“And I could see blood oozing from his face, an upper cut just beneath his eyebrow like one suffered by boxers. Stones were flying everywhere in their masses like insects on a nuptial flight. Then I heard whispers, behind and ahead of me in the thick crowd of CONTINENTALS I found myself mingled.
Demon, Demon, Demon. Demon was the dominant name and only word that encircled me from the lips of CONTINENTALS. “He is the Vice President of University Hall (KATANGA)” the voices continued.
With stones flying over our heads, we started running for our lives, both Continentals and Katangees. It was a delight to watch, a remarkably unforgettable scene.
It was like the scene of a shaolin football match. All along, I thought I was dreaming till my shirt got stained with blood. A colleague Continental had been hit. My beloved shirt had been stained but instead of worrying I thanked God for my head. I missed the stone by an inch.
Just then, I realised I wasn’t dreaming. Reality dawned on me. This was KNUST campus and it was another fight between CONTI and KATANGA. Though it was my first as a first year undergraduate barely a week old on campus, I had heard and watched videos of similar CONTI-KAT fights even before my admission. Aftermath, to every Continental, a Katangee was an enemy and to every Katangee a Continental was a fierce enemy…period!!!
What to many first years like myself had started as an early morning jogging and later a “morale battle” between both halls had suddenly turned a bloody clash.
Since then, life on campus never returned to normalcy for both halls. A week couldn’t go by without a purported case of CONTI-KATANGA fight. Conti became “a no go area” for Katangees and vice versa. It was like boys forbidden from the girls dormitory in SHS. “Who born dog to enter the lion’s den?”
On a fateful Wednesday, Didier Drogba had scored a “Mallam” goal for Chelsea in the first leg of a semi-final match at the Stamford Bridge, defeating Lionel Messi’s Uefalona who had dominated the UEFA Champions League for nearly 4 years not because of their renowned tiki taka brand of football but their success hugely accredited to Michel Platini and his bunch of bias referees who treated Barcelona like kings and other teams like slaves. Chelsea’ victory spearheaded by Drogba and a relatively unknown Roberto Di Mateo as manager took jubilant football fans on campus to the streets.
From the twin towers at CONTI to Brunei hostels just behind KATANGA, jubilant students filled campus with one melody…”blue is the colour”. It was simply a day for the blues. Barca’s invisibility had been broken and Chelsea fans had a reason to celebrate although other “against” supporters (Man U, Madrid, Lipuu, Arsenal, Milan) like myself were part of the jubilant Chelsea fans making merry. Chelsea had won but it was a victory for all these teams and their supporters.
The jubilant CONTINENTALS had just reached Queens Hall from the Republic Hall junction when we saw another jubilant KATANGEE crowd approaching Queens from the Library Road behind the Royal Parade Grounds which is the prayer centre for Christians on campus and also as the only venue for the SRC’s Annual Fun-City show where girls in mini-skirts and wet leggings offer their buttocks to be freely and simultaneously digested and dissected by boys in skinny jeans and canvas shoes dancing to Sarkodie’s ajeeei ajeeei!!!
Ironically, the dancing Mary’s and Joseph’s are the very prayer Mama’s and Papa’s for Sunday denominational Christian associations on campus. Upon seeing CONTI and KATANGA meeting at Queens Hall, I new the inevitable was about happening. Oooh yes, another CONTI-KATANGA fight was about starting. Continentals started running towards the Katangees and the Katangees did same. However, something dramatic and historical happened.
It was no more the throwing of stones neither was it the oozing of blood or trading of fire bombs. Hands held hands, voices backed voices, shoulders leaned against shoulders and CONTINENTALS and KATANGEES alike sang together like never seen before echoing…
“saa na ey3 ooo…saaa na 3ye…wo do wo nnua na ey3 Oooh …saaaa na ey3 oooh.”
Observers were worried. They wondered, ‘could this be true?’. Believe it or not, it was the fiercest of rivals and enemies upon enemies UNITED by the power of football, singing and dancing to show their newly formed brotherhood. Till date, that faithful day remains my most memorable day on campus. To some, it was the day of love, the day Conti and Kat said no to violence, others the day of joy. But to me, it was the day CONTI kissed KATANGA, the day enemies became UNITED by the power of football.
God bless our homeland Ghana.
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