In continuation from this thread: https://www.nairaland.com/2155648/nysc-camp-experience


So, we all parted our different ways and went to our various places of primary assignment (PPA). I got to 8 Miles in Calabar, it’s the entrance to the paradise city, by 5pm and a bunch of us got herded into the nearest NCCF house. Since we got in late, we were shown were to take a bath and freshen up before evening devotion. I’m not a devoted Christian or a strong religious man so you could imagine how uncomfortable, bored and sad it made me considering that it went on for like 3hrs. We all had to say our names, alma mater and course etc. I felt a little embarrassed when all eyes were on me when I made my introduction. After the usual introductions of new corps members, they started stating out their rules and regulations and I almost wasn’t comfortable with them. The ladies can’t wear short skirts, shorts and trousers, tubes and spaghetti tops, etc while the guys are forbidden to wear singlets, trunks, shorts(even 3 quarters), sleeveless tops, carry a certain hairstyle etc. Even as they were reading the regulations, I was on a sleeveless top and a 3 quarter shorts. Then they came to the boys are not allowed anywhere near the girl’s quarters and vice versa, everyone should be up by 5am for devotion and be present for evening devotion at 6pm, then there is the rural rugged trip etc and that the doors are shut by 10pm. The rules were just too much for me especially knowing the kinda person I was, I just knew instantly that I won’t be staying here. I’ll rather stay at the corpers lodge.

By 5am next morning, they’ve started waking people up for morning devotion, I was awake already but I just didn’t wanna get up. He shook me vigorously but I didn’t bulge. Instead I just turned on to my other side and slept. After a while he gave up. I remember the other new corpers complaining later about attending and asking me how I did it. Well, instead of going straight to my PPA for registration, I met a girl from Gidi that was getting ready to go the other way from the NYSC secretariat. I asked her why, she said she didn’t come to NYSC to teach but to make better money while also attaining better working experience. Immediately, I caught on the idea and I moved my bags to the corpers lodge, and the search for a better PPA began o.I told my assigned PPA to reject me o and returned back to my L.I., she said it would take a while but that she will find me another in the LGA. I told her that I would also search so as to make her job easier and that was it. Got a better PPA and she drafted a letter for me and they accepted.

When corpers were excitedly running home after registration, I didn’t. Not with the Calabar carnival starting. I wanted to experience at least a few days of it before going home to prepare well for my service year. Was surprised to see a lot of my camp mates and friends there. My friends were posted to remote communities and they had to redeploy to Cali. We visited UniCal and took a stroll on campus, visited the library, then the canteen. We spoke to 2 girls about us being strangers and wanting to experience a little of Calabar and asked them for their help. They agreed and we went to the cinema in the evening, then to a bar. Danced and danced, ate and drank. My friend wasn’t lucky but I was. She stays off campus and we all slept in her room but my friend couldn’t get none that night from his date because she refused to put out. After about a week, I left for home while my friend left for PH.

By January, I was back in the paradise city ready for a year of uncertainty. By now I’ve reconnected with the ‘clique’ through phone calls from home. They’ve redeployed from their Boki, Obanliku, Abi LGs to Calabar. Same January we celebrated one of the driest birthdays ever. We were new to town and most of us has spent their money on trying to settle down and setting up their accommodation etc. We were all boys throughout, no girls. No better alcohol sef. We just bought some of those cheap 600-800 spirit take manage celebrate.
A few weeks later, I met a girl that redeployed from the north to Cross River. Her brother introduced her to me and they frequented my house a lot. Almost every evening, because they stay down the street and the brother was trying to be my friend. After a while she started coming alone, cooking and bringing food for me. She was about 5years my elder, so I didn’t really put much thought into it. Then her brother travelled home and it coincided with my mum’s birthday and I wanted to celebrate it even though I wasn’t home with family. After all the celebration with friends, we got home and she refused going to their apartment. Thus started our sexual relationship which went on for 2weeks before her brother got back.

