In the University of Lagos, ‘night’ does not signal the end of a day but the beginning of another. From the rapturous songs at fellowship meetings to the wild laughter from the halls of residence, there is hardly a moment’s rest. Most students leave their classrooms and the various reading halls around 6.00p.m. Their next port of call is usually their hostels where they rest for a while and wait for darkness to set in. From this time till after midnight, it is a life of passion and glamour and noise.
Centre of ExcellenceBy far the rowdiest place on campus is New Hall – a stretch of five different hostels. New Hall is the centre of the school, not because it is situated in the middle (it would be difficult to determine the school’s actual middle). Students often call it ‘Centre of Excellence’, borrowing Lagos State’s slogan, ‘because (like Lagos) it is a place where one can find just about anything one might desire’ – a student told Saturday Tribune. The converging point is space between the two male hostels and the three female ones. There are at least three restaurants here and a number of other points where different kinds of food and snacks are sold. The suya (roast meat) point is particularly conspicuous. Male and female students in groups of twos and threes can be seen clustered around the suya seller – or, ‘Mallam’, as he is called.