₦airaland Forum

UrennaNkoli:
Last time I posted was 5 years ago but I had to drop this due to nostalgia.





There's was little means of communication. If you don't have the patience of sending letters through post office , I think only NiTEL was available at thay point and it was not reliable. I lived briefly at dodan barracks. I remember we kids hailing babangida as his convoy leaves . Baba go just use newspaper cover his face lol. Very handsome man and likeable man. The rich lived in ikeja and surulere, there was nothing like lekki, those places were just villages mostly huts, on the mainland it was as if where civilization ended was iyanaipaja. Anything beyond that was just Bush. Berger was very scanty. Going further to ibafo was just bush . Scanty settlements as you drive to ibadan.. then mowe was another scanty settlement coz it led to ofada and owode egba. You could also access abeokuta through that route. There were very few TV stations tho they had times they opened and closed can't remember. We watched local contents at night. There were richer contents on Saturday and Sunday nights. Sunday night food was usually moi moi and garri.

There was also constant riots and protest such that once they start somewhere, it rapidly escalates . Everybody starts closing shops and running home. Students were also forced to close from school and go home. I didnt know much about politics then so i didnt know what was going on. Children played together till late night when everyone is tired.

When abacha died, people were running up and down celebrating. I thought nigeria had won the world cup or something. I was a teenager then, it felt so weird seeing people jubilate that someone had just died. . Oh did I forget the once in a blue moon Sunday trips to Mr biggs. Life generally was bitter sweet.

airsaylongcome:
Bassey and Company. Behind the clouds. I don’t know if it trended in Lagos, but we had Willie-Willie in Benin/PH

Bodeem:
Lagos was far ahead of other cities. Most parts of ogun state for example was just Bush and dense forest. Today its totally different

randymirrors:
We were fairly rich and lived in one of the high brow areas in Ikeja. I finished from Corona primary school. Nothing like Lekki then. Someone said there was no satellite, but of course there was.

We had a satellite dish. Also access to games..the ones I remember clearly well are Super Mario and Contra. Another game.."shooting a flying bird" with a toy-like gun (can't remember the name of the game).

No matter how rich you were, you'd still go outside to play ten ten, suwe, mother may I, boju boju, mama & papa. Though we were not allowed to play these games in school. My school had a dedicated playground.

We didn't have a gen then and there was no need for one though I think some families had. Can't remember now.

Additional tv stations we had then were DBN and Clapperboard. TV programmes available were kiddies vision 101, sesame street, the invisible man, doctor who, days of our lives, Robin hood, Barney, Voltron, Tom and Jerry (I'm not big on cartoons so if there are more asides these, I can't remember). Locals were ripples, fortunes, willi willi, behind the clouds, checkmate, village headmaster, tales by moonlight, story land, cock crow at dawn....

I also remember Tosin Jegede, Chichi of Africa.

Older musicians were Blakky, Alex Zitto, Edna Ogholi, the man that sang "ifeoma I want to marry you (love this song die), Majek Fashek, Raski Mono, Christy Essien, Latifah, Sunny Okoso, Junior & Pretty,

Abeg, I still dey find this song..."egu egu Igbo amaka, omalicha nwa....". Love this song die. Sung by a woman. It's a shame that this song is nowhere on YouTube or the internet. You'll find other old songs but this one. Igbo people please do something.

Story books I remember by Enid Blyton...the wishing chair, the wishing chair again, Amelia Jane, Amelia Jane again...

Novels... famous five, mallory towers, the secret seven, little women...

Those days were the BEST. Some won't understand this but it's the truth. There was communal relationship and everyone lived with contentment irrespective of the little you had.

XAUBulls:
It was "Felix Lebarty" that sang the hugely popular track "Ifeoma, I want to Marry You..." back in the 1980s.

Aha! You folks (including the OP) erroneously keep saying in absolute terms that "nothing like Lekki existed then."


What did NOT exist till the early 2000s was Lekki Phases 1 and 2 part of which was derived from the demolished Maroko slum settlement. Victoria Island Extension was also reclaimed from Maroko which was demolished in 1989 by the Military administrator of Lagos State, Raji Rasaki.

