The Other Side Of Owerri Night Life
Though a clearer picture of who originated a popular cultural song peculiar to Owerri people, called Owerre wu Oke Mba is not the issue of discussion but suffice it to state that the emotion-laden song traced to one Bongo musician of the 70’s called Abiba evokes memories of great Owerri Nchi-Ise people and unique attributes of the indigenes of the state capital of Imo state Abiba and his musical group, may have been great prophets when the hit the airwaves with the title.
Overtime, that Owerri-wu-oke- mba song which debuted in 70’s is more like a prognosis of better days ahead for the capital city which has been ably manifested in several spheres of life. Apart from infrastructural and economic development, one other unique aspect that is fast becoming the identity of Owerri town is its undisputed groovy night life encapsulated in great number of hospitality-related service outfits. I have not really had the opportunity to discover that beyond the façade of what we ordinary observe of the Municipality from morning till evening, something extra-ordinary happens later and only seasoned frolickers will tell a better story of the interesting behind the scene scenario.
Except for a habitual night crawler who is a regular good-timer on Owerri streets, the true identity of the state capital goes beyond the grandeur of streets and neons lights on major roads like Assumpta/Bank road, Okigwe road, Orlu road, Whetheral roads and other new roads opened by the Owelle Rochas Okorocha government.
A sign of sunset in Owerri begins with the mad rush to quit from the state capital as motorists and road users engage in several last-minute maneuvering. It starts with “school runs” where parents or guardians either close from work or take permissions from offices to pick their children from schools. The schedule varies from 2pm till 6pm before the main surge in vehicular traffic necessitated by civil servants and business people relocating to their destinations after official and unofficial engagements in the heart of the state capital.
However, the main accessible roads in Owerri town that experience heavy traffic-build up however turns to a free way in the night without much obstacle except from security operatives who may disrupt free flow of movement in their “stop and search” or “road block” security maneuvers.
When the hands of the clock falls deep into the night were residents are expected to have been asleep or relaxing at their respective homes, some spectacular events, and shows dominate the night light life. That undiluted frenzy is fixing Owerrri’s name in the map of entertainment industry in the country which no doubt makes the town founded by Ekwema Arugo heaven for enjoyment.
One can now justify why the word “Ngwori” a new Igbo slang for enjoyment readily comes on the lips of Owerri residents.
As a seasoned football referee and Nigeria Football Referees’ Association (NFRA) grade one-badge arbiter of several years, there is no part of the country I have never been to in the course of handling Nigeria Premier League matches. In the past eight years, I visited almost all state capitals to handle matches. I have to soft pedal because one is not growing younger again to respond to the needs of the interesting hobby and the disturbing atrocities of the insurgents, called Boko Haram. The rampaging Boko Harams forced me not to honour match appointments in some states of the Northern part of the country. I want to explain that apart from Lagos and to an extent Port Harcourt, including FCT, Abuja no state witnesses robust and eventful night life than Owerri. It has become a big industry that could be the reason why Owerri is often referred to as Ebe Ngwori or Ala Ngwori (place of enjoyment).
It was also this peculiar trend that may have forced a popular musician and rave of the moment in Nigerian pop music, Flavour in one of his elpee mentioned “anyi jebe Ibari Ogwa, maka Isi ewu na Pepper Soup…..
Flavor who is from Anambra state but an Enugu-based artiste never found any popular enjoyment outfit in Anambra and Enugu states good enough to be considered worthy of mentioning Ebe Ngwori than Owerri-based Ibari Ogwa; a classy entertainment centre with excellent trapping for relaxation and enjoyment not found anywhere in the South East and South South states.
I recall state a nightmarish experience I had in one of the South West States when I entered the state capital late in the night for a referee assignment the next day. The town looked deserted when I arrived around 10pm. Unlike in Owerri, I suffered untold hardship because I moved into the town late. My ill-fated story will be for another day. I stand to be challenged that anybody who enters Owerri from one of the entry points at 10pm till wee hours can always reach his/her hotel accommodation in town because of the availability of restless Keke operators. The Keke riders are crucial playmakers in the groovy Owerri night life.
A curious observation will notice that during the late hours, all Keke will be heading to New Owerri area in the outskirt of the town believed to be the hub of Ngwori.
A proof that “Abiba’s notion in his music “Owerri Wu-Oke-Mba” not only showed in other sectors but also manifested in the entertainment and enjoyment field was revealed last weekend when I took out a chanced opportunity to jollificate. Since I relocated from Lagos to Owerri in 2003, certain inhibitions bordering on religion and faith-based certain inclinations have restricted my social life especially in the night. Though, I am not teetolar but self indulgence has shaped my public conducts.
However, a request from a ranking politician in the state who wanted a private discussion on certain issues bordering on our polity afforded me the opportunity to embark an eventful night adventure about the capital city of the state fondly called Eastern Heartland. I found my experience worthy to share with readers worthy to share with readers. Initially the discussion was for 6pm, but his chain of meetings lasted till 10pm. He pleaded that I reserve patience. By the time we ended the session, it was few minutes to the next day. Thereafter, he begged me to join him for a sit-out and nite club outing. I objected for certain reasons bordering on an ill-timed arrangement and the abrupt nature of the request. My host offered to provide security that will take me to my house after the whole “show”. As a “guy” who is not unfamiliar to what he is preaching, I quietly obliged. And truly, the outing turned a blessing in disguise early hours.
