Note:
This piece is aimed at enlightening Corp members who are posted to Jigawa for their service as well as enabling others who are posted to other states to have a mental knowledge of what is obtainable as a Corp member in Jigawa:'A New World,' as the Slogan goes.
Please do ignore all typographic errors as u read. They are not intended.

This piece will be coming in fractions as I wouldn't want to miss any vital part of the state behind as a result of unnecessary summaries.

LET'S ROLL!


I am a 2015 Batch A Corp member, from Ebonyi state who had the privilege to serve in that far north. I kud still remember wen I printed my call-up letter in April last year n saw Jigawa State in it, I had no option den Dan to conclude Dat I wud hv to remobilise next time. After much thought n consideration, I decided to go. I haven't been to the North b4 den and trying to locate wia Jigawa is was an uphill task. I called many people I kud den and one later directed me to NYSC section in Nairaland here, Dat I wud get all I need. I obliged.


When I Checked in, I saw a thread abt Jigawa Batch A Corp members n I quickly followed it up. From there, we created a Whatsapp group and it worked wonders. I left Ebonyi to Anambara state on 4th May to be precise because it is always advisable to Leave a day before camp opening. Wen I got to Awka, I asked of The Young Shall Grow Motors Park and an Okada man took me there. Wen I got there, I was surprised to see other Corp members who were going to North as well is large numbers. Fear n anxiety was the order of Dat day n after all said n done, we left Awka around 6pm to jigawa enroute Kano.

We drove all through the night till morning yet we hadn't gotten to Kano not to talk of finding our way to jigawa. By God's Grace, we arrived Kano around 9a.m feeling sleepy n exhausted. Let me also take this time to advise those of u who are preparing to pass through such long -nyt journey to abstain from much fud n alcohol in particular because no one is goin to match break for u because u r pressed till u get to Abuja to refill gas.
From Kano, those of us going to jigawa boarded a Sienna to Fanusai camp at Jigawa which lasted for abt an hour n half.

More...

It's Fanisau....go on....
As for me, I chose to ghost it oooo. That land will leave you brain dead as you'll have zero interaction with academics.

LordIsaac:
It's Fanisau....go on....

Tnks for the correction. Always hard trying to get dos names u know

When we got to jigawa camp around 11am,we were greeted by uncountable number of Corp members already undergoing thorough searching exercise by stern-looking military men. '' Hey!, put ur load on ur head, double up n maintain the queue!", they barked with seriousness on their faces d very moment we crossed the road n headed for the gate. Na so I cari enta so? I wondered in my mind as we did exactly as we were commanded. Wen we got to the gate, we were made to display the contents of our boxes on the ground for a thorough search. You dare not talk unless u are asked.
After the search, we made for the queue n 'maintained' the line as was ordered. Needless to say what the intensity of the sun was like at Jigawa. We were sweating profusely n dragging our boxes weneva the line over a little. U dare not take shade under the dogoyaro trees at the gate dia else u will b welcomed in the way u won't like it.
After hours of standing amidst hunger, it got to my turn n I filled the necessary forms n took the ones we were supposed to take straight to the camp, pulling my box behind. When I got to the place wia we will be assigned to our hostels, I met anoda long queue there but I took it in gud faith n joined like others. After hours again at Dat place, I was assigned to hostel E, given a flat foam just like others n I headed straight to the hostel. Some other Corp members were already Dia and l down bunks have bn taken n I had no option Dan to choose one at d top.
With my tired self, I decided to take a nap even wen other Corp members were rushing to the basketball court to continue other registration exercises. Body no b fire wood abeg. I slept off n was awoken by the noise of my fellow roommates later in the day. I changed my cloth without bathing, went to Mami joint as I was directed, bought rubber bucked, a pair of slippers and other things I will be needing which I didn't bring from home. I settled for a plate of rice of #250 and afterwards, made for the hostel to cool my head. When I got to the hostel, I got water from the tap, took my bath n went straight to my bed. I was really feeling exhausted.
That was how my first day at d camp went.
More...

I am not going to dwell much on life in the camp for the 20 days we spent their for it wasn't my main purpose of writing. My main aim is life of a Corp member in Jigawa. Life in camp is nutin more than day in day out parade, Man O' War drills, joggling , early morning prayers for Christians n Muslims alike, sports competitions some sort of sexual escapades for the loose minds.


On the day of our POP, I collected my posting n went about searching for free vehicles assigned to each Local Governments. I later saw some with old Corp members carrying placards displaying our LG. Dat was how I found my way to Kore under Garki LG. We stayed at the LG for the night n were fed for that nyt n the next morning by contributions made by old Corp members(God bless them). We did our clearance that morning and embarked on the two-week Leave enjoyed by Corp members after camping.

