sounded like...I doubt if it could have been good because we had a few rubbish songs just as we had good ones. 

Is there anybody out there who knew this guy? Abeg holla back, I need to know what he sounded like.

Have an awesome weekend y'all!

Special thanks to Comb & Razor for the images.

Flashback Fridays: Remember the time...

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Friday, June 13, 2014

There was a time when some things trended and were popular; stuff that today have become old school. Some have remained and evolved into something better or improved while others just disappeared and never existed again. Its amazing how much of a big deal some of them were back in the days.... 

Remember this brand of Nigerian made shoes? The 'Bata' brand
was popular back in the late 70s into the 80s.. The Cortina series
played a major role in the life of children of those days.
Who remembers wearing a 'Bata Cortina'?

Blue Band margarine has been a part of many children's life back then.
Every kid ate this margarine with bread. It used to be in a tin container that
was subject to rust if exposed to natures elements.
Today blue band comes in plastic containers.
Anyone remember this?

There was a time when this chewing gum called 'Bazooka' was the chewing gum
other gums wanted to be. It was unique for having a comic strip with a flagship
character called 'Bazooka Joe' always attached to it. So apart from the eagerness of
youngsters to work their gums on it, there's also the eagerness to read its small
comic strips. The Bazooka in this pic has Joe as a white kid;
a black kid version was made for Naija market. Who remembers this?

The day the remote control debuted in the world of electronics,
it was a big deal and it was a serious selling point in the Naija market.
Adebowale Electrical industries back then was one of the ultimate and
popular distributors of electronic products. This old press Ad from
the late 70s shows the debut of the remote back then.

I was going to add more but I'm under pressure at work right now (which is why posts on TKC has been scanty these past few days). Please bear with moi. Once I get some clearing, I'll storm these pages with more posts. I should be putting up a 5th installment of Yoruba nollywood gbagauns on monday anyways.

Have an awesome weekend!

Flashback Fridays: Guess All the Celebs and Win Something [Photos]

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Friday, May 30, 2014

Okay...this flashback friday, we shall be doing another set of photo splash where you are to guess who the celebrities in the pictures are. If you succeed in getting the name of everyone in this post, you'll win free airtime for your phone (if you're based in Nigeria) and a special feature/review of your blog, a personal interview or granting of a request on The Kush Chronicles if you're based abroad. The prizes are not cast a stone, if you're in Naija and you want the prize option for those based abroad, then I'll also honor it as well.

Each photo is numbered so label the names by their numbers.

I might consider those who guess the most if not all.

So, ladies and gentlemen, guess away!

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

The answers will be revealed by next Friday on this same post. But then, I may still have a brainwave and extend it. It all depends on how it all turns out.

Special thanks to Naija Archive for some of the photos.

Have an awesome weekend y'all!

Flashback Fridays: Yvonne Maha the Wonder Kid

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Friday, May 09, 2014

Many who grew up in the 1980s will very much remember this talented child singer named Yvonne Maha. She stands for what the perfect Naija child star should sound like back in those days with songs that impact kids positively, not like today's Ozzy Bosco and Amarachi who have no idea about music and constantly have their voices over-cooked on computer auto-tuning, not to talk of the fact that the lame lyrics of a song that's just plain silly stunt for commercial reasons.

Listening to her music, I could still see the professionalism and power of childish purity that had undoubtedly been under adult direction and puppetry. Yvonne's voice is lovely and nice to listen to; a production credit that should go to the genius of the late Sonny Okosun. 

Yvonne was a child star that set the pace for the likes of other Child stars like Tosin Jegede and maybe Benita. I often ask the question where is she today? Rumours have abound about her passing away due to an abortion but the rumours where later discovered to be lies. The same rumour would be noted to have been passed down onto Tosin Jegede as well.   

In my search to find out more about what's up with Yvonne today, I came across this interesting article from Uchenna Ikonne of Comb & Razor:

I think it was sometime in late 1985 that I first heard that Yvonne Maha was dead.

Two years earlier, she had been the sensational talent find of 1983. Her Sonny Okosuns-produced debut Child For Sale had been a smashing success--the toast of the primary school hit parade, the soundtrack to many a preteen birthday party and family roadtrip. She had blown into our lives like a whirlwind of adorableness and goshdarn it, the public was sucked in. Now two years had passed since anybody had seen or heard anything from her. Two years can feel like a mighty long time when you've been alive for just over a decade yourself, and people started to wonder and speculate as to why she hadn't come out with another album. 

Yvonne being interviewed on the Bala Miller Show

And then the news of her fate hit the national gossip network: Yvonne had gotten pregnant. Tried to have an abortion. Something went wrong. She died.