You must have been an Ikeja GRA or Allen Avenue/Adeniji Jones/Toyin Street and environs resident. MKO Abiola lived around Toyin Street , Ikeja.

hustla:
Was really, really sweet

People were outside more and not glued to the internet and their phones so people socialized more. I remember using Nitel landlines and marvelling at how someone could hear me on the other line (only one person had it on our street) .. I also remember the first time i held a Satellite phone in 98, it was surreal. Was owned by one egbon from the US who everyone said was a 419er

We couldnt even browse or make video calls with the A52 Siemens, Sendo, Sagem and Nokias back then. Cheat codes later came after 10MB plans and then it went from there. You had to go to the cafe to browse, Multilink and Starcomms later came

Times have really changed tbh. Wish I could bring back the good old days when we used to just party without worries in this world. Baggy jeams, Phatfarm and Timberland boots & AirForce 1s, 6ers jerseys, headbands with durags, Echo fits, Vokal jerseys etc. Choi! The days of Funai and Akai DVD players and Sharp TVs When our dream was to make antennas that would make DBN or LTV show up, when during harmattan, stations like ITV would show up, when SEGA, NES, SNES and N64 was the thing..
When PS1 came out, it was a game changer, the competitions at game houses . I remember when MK3 and 4 codes were written on paper by OGs . When if you were selected by the egbon adugbos to deliver love letters to their girlfriends, then you were a big boy by right

RIP to my childhood friends, Seun, Michael and Benedict

I miss the early early 90s

realtalk19:
Super screen.

My other favorite channels were frago rock, super Ted,Ovid and the gang, tales by moon light,speak out, feyikogbon,new mascurade,


My movies Nagina,Sunita, the gods must be crazy, evil dead,return of the evil dead

ConfidentialDoc:
A bottle of coke was less than 50k

airsaylongcome:
Urhobo

airsaylongcome:
If you are talking of the 3.5in floppy diskettes then you came into the game late. Na 5.25in we first use. Prior to that it was radio cassette tapes, specifically TDK brand that were the gold standard for saving your software

Bodeem:
I remember running home after 3 o'clock closing hour so as not to miss my favorite cartoons on TV

There was nothing like satellite TV which meant we watched more contents on local TV. You go to school the following day to gist with friends about the episodes.

Christmas was much fun, we visited friends and families on Christmas day and eat to your satisfaction

There was nothing like phone so whenever my dad goes to work , I stay outside all night till he comes back. Make I no lie anytime its getting so late around 10pm and he's not back I start thinking of bad things like he was kidnapped or had an accident . The more it gets late, the more i get worried and when i finally see his peageot 504 headlamp shining from afar, there js this relief thay engolfs me instantly.. May his gentle soul rest in peace, he passed on last year.

Teachers and parents beat the hell out of you, they were more ruthless than what we have now.

Our soldiers (army) back then used to be very skinny infact na khaki dey wear them no be them dey wear khaki but the fear they commanded back then is far more than what we have today.

Oh did I forget Mr biggs toilets? When you enter Mr biggs toilet, you find phone numbers painted on the wall. They obviously belong to people looking for love.

KingAzubuike:
Source

Teeroyzimma:
Old man

airsaylongcome:
If you are talking of the 3.5in floppy diskettes then you came into the game late. Na 5.25in we first use. Prior to that it was radio cassette tapes, specifically TDK brand that were the gold standard for saving your software

Lilimax:
You think say I be your mate? When I finish my NYSC in 1999 where were you?

Raskimonojendor:
After school, I and my older siblings and friends will walk from Ilupeju/palmgrove to Olateju in Mushin so we can use our transport money to drink Tandi, coke and fanta with okin biscuit.

olab059:
80s and 90s...Hmm...Nostalgia.

First of all, there was more one on one interaction back then, nothing like social media...nothing like Nairaland, with people hiding behind a computer to say what's on their mind. Also, nothing like hookup girls back then. Yeah, they were prostitutes that stood around Sheraton Hotel Ikeja at night, and in Brothels, but nothing like the hookup epidemic we have right now...thanks to social media and the internet. Back then, if you liked a girl, you walked up to the girl and talk to her...girls were more attracted to looks, confidence, exposure, the way you speak...now it is all about money, money, money.

No phones, even till the late 90s. I remember back then, we would walk to our friend's house not knowing if we would meet him at home or not. lol! I remember a day I went to one of my female friend's house, and her sister was surprised to see me cos the girl had said she was going to my house. She used to lie that she was going to my house whenever she was going to her boyfriend's house.

