ILE-IFE OF OLD-ONCE UPON A TIME....Going down the memory lane!!!-Civilization or development has indeed taken place in ile-ife.Do u know that,once upon a time,when we were very young particularly in the early colonial days 40s&50s.Situation were not this good.Lets discuss key factors of life namely:-ELECTRICITY.....did not exist......beer and soft drinks like Becks, Heinekens,Krola etc were sold off the counter and displayed on shelves,bcos as electricity did not exist.People did drink all unchilled with joy......EDUCATION....in early years,it was novel and great achievement to get admission into Oduduwa college,Girls school(a secondary modern school)and even looked an unprecedented achievement to enter a boarding school.Our parents and closer community feel on top of the world seeing one of the children achieve such feat.Wooden box or all metal box,cupboard are filled with items,carried proudly to school hostel and one remember with nostalgia feelings the boarding house routine of first experience of going to prep,siesta,time-out and paticularly the open day-walking home with pride in the school boarding colours...u dare not go out with a piece of paper known as exeat.......WEALTH&CAR OWNERSHIP......years back,number of car owners could be counted,the cars itself like Prefect brand were only one colour-black.Drivers were like pilots,highly respected and favours courted.The kids in tens feel favoured to be asked to come and wash the vehicles,following the driver to nearby stream.it was a great delight.In later years,Opel brand came in green or other colours.No doubt in those the rich did standout in the community but there was love and get-rich-quick syndrome hardly exist.One know the car owners by name.........TELEPHONE....A very rare commodity and less than twenty people has such lines and the main telephone exchange in Oshogbo was run by P&T(colonial post&telegraphs)It was a great delight if one has a call and with joy run a distance to go and pick a call at the home if the a traditional chief or priviledged community head........RADIO.....Wonderful was a home with a radio,and it was wired from a radio centre into various home.There are two types(both in wooden boxes with a small speaker inside)one more fashionable than the other...monthly or quarterly charges are paid by the priviledged few that can subscribe.During the news time in the evenings,the entire household or community to converge at the nearest radio box.it was real communication@its best.it was refered to as Radio-Asoro ma gbesi-Talking with no talk back!!!.....TELEVISION.......along with television,one of the great achievements of Chief Obafemi Awolowo,when he was the premier of the old Western Region.The television station (first in africa)It was in black&white,started in 1959...with only few ifes owning one.i remember vividly about 100 viewers watching from the top of a one-storey house balcony,the match between an english club-Sheffield wednesday and Western Rovers played in ibadan on a 20 TV set at Aderemi Rd,ile-ife.OVERSEAS EDUCATION TRAVEL....This was the highest honour and glory that could befall any family then.It was a then a serious preparation.In fact the whole community celebrate and rejoice.Such lucky person may be escorted to Lagos by well wishers via a hired bolekaja lorry,as during those days love indeed radiates in our community.We grew to know that the only means of such travel to Europe was mostly by boat called Aeroel(spelling,I am not sure!)perhaps takes two weeks to reach European destination.Months later,such lucky student start to send home black&white photographs to the delight of the parents and community.......POLITICS&GOVERNANCE....years back,the colonialists ruled through the OVAs&emirs.In ile-ife it was Ooni-in-council,later democracy was introduced with people nominated into the councils as development came,elections was introduced.Young Barrister R.A.Fani-kayode became the first Chairman.In fact at a point in time,Ile-ife and ila orangun was one local council administratively.RELAXATION CENTRE.....for years,Community centre@Aderemi road was the only meeting point to socialize.Watching theatre groups like Ogunde,Ogungbe,I-Show pepper and hosting of musical concerts of Dele Ojo,Eddie okonta,IK Dairo in those days took place here only.The poor youths ocassionally wait for free film shows at Enuwa square where Pearl &Dean films were shown with products advertised e.g Cafenol,Aspirin to the public.We were able to watch John Wayne and Tarzan films etc.TODAY,ILE-IFE HAS DEVELOPED DRASTICALLY,WITH ALL THE GOOD THINGS OF LIFE,THEREIN...... .GREAT IFE,GREAT,I SAY.....MAY GOD CONTINUE TO BLESS ILE-IFE AND ENTHRONE PEACE IN THE LAND!!!
Posted on: Tue, 27 May 2014 05:18:29 +0000
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