Emashi! Emashi kpen kpen! Ga word loosely translated as: ‘it is established,’ ‘it is well established!’ That was the response to STAAGA whenever the word was chanted – at least this is as far as I knew, how I go know if it has changed since?
Boys have indeed suffered youthful ejaculation over the six-letter word that brought them an emotional and occasional association with an opposite-sex school located in Mamobi, opposite the residential enclave of Roman Ridge in Ghana’s capital city of Accra.
Boys carried STAAGA on their heads like plantain chips vendors – balanced and with style. Some virtually pumped themselves taut when the opportunity to meet the Mamobi girls came up – be it at Interco, Super Zonals, the girls coming over or boys leaving Cantonments to Mamobi.
In any case, Aquinas was the majority name holder in the word ‘STAAGA’ because we had three alphabets out of the six, the Mamobi girls had two and we shared the last letter. STAAGA = St. Thomas Aquinas – Accra Girls Association.
Beside having ‘dog chains’ as first-year students, STAAGA briefing and jama were two areas that compulsory by – force you needed to know about. Some boys would virtually go into a fit because INTERCO had been canceled for us or Super zo was slipping.
For some of us, whenever a STAAGA meet was threatened, it seemed as though Kim Jong-Un had finally agreed to use his nuclear button as promised. Some felt like Mugabe being forced to relinquish power or Asamoah Gyan after the Suarez penalty miss in 2010.
Then there was STASMA – St. Thomas Aquinas – St. Mary’s Association. STASMA was a somewhat rival body with the Kaneshie baes never really took off. Let me set the records straight, I began rolling with AGISS girls long before Aquinas. Of course, my sister Fuleira was there and I used to go home with her plus her buddies.
Then there was STASMA – St. Thomas Aquinas – St. Mary’s Association. STASMA was a somewhat rival body with the Kaneshie baes never really took off. Let me set the records straight, I began rolling with AGISS girls long before Aquinas. Of course, my sister Fuleira was there and I used to go home with her plus her buddies.
As for the downgrade ACASMA - Accra Academy - St. Mary's Association noise, true to its sound sounded all but asthmatic – the Keneshie Senior High Spoof boys, always de carry last innit?
So there were STAAGA executives, some of who were busier than SRC officers in their commitment to ‘the cause.’ Then the STASMA spoilers, who knew they were heading nowhere but continued spreading malware – one aspiring lawyer in my class was one such - today he is married to an AGISS old girl.
Suffice it to reiterate that the (literal) convulsion that boys suffered at a missed STAAGA opportunity was enough to freak anyone out. Roll forward the years, so what at all did people reap from the ‘AGISS shordy, AGISS babe’ erection?
I hear some have resulted in marriages – so I hear, others were just what it was, youthful emotional investment, at best a ‘brief knowing me – knowing you’ restricted to the pages of writing pads with scented pen vibes – Ghana Post made some cool cash with postage.
In between AGISS and Merries were Corpus Cristi. If you don’t know about them, there were students from a Catholic school, I stand to be corrected but they used to join Aquinas’ SSSCE batches, they also partook often in activities of the Catholic students group on campus.
However you look at it, the STAAGA thing was only the informally formal union, for (some) Aquinas boys on any day, they were ready to ‘drop bars’ and ‘ron’ any female within and outside our territory irrespective of school uniform, shape, colour, size, height etc.
Letters became a status symbol at a point. The number of letters one received almost gave some an aura of invincibility – all the better if it is accompanied by a photo.
And to reply, some will buy an entire writing pad (12 pages minimum) and beg others with presentable handwriting to do the honours.
But that was all there was to it, apparently, it was for the fun of it and for the emotive value of being boys. Some girls we laughed at for their bumpy sentences – incidentally it was those kinds of letters that were read aloud and passed around.
I have and continue to wonder in these days of social media, how students of today will relate, I very much doubt the ejaculation and other ‘tion’ will be any different but the speed of transmitting the messages – would be fiercer than the spread of Trump themed ‘Fire & Fury.’
My verdict: Those that benfitted from STAAGA did. Those to who it was a waste of time, know themselves – if you think I’m not entitled to a view, I’m currently in Congo – Brazzaville, Kabila is our neighbour in DR Congo, ask him to send militia to come and beat me.
Better still if I’m back in town for holidays – I will let you know how the proponents wasted their time, so that you can come and beat me. In any case, I have wasted my time writing this, haven’t I?
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