NYSC ORIENTATION CAMP

NYSC ORIENTATION CAMP (3 WEEKS IN CAMP)

This is by far the best part of the NYSC service year (in my opinion). I was a bit frantic to go to camp; I heard stories from how stressful camp was to the harsh punishment and toilet situation. However, I have always been “Miss prove them wrong” and so I was determined to prove everyone who said I couldn’t cope wrong. I got to camp and after all the screening and all of that I was asked by a military personnel to carry my box on my head to pavilion…I was like “oh no they can’t be serious…I’m a bit down” however, I wasn’t ready for the fuss so I actually carried my very heavy and big box on my head. The day did not get any better we had to queue up for a hall, room, mattress, uniform and registration and I was not able to complete mine on the first day so it dragged into the second day. I had to purchase a few things in camp on the first day as I could not carry everything I needed since I By the end of the week we had been sworn in and then camp life had started proper. I had gone into camp with a “I’d just be on my own mindset, you know I’m not their mate and I’m not here to play’ and so I was kind of a loner with the exception of one very good friend and a few acquaintances but by the beginning of the next week I was everyone’s friend and one of the platoon leaders. Camp became more interesting and exciting, I did not mind that we did not get much sleep, I was busy and time was going so fast. I met a guy who I’d call Chef for the sake of this blog (I already talked about him in the previous blog) and everyday became a routine event with him we walked around together and had fun especially at Mammy market (camp market). I fell sick towards the end of camp and I went to the camp clinic, I tested positive for malaria and I was given some minor drugs as I had already come to camp with some drugs from my clinic at home.  I actually had fun with the platoon sport events, NYSC competitions, talent hunt, parade, morning exercise (it was so much fun…shoutout to the DJ) and the Man-O-War drill. The soldiers and camp officials could be mean when they wanted to be but overall they were actually nice people once you got to know them. They would punish you and still be playing with you.

I did not enjoy their food so I only went to the kitchen about 3-5 times. Bathing was a bitter sweet experience as it was freezing in the morning and the water was cold, the state of the bathroom did not help and sometimes we had to bath outside. The toilets could not flush and most times they were messed up however, I could not bring myself to do the shot put (‘pooing’ into a nylon bag and throwing it away well mostly over the fence) so I used the toilet once in a while when it was very clean which was very uncomfortable.

THINGS TO NOTE:

You have to be prepared to queue for everything

Enjoy the punishments…lol it is actually fun (most of the time)

You’d be paid your ‘allawee’ before you leave camp and given 2500 (transport allowance)

Photocopy all your documents

Never wear slippers outside or any other footwear for that matter apart from your white sneakers/canvas

Mammy market has everything you need and variety of food…It was my favorite place in camp

DOCUMENTS TO TAKE TO CAMP:

CALL-UP LETTTER

GREEN CARD (NYSC)

CERTIFICATE/ NOTIFICATION OF RESULT/STATEMENT OF RESULT (Certificate of registration with your council/board for doctors, pharmacist or optometrist, lawyers and evidence of completion of housemanship/internship)

ID CARD

PASSPORT PHOTOGRAPH (between 8 and 10 because you’d need some at your PPA) although you’d take official NYSC passports later on in camp

ALL DOCUMENTS USED TO RGISTER AND INTERNATIONAL PASSPORT (foreign graduates)

THINGS YOU NEED IN CAMP:  (You can also buy them in camp at mammy market  but they’d be more expensive)

Money (obviously however if you do not plan to eat their ‘kitchen’ food then please take a lot of cash or at least be prepared to pay to withdraw using their POS machine)

Bedsheet

Bucket and bathing bowl

Padlock

Plate (flat), bowl and cutlery

Slippers

Toiletries i.e. toilet roll, sanitary pad, dettol/disinfectant, soap, detergent

Towel

Waist Pouch

White shorts, shirts sneakers and stockings/socks

ORIENTATION CAMP DAILY PROGRAMME

The program remains the same almost every day apart from the swearing in day and the day we leave camp, Sundays are free with the exception of social events at night.

The day usually starts at 5:30am with devotion, at 6am Nigeria wakes up meaning we stand at attention and sing the national anthem (while the flag goes up), after that its exercise time and them parade time. Somewhere between 8 and 9am we have breakfast. After that its lectures, debate, SAED (Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development) and from then on its lunch, siesta, sports and then dinner. From 8pm or thereabout its socials such as Talent Hunt, Drama, Dance, Mr. Macho, Miss NYSC and other competitions.

Till the next blog

Photocredit: Chef's phone
Photocredit: Google Images

Yours in service, 

Corp Girl

HOW DID I GET HERE OR MY MORONIC STORY?

HOW DID I GET HERE OR MY MORONIC STORY?

Well, I already explained why I was blogging in my first/previous post and I thought that I’d share some light on how I ended up in this remote village.

