My first few days at the NYSC camp

We were woken up the second day with an alarm. The first alarm signaled us to wake up while the second alarm was for us to assemble for our morning drills.

At the assembly ground we were briefed by the state director of NYSC Ogun State. We were promised by the NYSC-state director that we shall all be fully registered before our official induction into the NYSC scheme on Friday. We were also thought the NYSC anthem.

I must say here that the promise of the state director NYSC was not fulfilled. As at the time of our official induction into the NYSC more than 500 corps members were yet to be registered. I was one of the lucky ones that got registered before the induction. However, by Sunday every NYSC corps member was registered.

The first few days at the NYSC orientation camp was a bit tedious. Most of us were not physically fit and the morning drills were a bit too much for us, but with time we adapted to life at the NYSC camp.

Our situation was not helped by the weather. It was raining cats and dog. This meant that after the drills our white canvass and to some extent our white shorts were stained with mud. This meant we had to wash them after every drill.

However, at a point we got tired of washing the canvass, so we wore them like that to the parade ground. We figured out that if everybody's canvass was dirty it will not be easily noticed since they will all look uniform. Besides we had washed the canvass so much that whether we washed them or not they do not get any cleaner.

In summary our first few days at the NYSC camp was fun. There was still excitement in the air. The NYSC fatigue was yet to set in.

My first day at the NYSC camp

Aware of the long journey ahead of me, I left my home in the south-eastern part of Nigeria for the NYSC camp in the south-west (Sagamu, Ogun State) very early in the morning. This measure was also necessary since it was the rainy season and some sections of the road were bad.

I left for the NYSC orientation camp on the very first day that the camp opened, haven been advised by friends to enter the NYSC orientation camp the first day. According to them this will make life easier for me.

However, entering the NYSC-camp the very first day didn't make life any easier for me. First when I got to the NYSC-camp it was as if everybody was already there. in fact I was not one of the first 900 corp member that reported to camp. I was later informed that some people reported to camp a day before the official opening of the NYSC-camp.

The situation in camp was that of confusion. As at 8:00pm the first day less than 200 corp members were registered leaving more than a thousand of us un-registered. Being registered comes with some benefits. You receive your NYSC-kits and are allocated a hostel only when registered. In addition registration comes with the meal ticket. So, as you can see those of us not registered were on the losing side.

The NYSC officials in camp did not make life any easier. There was no proper organisation. The registration process was tedious and slow. The NYSC camp looked dirty and unkempt. I was already in camp when vehicles carrying the food that we were to eat in camp were being off loaded. In fact it was as if the NYSC-officials suddenly woke up that morning to remember that some young Nigerians will be arriving at that camp that day.

At around 9:00pm after a very long wait for information, we were told that we can make use of one of the empty hostels. That was good news for some us that cannot wait to rest our tired bones. We did not even have time to sort ourselves into males and females.

Because it was dark and we were very tired we did not bother to sort ourselves into males,females and well mosquitoes. We were all sleeping side by side. I placed my blanket on the floor and used my pillow case, bedsheets and some of my clothes as pillow. I then used my insecticide treated mosquito net to cover my body, however this did not deter mosquitoes from singing some of their most famous tunes for me.

Although we were later invited to eat, I did not accept the invitation. Hunger was the least of my problems right now. I have to secure my space and my belongings. I cannot wait for this day to be over.

I closed my eyes and that was the first day.

Called-up to NYSC at last

After the disappointments of being turned down for about two batches, I was finally called up to the National Youth Service Corps(NYSC). NYSC, the mandatory one year of national service that every Nigerian graduate of University or Polythechnic must pass through before forging ahead in life , has for several months been a stumbling block to my progress.

I had to wait for about one year before being called up to the NYSC scheme. This one year was a year of uncertainty. Without an NYSC discharge certificate you cannot get a decent job in Nigeria. I could not also start a decent business, because of the uncertainties. What happens to the business if I am called up to the NYSC scheme in three months time? for example. Do I close down the business and go for NYSC or jump NYSC and continue with the business.

Definitely jumping NYSC is out of the question, because this is Nigeria and you cannot imagine what your opponents will use against you when they consider you a threat. So you simply have to be part of any mandatory programme whether you believe in it or not, so as to avoid any future embarrassment.

So you can now imagine how happy I was when I finally received my NYSC call-up letter. The uncertainty has all of a sudden disappeared. I now know that in about one year time I will be able to start any type of business that I want to start.

I was posted to one of the states in the south western part of Nigeria, Ogun State to be precise. Not the worst place to be posted, although I have some challenges of my own one of which is that my Yoruba is very poor.

However, for now what is important is that I now have a considerable control over what happens from now. I can see my future clearer now. Very soon it will be all over and I cant wait.