Segun Adebayo
To an average resident of Ibadan, the city is relatively peaceful and silent. But recent developments in the capital city, especially with the proliferation of nightclubs that appear to be dotting every nook and cranny of the city, it will not be out of place to say that Ibadan is fast moving away from its old self.
To most night crawlers in Ibadan, the best days to hit the clubs are Thursdays and Fridays. After the hustling and bustling of the week, revellers love to unwind. As early as 6:30p.m on Fridays when the sun disappears, the party begins and does not stop till 5a.m on Saturdays. Saturday Tribune’s checks revealed that it is a different world inside most of the nightclubs in Ibadan and what goes on in there is nothing short of the biblical ‘Sodom and Gomorrah.’
Saturday Tribune’s investigation revealed that a number of revellers who live outside Ibadan, especially in Lagos State now prefer to hang out in Ibadan every weekend and even party till Sunday evening before moving back to their bases. To them, they have explored Lagos, they have now shifted their attention to Ibadan that is fast becoming a new home for fun seekers who want to have a ‘nice time’ depending on the weight of their pockets.
As dusk gives way to night life, especially on Fridays, Ibadan clubs naturally slip into quickies, twerks, sex, popping and dance. To some, it is new but to many, it is part of the development they have long been craving for. That Ibadan now seems to be going the way of Lagos when it comes to nightclubbing does not worry them. “At least, one must enjoy life when one still has the strength to play around and the cash to spend,” said a young man who gave his name as Sola Adeoye.
Many upwardly mobile men hop off sleek cars into a world of risqué belly dancers and butt popping, while the rest of the country goes to bed. Spending a fortune at clubs every weekend does not seem to bother them as long as the cash keeps flowing; they will keep popping.
Every week, there is usually a place for fun seekers to hang out in various parts of the city. In fact, there are now nightclubs in some residential areas. It is not unusual these days to see fun spots springing up where residential buildings were once erected.
Before now, places like Bodija, Ashii and Akobo were predominantly residential areas but that has since changed. A recent visit to these places revealed that each street now has at least two nightclubs with people claiming that more are still being considered. It has remained a tug of war between house owners and club owners in old and new Bodija, even since the days of Platnum Club. It was gathered that some club owners were arrested while some were charged to court in a bid to stop the springing up of nightclubs.
As of last Friday, Saturday Tribune observed that at least five nightclubs operate in Bodija and its environs. One of such clubs that has continued to attract huge patronage every weekend is GQ, located on Awolowo Road Bodija Estate. Before the advent of GQ some years back, there were popular clubs like Cottons, 0308 and 411 where millions of naira were spent on drinks every weekend. But since GQ stepped into the business, the face of nightclubbing changed in Bodija, and the hitherto bubbling 411 was abandoned by many. Though, the club still commands a sizeable number of revellers, it is now nothing compared to the number of people that troop into GQ every Friday night.
Speaking with Saturday Tribune on Wednesday during the ladies’ night, GQ’s spokesperson, Mr Rotimi Ademola, said “GQ has come to stay in Ibadan and it is not a hidden fact that Ibadan is now appreciating nightclubbing. Before now, we were scared to have something like this in this area because of what we have heard, but we decided to damn all consequences and we started what has today become the toast of many revellers and ballers. Trust me, if GQ had not opened in Bodija, nightlife would have remained at its lowest ebb.”
From Thursday nights, popular areas like Ring Road, Oluyole, Bodija, Orita Challenge, Queen’s Cinema, Total Garden and even Mokola catch the bug of gyration with hotels, night clubs and relaxation centres, generally referred to as fun centres, preparing grounds for events, which are usually at their peak on Friday nights.
A recent visit by Saturday Tribune to some of the night clubs around the city did not only confirm that Ibadan, apart from becoming a thriving city for business during the day, is now being regarded as a hub for nightclub business.
At Ebevande Club, which is regarded by many ballers as one of the best clubs in Ibadan, on Friday last week, the scenario is better imagined than experienced. Young boys and girls were seen doing what would be the unimaginable to the uninitiated. Armed with bottles and glasses of alcoholic beverages and puffing cigarettes into a dimly lit room with an array of light bulbs, while curvy dancers swung their hips, much to their amusement and pleasure.
Saturday Tribune spoke with one of the dancers, a man in his early 30s, who gave his name as Chima. He said: “My brother, you can only enjoy life in this kind of environment. If you can’t beat them, you join them. So, I am really having a nice time right now.” Chima was really into the dance as a female dancer was seen twerking him to the point of moaning.
From Ebevande to Bubbles, which is not far from the former, it is almost the same tradition. Except for its larger crowd, nothing separates the two clubs in terms of extreme fun. Fun seekers were seen everywhere. No one was left out as music blared from every corner of the club till dawn.