In Nigeria, it is compulsory that after you complete your Bachelor’s Degree you serve your country (Nigeria) for a year. This is called NYSC (National Youth Service Corps) and it was introduced by the government to reform, rehabilitate and reconcile the Nation. It is a one year service that includes 3 weeks in camp and it takes place across the 36 States of the nation. Graduates are usually posted to states other than their state of origin or state of residence.

I had completed my Bachelor’s Degree and immediately after that I proceeded to the UK to study for a Master’s Degree. Fast-forward to 2015, I had completed my studies and graduated with a very good grade (Merit). I came back to Nigeria and went back to the university were I obtained my Bachelor’s Degree to have my details sent so that I could partake in the upcoming NYSC scheme. I already had the mindset that as far as it wasn’t some remote area or somewhere in the North (for security reasons) any state (although I had a preference for Lagos) I was posted to will be fine because it will be fun , a different experience and because I like a challenge (lol…I didn’t know that I’d end up somewhere so far from civilization).

However, this time NYSC management was giving graduates the option to choose 3 states they prefer and I thought this was a welcome development. I ended up travelling to the U.S. for the summer break and I was not able to come  back early enough for the final part of the registration; I came back 5 days after the registration had started, at this time the more developed and “happening” states had been selected. Lagos State had been my number one preference because my then boyfriend who I’d call Yemi (for the sake of this blog) was residing in Lagos although the relationship had finally ended prior to my summer trip (the distance especially while pursuing my Master’s had added to the break up…I’d take most of the blame though). However, over the summer break I had reconnected with an old friend who I’d call Uncle S (for the sake of this blog) in Nigeria and there were sparks flying around *lol* and he also resided in Lagos but as the time I got back to Nigeria, Lagos was no longer available on the list of states to choose from. I'm the kind of person who likes to spend time with the people I love Uncle S insisted that I choose the State I am currently serving in because it was close and due to the nature of his job he could stay with me 3-4 days a week (he envisioned that I’d be in the Capital/City). So I ended up choosing that state as my 1^st choice, Cross rivers state as my 2^nd choice and Imo state as my 3^rd choice.  Sidebar: the relationship didn’t work out well all on me again and the fact that the ex (Yemi) was in the picture and also an acquaintance of his, however, Uncle S is such a great man and will definitely make a great husband.

So that was how I ended up in this state (although there was always a plan to redeploy to Lagos) anyways fast-forward to the 3 weeks orientation camp by this time Yemi and I were speaking again and on a path to recovery/getting back together or at least I wanted to get back together with him. I went to camp and met my Chef (who I’d call Chef for the sake of the blog) and although at first I didn’t want to date him because I was holding on for Yemi but somehow Chef and I worked out. I was very active in camp and I was also an official in my platoon so I wasn’t worried about my PPA (Place of primary assignment) as the usual notion was that people that were involved were usually posted to the city/capital or at least the best local governments. PPA is where you serve the nation for the rest of one year service and it’s usually government enterprises such as clinics, schools, government offices. Chef was also very active in camp and participated in the final/very important parade before we left camp and they were assured by the military personnel that they would end up in the Capital/City. Anyways to cut the long story short neither of us ended up in the Capital/City which was odd as everyone else like us did, we ended up in some local government and the same school in the same ward/village. However, we were reposted within that local government and still ended up in the same school in a more remote and less civilized village (FATE….ain’t  it)…LOL that’s how I ended up in this village. We both decided to stay at different times because of each other and so even when I could have left I didn’t because I couldn’t back stab him. A friend of mine described us as MORONs…LOL

P.S: There’s still no power supply and as usual we had to contribute to get some fuel for the generator so we can pump water into the tank. I’m enjoying some good music from Alicia Keys especially her Element of Freedom album. Anyways till the next blog post feel free to drop a comment, judge me (LOL) and just read the post. 

Watch out for the next blog post sometime this week.
Photocredit: Google Images

Yours in service,

CORP GIRL

WELCOME TO MY BLOG

Lol...I actually can't believe I am blogging.

First things first, welcome to my blog...feel free to share my post(s), drop a comment or just read through.

Why am I blogging? I have actually (weirdly) always thought that I have an interesting life that people will like to know/hear about however I have always been too private to share details of my life maybe because I am just too private or because I think its too much power to give people over your life or because I was so scared of being judged, Anyways, I recently started serving my nation (NYSC; National Youth Service Corp) and its been terrifying, exciting and a time of so many firsts. While I was in camp my dad actually said he hoped I would write a book about my NYSC year and I recently spoke to a friend of mine who said I should actually write or blog about my NYSC year. So here I am, I finally mustered the courage to blog and I hope you enjoy my journey/story from how I ended up in a remote village in the West to how I am coping.

P.S: As I am writing this there has been no light/power (PHCN) for the past 7 days, we (my fellow corp members) had to contribute to buy petrol for the generator so we could pump water as we also ran out of water. I know there's shortage of power in Nigeria presently, however even when the power supply was quite alright we hardly ever had light in this village *bummer*.

Till my next blog post (which will be very soon) enjoy your weekend while I battle the flies and insects in this darkness.

Till the next post,
Corp Girl