THE UNIVERSITY SERIES, EPISODE THREE: WHO GOES YOU?!

 

Spending the entire day at school, attending our induction and an after party to cheer our friend who had a stage performance resulted in staying out late, and walking home that night felt like the longest walk ever because of how scary the terrain was. As my friends and I passed one very dark junction we sighed in relief only to suddenly hear "Hey, Who goes you?!"

The phrase 'who goes you?!' is likely familiar to many of us. Whether you heard it firsthand or were told stories about it, chances are you've encountered this phrase at some point in the university, and it signals danger.

This was the first time I got involved in a 'who goes you?!' situation, but thankfully, my friends and I were able to emerge unscathed because in unison, we yelled "Ehn? Run o!" and if we were to compete in an Olympics with the speed at which we raced, Tobi Amusan would not have emerged the Guinness world record holder. Lol.

The fact that they were chasing us got our ‘ride or die’ response refuelled due to our heightened chance of getting into trouble if caught, so I had to support one of my friends who was already crying because we outpaced her. How we took off our sandals, forgetting our ‘steeze’ remains a mystery till date.

As we got to my house, the gatekeeper was already asleep since he had locked all the gates to the compound. We shouted, ‘papa come o, help o, people dey pursue us!’ Being really old and suffering what looked like tremor, the keys kept falling from his shaky hands. This is the point where our blood ran cold because the people were getting closer, but fortunately, the gatekeeper was able to open the gate and we ran inside to safety just in time, gasping for breath and sweating profusely.

Even as we expressed gratefulness to God for safety, we lost sleep because we were still nervous, thinking about all that could have happened if they had rounded us up. We thought of sexual molestation, phone snatching, and violence while also reminiscing on the ‘who goes you?’ stories within and off campus, like that of some male colleagues of ours that were taken to an unknown location for three days during which some sustained severe injuries. Meanwhile the week before, on the street before mine, some students were unsuccessfully kidnapped by masked people. All these we thought and couldn’t stop thanking God for the narrow escape.

Students have suffered unquantifiable losses at the hands of the ‘who goes you’ people who often refer to themselves as ‘strong men’. Many have been relieved of their possessions, some are forced to join their ranks, while others have unintentionally found themselves caught up in a crossfire.

During the second semester of this chaotic period of being a fresher, rival factions got embroiled in a conflict that escalated into violent clashes, resulting in bloodshed, uncertainties, instability on campus and fear that was totally different from the one from The Haunted House

As a new student, I was wary of these encounters having heard countless stories that involved ‘who goes you’ moments, thanks to our senior colleagues who provided tips on navigating the campus, certain areas to avoid, and various coping mechanisms to ensure our safety.

Also fresh from my nostalgia is the night class I attended with my friends on campus, where I sensed imminent danger and a sprinkle of ’be ready to run’. This period, the final year students were signing out and the ‘strong men’ were performing their final ‘who goes you?’ moment, a dangerous rite of passage for many.

In that single semester, a lot happened…

To be continued…

 

Have you ever had a ‘who goes you?’ moment? Please share your experience(s) in the comment section.

 

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.....Sweet Lilian