After a while, I started noticing that the girl form whose mum I buy most of my provisions was being all nice and respectful. Before I knew, she has started teasing me about not calling her. So she gave me her number, because I told her I didn’t have it. Before I knew she has started making home deliveries for me. No need for me going to her mum’s shop. From there we started having regular intercourse, but it was also being a problem because she gets hurt that I don’t take her with me when going out. I couldn’t because of her mum, she was very nice to me. After about a month or so, we started having arguments on the issue and the sex reduced. I didn’t mind because by then, I’ve reconnected with my girl from camp (the crazy and cool one) and we were hitting Bay’s Bar and MayFair on a regular because my guys love clubbing. Even the manager of Bay’s Bar would give us a head’s up whenever something big is going down at the club. If he doesn’t, the bouncers will call us, because I’m friends with everybody. I don’t discriminate.

Then the 1st bombshell arrived by March. I was strolling in the evening when I decided to stop over at the house of the guy that stays with his sister (the one that’s older than me by a few years), I met a strange man in the house with the brother. I sat and chatted with them. Played cards with them and asked about his sister. He said she’s at the market buying stuffs to make something special for her husband. Initially, I thought he meant husband as in bf or fiancé, but he meant husband and in ‘husband’. My heart skipped. I swear, I didn’t know she was married. She wore no ring, she never spoke about her family etc. Immediately, I left o never to ever step foot in that house again. When I told my corper friend, the crazy girl stuck her tongue out to mock me and called me ‘wifea4ka’ in reference to ‘moda4ka’ and punished me by saying no more womanliness for me till I repent.

By March we were expanding our horizons and knowing more places in town. We were coming from Unical where we went to see our female friends from carnival period, when we stumbled onto a bar by the roadside. It was cool, neat and only female bartenders; and they all wore tight shorts, yup ‘bum shorts’. Immediately, my friend stopped the taxi and we went in. Lo and behold, we knew this place was going to be our favorite bar till we passed out of service. After a while, the whole gang started meeting there every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We usually get started here before going to clubs. Sometimes, we’ll chill tile 3am before going home. It was a bar than runs till 5am. Little by little, the guys started screwing the bartenders 1 by 1. I was the only one left out. Then a few months later, they employed some new girls. By the time I met the boys (because I just got back from home), I noticed that the person serving me wasn’t familiar. And I told her, she said she was new, asked her her name and a few other other nonsense, made her laugh, spoke some more rubbish, commented her beauty and all then said goodbye. She collected my number from my friend as he was coming from work and started calling and texting. Then 3 days later, she said she wanted to come see me. I introduced her when she came to my female corper friend, then she had to leave (remember, she’s crazy), We chilled and talked then as she wanted to leave to go and resume evening shift at the bar, she kissed me. We got to the door cause I was preparing to see her off, then she turned the lock, jumped on me and back to the mattress we went. This would continue for a long time. She was a really pretty girl although she was too hairy for my liking. She had more hairs on her arms than me. Good thing she shaves her ‘what not’ though.

Then June came. I was about to experience the unexpected. I just got back from home again and went straight to the boys at the bar. DJ was blasting music, girls were dancing etc, I knew I was back. They’ve been calling me all day on the bus wondering when I would come back to Cali. When I got to the gate, my bartender girl rushed to welcome me with a hug, I felt like a boss strolling in. Then I sat down after hailing all the boys amidst many insults. Then my female corper friend came from the bathroom and jumped and sat on me. She started telling me about what I’ve missed during the 1 month I travelled. Then a new guy (because I didn’t know him in camp) came with his friend and a female corper. She wasn’t that pretty or packaged so I didn’t really give 2 4cks about her. As the night wore on, she has switched chairs to be close to me and we were talking. I found her to be proud, annoying and obnoxious. She was saying meaningless things to me but I just kept the conversation going. When they rose to leave, I was happy. The next day my friend calls me that we are hitting the club tonight. I’m like “ok”. On the way there, he gave me his phone that someone wants to talk to me, I said ‘hello’ and I heard ‘Hi darling, thank God you are coming. I’ve missed you. Hurry up and get here’. I asked my homeboy who it was and he said the girl that so so so corper came with yesterday. I just sighed and gave a light hiss. We rocked all night. She grinded on me and all and later pecked me goodnight and went with the corpers she came with. I knew some of them were mad at me because they brought her there to get her to like them more and I rained on their parade

By the next week, she has gotten my number and PIN and we have started to become something else. This was a girl I hated when I saw her. She wasn’t that gorgeous and she didn’t strike me as someone with a great personality because I found her pompous, proud and obnoxious. But a fews week later, I was in love. The day she visited and we were playing, we had a moment and she said she loved me, I didn’t know when I told her I loved her too. I’ve been in relationships before but this was a love that I have never felt before. She was my true source of happiness throughout the reminder of my service. But for some circumstances, we couldn’t date but the love was still there. We shared so much together that it affected my friendship with other female corpers, even the ones I’ve been close to since camp. I must say, that period was among the happiest that I’ve ever felt in my life. She cried 1 night she was with me, because despite all her soul wanting me, she knew she couldn’t have me.

