Block 6, Block 7, Come Out and Let’s Insult Ourselves

In the late 1990s, one of my best friends, Femi, had his room in “Block 6” of the Obafemi Awolowo Hall (“Awo Hall”) at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, Nigeria. I visited him in the room once a while. One of those evenings of my visit, as we were chatting in his room, there was a loud announcement from the balcony behind us. Yes, it was actually an announcement because once the call went out the response to it was massive.
A young man in one of the rooms had called out, in Yoruba, “Block 6, Block 7, e jade o, e je ka ma bura wa o” (which translates roughly as “Block 6, Block 7, come out, let us verbally insult ourselves). Being my first experience of it, that call was a shock to me. However, what was more shocking was the fact that several occupants of Block 6 and Block 7 took the call seriously and responded to it. In fact, immediately the young man shouted “e jade o, e je ka ma bura wa,” someone else replied him “ori e ’o da’a” (i.e. “your head is good for nothing”) and another person joined the tit-for-tat.
When the insults flew back and forth for several minutes, I stepped out to the back balcony of Block 6, which directly faces the front balcony of Block 7, and was surprised to find scores of guys on the balconies of the several floors. The insult match was a sort of game in which occupants of Block 6 were loosely a team against the other loose team of Block 7. The insult match lasted for well over two hours. They all seemed to enjoy mutually insulting themselves. Their only common grounds between the two teams were when anyone was unfortunate enough to cross the lawn or walkway between the two blocks.
One young man carrying a travelling bag with him happened to cross the lawn, and someone shouted “eru ese” (i.e. load of sin), another person raised a song “gbe agbelebu re, o wuwo, ko wuwo ... ” and the two teams joined to chorus the song. In another instance, a young man walked with two ladies from Block 6 towards Block 7, someone spotted him and said “bros, I go do too o.” Another led a song, “pastor o, a o yo e o; pastor o, a o yo e; a f’omo ti e, o n ba sun; a f’omo ti e, o n ba sun; pastor o, a o yo e” (I will not translate that. Find a Yoruba speaking person to translate that for you).
From insults, the teams moved on to suggestive jokes. One would should shout “ta lo mo o?” (i.e. “who can guess what it is?”). Then another would shout back, “emi mo o.” Then the first person would describe something lewd. They would all laugh. Then some of them would chorus the answer. I dare not give specific examples here!
Why am I telling this story? Well, in the first place I have never forgotten. However, something keeps reminding me about it in more recent months – the patterns of our discussions on social media, Facebook especially, and the manners of our comments on online newspaper articles. I mean, we Nigerians. I don’t know who called us to it but we are mainly divided into two teams playing the insult match. One person says, “don’t mind him, he is a wailing wailer”. The other responds, “and you are a lying lair.” Whatever these new identities mean!
See, even those young men who wantonly insulted one another between Block 6 and Block 7 at Awo Hall recognized it as “Aro” (a form of deliberate psychosis intended for fun – no, psychosis is the wrong word, Aro is aro with its own uniqueness; there is also aroma and psycho. Aro, in the culture of students of the Obafemi Awolowo University, is actually lighthearted and often funny. It could be demonstrated individually or collectively. Aroma is a latent but self-controlled “madness” that is reserved for when you decide to “show yourself”, say in situation in which you are cheated. Psycho is more complicated. It’s a sort of idiosyncrasy which may find itself with a personal blend of aro and aroma in various proportions; it may in fact not contain either but just some self-created lonely “private culture”. Aro, aroma and psycho – all three are closely related but distinct in their respective rights). But shall we call this new culture of adding up so-called friends on social media only to run verbal slimy excreta on their faces at the slightest opportunity? No, it won’t be proper to call it “aro.”
(To be concluded)

TEMITOPE OYETOMI·MONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2015

I Rep OAU

This writer just took me on a journey at least 17years back. I was a resident off campus then but I obviously wasted the money I paid as rent as most of my nights were spent with my friends at Awo hall. I just never wanted to miss out on the fun then but now, I call it madness..... Pure insanity

The Block 6, block 7 madness is better than what you find on social media today as the combatants know its simply fun and you even find best buddies on opposing sides but that of social media is filled with hate.

You don't have to wonder why.....anything fuelled by tribalism and religious differences always ends in conflagrations. I wish the warriors online could see it like Awo boys but i realise its an impossible expectation

God bless Awo boys jare

I rep OAU

theV0ice:


This writer just took me on a journey at least 17years back. I was a resident off campus then but I obviously wasted the money I paid as rent as most of my nights were spent with my friends at Awo hall. I just never wanted to miss out on the fun then but now, I call it madness..... Pure insanity

The Block 6, block 7 madness is better than what you find on social media today as the combatants know its simply fun and you even find best buddies on opposing sides but that of social media is filled with hate.

You don't have to wonder why.....anything fuelled by tribalism and religious differences always ends in conflagrations. I wish the warriors online could see it like Awo boys but i realise its an impossible expectation

God bless Awo boys jare

Very interesting post. Thanks for sharing your awo hall story.

make una stop buzzwording Ife o.

a word is enough for the wise.

tpiander:
make una stop buzzwording Ife o.

a word is enough for the wise.

Haba. Did u really read the write up?

Greatest Awoite!

theV0ice:


This writer just took me on a journey at least 17years back. I was a resident off campus then but I obviously wasted the money I paid as rent as most of my nights were spent with my friends at Awo hall. I just never wanted to miss out on the fun then but now, I call it madness..... Pure insanity

The Block 6, block 7 madness is better than what you find on social media today as the combatants know its simply fun and you even find best buddies on opposing sides but that of social media is filled with hate.

You don't have to wonder why.....anything fuelled by tribalism and religious differences always ends in conflagrations. I wish the warriors online could see it like Awo boys but i realise its an impossible expectation

God bless Awo boys jare

Moz & Moremi repping

Wo tun ti de oooo, awon yori yori...

modath:


Moz & Moremi repping

Wo tun ti de oooo, awon yori yori...

Yori yori ma yori mi o.....

So modath is also OAU? Very interesting indeed

theV0ice:




Yori yori ma yori mi o.....

So modath is also OAU? Very interesting indeed

Una don't turn this thread to OAU thread o.

E bo de ooo
, E bo de ooo .

Na crazy people dey those two blocks.
Quote me anywhere.

kai i miss Awo ....proudly Great Ife

of the greatest ife. i really miss my OAU