No fewer than ten nightclubs currently operate and the Challenge/Ring Road axis in the city. The competition among the clubs has forced some of them to go above the line by introducing different events meant to drag patronage. At E3, there is ladies’ night; Coded Lounge also has stripper’s night with ladies sashaying, winding and willing to be taken home for a fee; Ebevande, unlike many clubs, doesn’t open on Fridays but Thursdays; Olympus X, Apollos, Echo Blues and Topside Lounge all have different events that are targeted at dragging people to their club.
A man who works with one of the new generation banks, Paul said nightclubbing is good if one has the time and cash to spend. “I come here once in a while, especially when my wife and kids are on vacation abroad. Though it has its bad side too, because if one is not careful, things can get awry here and one could fall victim. But apart from that, I enjoy myself chilling out with friends,” he said.
A common feature among the clubs is that they are divided into three sections depending on their size. There is the VIP section where patrons pay as high as N16, 000 for a bottle of cognac. The section, it was gathered, is usually not opened until ‘ballers’ (money spenders) arrive, which is usually around 2 a.m. When they arrive, the club erupts in thunderous noise as the hype man who usually announces the arrival of the money spenders declares the club open officially.
From the VIP to the general floor where almost everything is permitted, just when the reporter thought he had seen it all, his encounter on this floor left him in awe. Visiting this section will make anybody that has just been baptised into night crawling to remain a patron. It does not cost much to party on this floor. With less than nothing, one is guaranteed maximum fun with ladies, mostly in their teens and early 20s; they come in different sizes, shapes and colours. With lewd music booming from a distance and women lining up to gain entrance into the club in a bid to show their endowments to any man who is willing to part with some money, it will be difficult to disagree too much that sex and money run the world.
‘The lap dance experience’
Lap dances, of course, happen in most clubs but not every man can afford to pay for it. The rates vary from club to club. At a popular club on the same Ring Road, with N2,000, one gets to be twerked upon; allowed to be cuddled and allowed to explore the vital parts of usually busty young ladies sitting on one’s lap. Once your time is up (some 15 minutes of enjoyment), the lady steps off, gets her money, slips it into her panties and bra, and heads to the next prospective client with the same words on her lips: ‘Do you care for a lap dance?’
Dead, fetish people also club here…
At a popular club on Ring Road, it was alleged that there is a set of people who don’t go there regularly, but anytime they appear, they spend money on anything their eyes catch. The fear of many who patronise the club is not about the people but the rate at which they spend money and many are already suspecting that they are not humans. At their last visit, they were said to have spent not less than three million naira on drinks and would have spent even more but the club owner was said to have instructed his boys to stop. One of the regular patrons of the club who did not want his name mentioned told Saturday Tribune that many people come to the club and it is difficult to know who is who. “I know about this set of people, but I don’t know whether they are fetish. There is even a particular lady that sprays money on girls alone, and many wonder why she does that, but I am not interested in all of that,” he said.
‘Yahoo Boys are the heavy spenders at clubs’
A club manager, who gave his name as Skuki said only Yahoo Boys spend a fortune on drinks and girls while clubbing. Other spenders only try to spend what they have; they usually don’t go beyond N200, 000. “When a Yahoo Boy enters your club, you can be rest assured that you are made for the week and that’s why you see many clubs doing everything possible to attract them. An average Yahoo Boy spends not less than N1.5million when he comes around. And most times, they come in group. In fact, some of them come to clubs to show off. You can imagine a situation whereby a young guy buys a bottle of champagne for N200,000, not because he wants to drink it, but only to spite others. He buys the drink and pours it on the floor of the club. It is our joy that they come because we want to sell but I don’t think it is right,” he said.
‘Ladies fall victim of rape’
Saturday Tribune was told about how ladies usually fall victim of rape after leaving the club early in the morning. Recently, about four girls, on their way home very early in the morning after they had partied with a popular musician who came from Lagos were said to have fallen victim of rapists on Odo Ona Elewe area of Ibadan. The ladies, who are in their mid 20s, were said to have arranged with motorcyclists (Okada riders) who would take them from the club to their respective homes. On their way home, they were said to have been waylaid by rapists. Confirming the incident to Saturday Tribune, one Mr Balo, who operates Okada till late in the night, especially on Fridays said “there have been different cases of rape along that side, especially on Friday night and Saturday morning and the victims have always been young ladies.”
‘Clubs use beautiful girls to attract customers’
Clubs in Ibadan have discovered a new method of drawing customers. Saturday Tribune spoke with some of the club managers and they confirmed that many young and old men come to clubs because of these beautiful ladies who are dragged from different universities in the South West. These girls are paid based on commission from whatever a prospective client pays. Any club that cannot parade beautiful girls to attract clients is missing out a great deal.
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