Now this puzzled the hell out of me at the time. "She was having an abortion? How old was she, thirteen?"

"Yes," my aunt replied sternly. "That's why she died. She was too young and her body could not withstand the pregnancy. And the moral of the story is: Don't have sex before marriage! You hear?"

Well, however well-meaning the moral may have been, the story itself was soon discredited as pure fabu(lism): Some people knew which secondary school Yvonne Maha went to and confirmed that she had never been pregnant and was certainly not dead. Everybody breathed a sigh of relief and went back to waiting for her follow-up to Child For Sale.

About two years later, the rumor mill once again reported again that Yvonne Maha had died.

"I thought they said she died two years ago!" I groaned.

"That was just a rumor," my aunt clucked. "She didn't die back then, but she's dead now. This time it's true."

"How did she die?"

"Complications from abortion."

Oooooooooookay.

"And that is why you should not have sex before marriage!"

After that, the "Yvonne Maha is dead" story would resurface anew every few years. And with each new iteration, its peddlers would firmly assure you that yes, this time she really was dead and that yes, she died during an abortion. As recently as 2005 I heard people telling that story.

Well, for the record: In 2007 Yvonne Maha is alive and well and living in Brazil. But the persistent reports of her demise do kind of beg an interesting question: Why did the public seem to so desperately want--almostneed--Yvonne Maha dead? And from an abortion, of all things? And why is it that as years have gone by and Yvonne Maha has receded somewhat in the public's memory, the "death by abortion" story has been passed on to early-90s preteen singer Tosin Jegede? (For the record: Tosin Jegede is not dead, she's a sculptor.)

Could it be that these little girl singers represent purity and innocence, and so the thought of them growing up into womanhood and inevitably engaging in womanly activities such as sexual intercourse is so unacceptable that we must create these myths where their sexual precocity leads to their destruction?

> shrug < Shit, I dunno.

Anyway, if you were a kid in Nigeria in the 80s, you almost certainly know this album inside out. Listening to it now, I'm surprised at how well it holds up for me--I mean, even if twee cutesy-kiddie stuff like this makes your molars hurt, you can't completely front on the music itself, can you? This was the period when Sonny Okosuns could do no wrong and his Ozziddi band was on the way to becoming the Ozziddi brand. The tasteful instrumental performances and production on this album are very much on par with great Okosuns albums such as Fire in Soweto and 3rd World. I remember really loving the backing vox on this record, and they still sound pretty good to me, too.

The song "Don't Treat Me Like a Child" still makes me slightly uncomfortable, too. I used to love this song back in '83, when I first realized that I loved ballads, but even then I thought it was a bit on the creepy side. It was so obviously a ventriloquist number with a grownup putting these supposedly cute/coy words into a little girl's mouth, but what made it particularly discomfiting was the video: Yvonne and some boy sitting on a bench at Apapa Amusement Park, dressed in their best birthday party duds as she serenades him. Both of them look ungodly embarrassed by the whole affair, especially the end where she reluctantly slides over (you can actually see her blushing as she looks off camera at someone who is obviously goading her forward) and hugs him, singing "Wait for me to grow up... Then I will kiss you, too... Then I will kiss you... Wait for me to grow up, then I will love you... too."

And the worst thing about it was that rumor had it the boy was her brother!
- Uchenna Ikonne

Tosin Jegede is still in the news from time to time. Her pictures are available on the internet so we know how she looks today. But with Yvonne, its been hard getting a photo of her online. 

Tosin Jegede as child star and as adult

In my search for Yvonne's whereabouts and how she looks today, I came across this lady on Soundcloud.com who calls herself Yvonne 'Maha' Okolo (probably now married?). Is she the same Yvonne Maha that touched the hearts of all of us back then now fully grown? Anybody that knows should hit me up abeg.

Is the lady on the right Yvonne Maha?

Looking at her face and that of the young girl on the 1980s album, Child for sale they seem to have similar looking noses and smile but i don't want to fully assume until I get a clearer info. 

I know that if Internet existed back then, we'd have enough info but sadly it didn't so we'll have to demand on humans with first hand information.

I'm looking forward to the day we will have another kid like Yvonne who can really sing without their voices being manipulated by music production software to actually sound good; a kid that can sing songs that have substance and not repetition of lame words and worded sound effects all for the sake of commercialization only. As far as I am concerned, Yvonne Maha, Tosin Jegede and maybe Benita where the actual wonder kids of music; Ozzy Bosco being called a wonder kid is only because he happened to be the only one on the scene making noise like many other clueless artistes today. That's why he could win some award and receive a 'chieftaincy' title. The poor boy is just some adult's untalented cash cow.