By Charles Okogene
I sincerely miss NiteShift Coliseum on a day like this. This is a day I would have clubbed non-stop from Friday December 22 to December 25 with different programmes and good music from the club’s jukebox supplied by the DJs.
Sincerely I cannot recollect my first time in NiteShift Coliseum.
That Nothwithstanding, one of the events in the club that I still remember vividly 30 years after as if it was yesterday, was MKO Abiola’s visit to the club; it was very memorable to me in the sense that it was the day he won the then Social Democratic Party’s (SDP) ticket to fly the party’s flag at that year’s presidential election, which IBB and his band of criminals masquerading as military leaders truncated.
Abiola had arrived in the night of that day directly from Jos where the primary was held with one of his daughter from his first wife, Kudirat , to the waiting embrace of Guv’nor Ken-Calebs Olumese and his friends including members of the Glamour Boys of Nigeria (GBN), led by Mr. Ehi Braimah; their story is another topic for another day, so watch out. It is a promise, so God help ‘I’ !
Pleasantry and back slapping down, MKO was ushered into the bowl of the club by Olumese with music blarng from Kunle Steward and Demola Adeoye-Sam”s (DAS) wheel of steel. They were the club’s resident disc jockeys as at that time.
Even outside was jammed packed for those who wanted to gain entry but could not. I believe that if it was now, a giant TV would have been mounted outside for those who could not go in to catch a glimpse of happenings inside.
Cars stretched from the foot of the club almost opposite Chrisland Schools to as far as Oshpey Plaza on Allen Avenue and also as far as the traffic light on Allen Avenue/Oregun Link Bridge end that was constructed in the days of Olagunsoye Oyinlola as military governor of Lagos State and Engr. Funsho Williams , the then commissioner for works in the state whose gruesome murder, the state government is yet to find who done it. Such was the ‘commotion’ that night and that truly defined NiteShift as a new concept in niteclubbing where politicos can go to, to reach out to the electorate.
After that historical visit by Abiola who was the unofficial richest man in Nigeria then going by the way he freely dispensed naira to everybody that was in need, NiteShift wore a new look; it became a place everyone wanted to be, it now dawn on all that clubs are not only attended by loffes, flotsam and jettsams, criminals and those with no future ambition (NFAs). The visit became an endorsement and everybody wanted to associate with the club and Olumese.
Other event that took place there that I will not forget in a hurry was the day the greatest boxer in the world, the late Muhammed Ali visited too. Ali was on a visit to Lagos, Nigeria but through the connection of high wired friends of Olumese, a visit to NiteShift was slotted into his programme while in Lagos.
However, in all of this, Olumese paid dearly for it later; his landlord after seeing all that happened during Abiola’s and Ali’s visits and thinking that Olumese had made trillions off the visits, he hiked the rent for the club’ space just like most Nigerian landlords will do; but Olumese will have none of that and refused to negotiate not to talk of paying the new rent. An average strong head Edo man!
Pronto! A quit notice was slammed on him but unknown to the shylock landlord, Olumese had earlier bought plots of land at 34 Salvation Road Opebi where he had planned to use as the permanent site of Coliseum, the quit notice only served to hasten the movement.
And in 2000s, a magnificent edifice housing the NiteShift and a dacha was opened to the glory of God. Again the first in the annal of Nigeria for a club to have it purpose built building.
The lesson here sometimes is that, your enemies force you into your destiny.
Next we will bring to you all that happened at 34 Salvation Road of NiteShift Coliseum until it was closed and sold.
Again another promise and may God help me.