Cable became a thing around the early to mid 90s, before then it was solely NTA, LTV, etc for entertainment, and ofcos video clubs. I remember Video Net, which was in many parts of Lagos. I used to be a movie buff back then, and all my savings went into renting movies. If the movie was in the VHS player when NEPA took light, and power wasn't restored till the deadline of when you were meant to return it, you have to pay extra charges. We had NITEL phone line in my house, and I remember the first time I called the video club to register around 9 years old. They said I should come in person, and I showed up this lanky 9 year old kid I wonder why the guy overlooked that and still registered me. Mehn! The first movie I rented was Arnold Schwarzenegger's Comando. Damn!!! Memories.

When ABG Cable came in the early 90s, we went to the video club less, cos we had SKY Movie channel and other movie channels I can't remember right now. Mehn! I can go on and on, but let me stop here. I don type epistle already. lol!

KingAzubuike:
There were no phones and Internet which meant there was more social interaction and physical bonding. Visiting a friend was 50:50. You could meet him at home or not meet him unlike today where you can easily call a friend to ask if he's home. Back then it was 50:50. I think that was what prompted people to hang plastic bottles in front of their gates or doors so you could drop a letter or notification. Fun spots were newspaper stands. You'll find people arguing about politics and sports.

Finding relationships was also kind of difficult. Going to find her at home was extremely dangerous coz of her parents. Dem go chop you raw. You and the girl will have to plan ahead of time where una go meet. Then on the d day na you go first reach there wait ahead of time. Na 50:50 too. either she shows up or she doesn't.

randymirrors:
Oh jeez. Forgot to mention the climbing trees part. I was good at climbing guava trees then. Unlike you, my parents allowed us play with other kids and visit too. No restrictions. My parents were very liberal in the way they brought us up.

Like you, I didn't know the difference between tribes. I went to a Federal boarding school so everyone was the same. It was when I joined NL I understood our differences.

I used to enjoy riots those days sha😂 cos it meant no school. At the same time, I also remember how my dad would try to maneuver his way by passing through alternative, longer routes with a bunch of leaves attached to his windscreen. Those days were really good.

UrennaNkoli:
We were buying goldspot for 15 naira

BigBlackPreek:
I was 7 and in primary 2 and kid my sis who was going to 5 yr plus was in primary 1 when Abacha died

As kiddies way back then, we were made to know that Sanni Abacha was a very wicked man, lols

How time flies

BigDickProblems:
The past, even as lovely and nostalgic it could be, is not a good place to dwell on. It's a bygone.

postigar:
People of God
As way back 91,92,93, there was already satellite dish and cable network we used to watch captain planet, space ghost, thunder the barbarian, jossie and the pussy cat, centurions(power extreme), Mr T, the Flintstones, He-man, Thundercats and many more am still trying to remember.

Then there were game consoles already out then by that period
There was family computer, Sega drive, the was nitendo(Ness) and super nitendo(sness)

Then if you owned any of this game consoles your parents were topnotch and if u guys had cable TV then. Then few years later CTL came out

Was very fortunate to have most of these while growing up

absoluteSuccess:
Voltron the defender of the universe.

Cartoons

Superted, spotty, frago rock.

TV series

Dr. Who, Tales by moonlight, newsline, Sunday night blues.

Wrestlers

Kabuki, Mr T, undertaker, Mico Hey, Kerry. Pleasant memories, praying to grow up quickly as though it's the paradise phase of life.

To God be the glory.

Conner44:
It was heavenly. That was the advent of water parks, amusement Park. Mr. Biggs etc.

These days even our kids cannot use simple broomsticks, newspapers and thread to create and fly a normal kite in the clouds

mradonis:
Men those days were memorable.
-You could ride your bicycle on the street without worry .
- there were open fields for playing soccer and yearly tournaments.
- we go treck from school without fear and use out t fare lick local jumbo or balewa.
- no agbero ,Omo onile and touts. Buy ur land , build in peace and share food d day u move in.
- there was love and people help each other, not now that u act for simple direction or help me push car ,u must settle.
- you own a TV and VCR,u are the don Dada in your hood.
- less churches shouting everytime and opening like business centres.
Lagos was clean every last Saturday of the month after environmental sanitation exercise.
Men Lagos has changed from what it was in the past to something else.