Our first point of call was one intercontinental bar and “sit-out” pavilion on All Season’s hotel road. I could not recognize the usual deserted road at night. Even as we had approached the next day, the All Season/Concorde/4040 Nite Club road was another Ekeonunwa market in Owerri City. Ekeonunwa is the biggest and popular market in Owerri town.
The market I saw on the road that night was evidently different from the main Ekeonunwa. While the Douglas Road Ekeonunwa market has shops for trading in various wares and items, the market I saw on the Concorde/All Season/4040 Road was strikingly different and some thing that should be strictly for those above 18 years old.
As soon as our light vehicle convoy arrived, the journalistic instinct in me took my prying eyes to the wonderful “Market” where anything can happen. It was difficult finding a parking space among the lot of cars that took over available space including the median block work that demarcated the dual carriage. Moments after I alighted from my car, I managed to squeeze in an opening, I observed what the booming trade was all about. We moved in to a spectacular sit-out where it was difficult finding a seat in the about 300 capacity joint that cannot be found anywhere in the East. Despite the fact that it was midnight, all guests maintained sit-tight posture as they relaxed to savour the chain variety shows of excitement going on at the pavilion.
It was more of a church service but the message and congregation were different. I tried to undertake a survey to notice those within the “fellowship centre” and discovered it consists more of daughters of Eve and accompanying gents. Also, I observed that majority of the young ladies spotted skimpy dresses that revealed more of their sensitive legs and hidden parts of their bodies. Before the stewards could take our orders for drinks and chewable, I excused myself to observe the show outside the outfit. My discovery was unprecedented. I must confess I observed a near sex-trade market. I had concluded that the prevalence of sex related killer diseases and Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs), have put a stop to prostitution and risky behavours. I got it wrong when my mental calculation noticed about not less than 200 young women of easy virtue milling around the environment for would-be customers. The ladies between the ages of 18 and above spotting provocative wears sent signals to parents to start searching for their daughters at night. I was terrified from what I saw and attempted to catch a glimpse of the faces to see if I could spot any of my sisters or relations within the area. Meanwhile, beneath the sex-trade market, economic activities boomed. Petty traders lined on up the road selling all types of wares and items to complement the wants of the night crawlers. There were also make-shift food joints that sold indomie, rice, salad, plantain and even garri, fufu and varieties of soups. Nothing was lacking that night. Interestingly, the greatest beneficiaries are the Keke Operators. I noticed a great number of the trycle machines either dropping or taking away passengers. Some even parked waiting to ferry away customers.
My inquires revealed that others even sleep inside their Kekes till early hours when the take away willing guests.
However, when I took out time to survey the vicinity, I noticed some young ladies who came with conventional ladies wears but were removing their cloths in the open for skimpy night wears fondly called “bum shoots”, I saw them pull off their normal wears and put on the “outing dress” for the night. When I went back after the espionage, my host who brought me to the arena was waiting for us to leave because their was service problem. The steward or rather management cannot cater for the increasing number of guests and customers. Since getting seats was difficult, service almost took an hour, before we left the joint and went across to the adjoining nite club. The human traffic to the club’s gate was discouraging. The sea of heads and legs led us to pull out and seek for alternative place to unwind. We entered our vehicles and sped towards World Bank/Control Post road, said to be another Eldorado for late night fun seekers but without some of the scarlet ladies making advances to join us as we were about to move.
We past three outstanding night life outfits on World Bank/Control Road and each was booming with unprecedented life and other forms of business activities. We finally berthed at another popular posh lounge with spectacular looks and services. Again, parking space was problem before we ended our search. Similar to what was observed previously, it was like a bigule was blown asking all young ladies to answer a call at the Nite club/lounge. Inside the Loung/Nite Club, many unprintable things happened which might not be necessary to be explained on this page. What I observed was that as at 3am, the whole arena was still bubbling with life and everyone having fun. The only worry I had was the number of easy going female folks who prefer to move around half nude during that unholy hours.
I also noticed a big boom for Keke operators, food sellers, petty trades and manufactures of all kinds of drinks at the World bank/Control Post road night Market. There is no doubt that the notorious “bum shots” of the ladies seems to be the teen-trendy of the moment considering that it has become their fancy irrespective respective size and shapes. My inquires to some of the scarlet ladies I was chanced to interact with at the event was not forthcoming. When I probed further on the craze for ‘bum shorts” that are in various colours, and styles one said that it is a night outing wear to look kinky and attractive to opposite sex, while another opined that anybody without the sexy wear to a nite club could be branded a “mugu” or mgbeke for appearing different.
I was fascinated by my discoveries during the one-in-a million outing. At the end I asked my host who is several years above me in age why wasting his hard-earned resources to skip sleep that night just for unwarranted late night rigmarole. He replied that “all work and no play makes jack a dull boy” According to him, hypertension is on the prowl adding that such therapeutic approach can keep one out of it. He summed up that major world cities famous for several attributes have unique selling point and for Owerri, its spectacular night life and that is why Owerri is Oke Mba for Ngwori