By September, I have started looking forward to my P.O.P and life after that. Old flames rekindled because they started coming to see me because they knew I would be leaving soon. Unical cal girls, My bartender girl, girls I’ve met in clubs, taxis, restaurants, cinemas, my batch c corpers, batch a corpers etc. This was the period my friends started giving me useless names. I was covered in love from different directions. Texts and calls kept flying in, some taking me out on dates, I was receiving gifts, proposals etc. Most wanted to be my girl or wife regardless of distance, some made me promise that no matter what happens, I shouldn’t forget them etc. I’m a friendly person but I still couldn’t understand why so many people saw good in me and not my friends. We were more or less the same set of guys.

Then came P.O.P and the happiness it brought. We were grateful for a successful service year. We’ve made friends, gotten valuable experience, made money, expanded our horizon, visited places etc. After collecting my certificate and snapping numerous pics with people, I went outside of UniCal with my friends that travelled from different places to celebrate with me. But 1st I wanted to do a little something for the people that welcomed me into their community; so my neighbours, barber, shop owners etc I hosted them till about 6pm. They prayed for me, some gave me gifts etc. Then I went home, freshen up but refused to take off the customized t-shirt we made for the occasion. I was going to wear that t-shirt throughout that day. I called my boys and girls on the phone, they were already at the venue, then we partied like it’s the last day of our lives. Bar manager hosted us, gave us drinks, the suya dude did his part and also gave us meat, the fish lady did same. This was the most awkward gathering I’ve been in my life because all my female friends wanted to celebrate with me, including the ones I’ve slept with. I was moving from one to one although my guys helped. They helped in keeping them company. My Bartender girl whispered in my ear that she was happy and proud of me and that she must give me sexx even though she was on the night shift. I simply obliged and followed her to the men’s room for a quick one. Only my guys + my naughty female corper friend knew what went down. I was torn as to who will go home with me tonight, so I simply told them 1 by 1 that I have corpers and visitors sleeping over in my place and that I would see them personally before I travel. Club manager later called that he’s seeing corpers celebrating in his club, he asked what is going on, I told him we just passed out. Immediately, he said I should come over to the club that night. I went with my friends we sat and ordered our usual. Then he brought his own personal drinks to give us saying thank you for all we have done. He then had a few shots with us. My crazy female corper friend since camp was travelling the next day and dragged me to the bathroom for a goodbye quickie. Then we went to MayFair Lounge for the last lap of our groove before passing out in our individual homes. The next day being Friday, we all got together with some girls and went to the resort, went on a boat cruise, home for sexx then cinema in the evening. From there we said our final goodbyes and hugs and went to the different parks in the morning. The Gidi and Abuja folks went by air.

All these was in 2012, but despite being so far apart, the people I met then are still a part of my life. We call each other, skype, attend each other’s occasions, ping etc.

A truly memorable year for me. I didn’t even add the Friday night we just decided to go and club in Uyo since its an hour away. Straight from a bar into a bus going to Uyo without planning. And boy, was it fun. We invited the friends we made there to Calabar and we shuttled visits between each other going to Uyo and vice versa. I didn’t add my homeboy screwing a girl on the roadside in the middle of the night or even my birthday. Or another dude making us laugh all through the night when the girl he was with in the room asked him what he was doing by trying to take her top off. He just blurted out “what am I doing? I’m trying to bathe you idiot”. We were playing scrabble in the living room and burst out in laughter.

That’s all I could remember. Sorry its long and thanks for staying till the end. Didn't know it felt this good to write about memories. Will try and maybe add stories about me in school, or my trips to other states and countries visiting friends or for business/pleasure. Would have posted a few pictures but it beats the purpose of an anonymous forum. #Peace

dats a nice sht, calabar=come and live and be at rest...

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Awwwww............can't wait to go for service