At the lapse of the two-week break, I reported back to jigawa. I spent one more week at my LG b4 going to my PPA . It's not easy traveling from Garki to Kore because there is no one way transport to that village. I had to navigate through Gumel, Gujungu, Majiya and den to Kore. The accommodation their is nutin to write home about. Thanks to Paul, my fellow Corp member from Benue state who with his average Hausa knowledge, made it possible for me to reach Kore by talking to the drivers via my phone since dey dnt understand English.

When I got to the lodge they kept for Corp members:an abandoned midwives apartment; I called my employer, the principal of GDJSS wia I was posted n made my feelings known to him-dat I couldn't live in such a place. He talked me into acceptance n I had no choice Dan to concur. We cleaned the room with broken louvers n ceiling n packed in my belongings. I later went out in the night with Paul to drink shayi n bread from Kabiru Dogo's joint and afterwards retired for the night.
"Oh Lord, see me 2ru in this village " muttered to heavens above as I was about to sleep. Work was to begin the next day so I prepared myself.
I dozed off afterwards.
Tomorrow at sch.....
To be continued
(Ur comments are needed to let me know how I am faring. Whether to continue)

This is nice. Please continue

Check out d viewers and ride on.it helps

I woke up around 6am the next day, got a bucket of water from the borehole sunk at d front of one MDG adjacent our Lodge, took my bath n prepared for sch. I left around 7am with Paul. It was Paul's second day at sch so I was the one under pressure yet I was excited. It was dis Azumi (fasting) period so no shop was open. During Dia Azumi, shops and other activities are usually wound down till 6pm each day after they break fast. As a result of dis, I went to sch hungry.
As we were trekking down to the sch which is about 15minutes trek from our Lodge, Paul was exchanging pleasantries with the indigenes and I was left out. I asked Paul to tell me wat gud morning is and he said it means Inakwana in Hausa. He also taught me some other ones like inawuni for gud afternoon/evening and Sai gobe for gud nyt. I will talk more of Dia greetings in the course of writing.

When we got to sch, I went straight to principal's office with Paul n greeted him alongside two other elderly men who were with him. The principal n dos oda men were happy to welcome me n he took me to d staff room n showed me my own desk. He asked me to rest Dat he wud come bck in few minutes time to take me to the classes for introduction. The sch is just a junior secondary sch and the name is Government Day Junior Secondary School, Kore. Wen we got to Jss2,bcis JSS1s have not resumed, he introduced me to them n I kud feel Dia joy at seeing anoda 'kofa' . I greeted dem gud morning students but didn't get any reply. The principal whispered to me Dat dey dnt understand English n I was surprised. 'Wat den is d difference between them and those who aren't schooling?',I wondered inside me. "Inakwana ku"i manager to mutter as Paul told me it means good morning all. They all thundered" mallam Inakwana, mallam Inakwana "meaning Good morning sir. U nid to see the joy all over their faces with the little Hausa I spoke." l go survive", I said to my self as we made for jss3.

After the principal's introduction once more, I greeted dem in Hausa n dey replied. They were as much happy as their fellows in jss2.While we were in jss3,one thing caught my attention :the school was mainly populated by boys yet it isn't boys school. Just few girls like 5 in jss2 and 7 in jss3.
On our way back to the staff room to rest before I resume, I enquired why n was told dat gals dnt come out Dat much n dey dnt go-to sch like d boys to avoid exposure. Lol. Funny u might say.

After their break, I went to jss3 to know wat they know in English, the subject Dat was assigned to me. I started calling dem one by one to recite and write out the English alphabets and I met the shock of my life. No soul actually got it right. Few read it out but kudnt write dem complete without mixing dem with with Hausa alphabets! I was disappointed but I didn't give up. "I will leave a mark here before I go" I assured my self as I started writing and reading out the alphabets from A to Z. To pronounce english alphabets Dat are not in Hausa language was a problem. But at last we achieved Dat dat day though not all of dem were able to. I was using one stone to kill two birds in the course of teaching in that sch. I was teaching dem 'turenci', the name for English in Hausa and dey were telling me it's translation in Hausa.

After Dat, we went to greetings because an average person in Kore Dia will greet u gudevening in the morning.
Gud morning :Barka da safe /Inakwana
Gud afternoon :Barka da rana/inawuni
Gud evening :Barka da yenma/inawuni
Gud night :Sai gobe/Sai da safe

We were still at that wen I heard the sch bell around 12pm.l was told dat school closes by 12 during Azumi. "Gud Heavens" I sighed as I packed my English brochure n left. We later left Dat day and headed bck to the lodge quite hungry and exhausted. Shops were still closed so we went to Lodge and arranged something for ourselves to eat. We prepared anyhow rice Dat day and ate. We didn't leave the lodge that day because we hadn't made any friends.

Dat was it for my first day at school.

More to follow...

Is this thread helpful or just a trash. Do let me know

Fingers crossed...... Contunu

Pls bear with me friends. Hv written two parts today but it isn't updating. will do Dat later. Maybe Nairaland is down or network hitches

The second day at sch was not different from the first. The second day at sch was not different from the first .we wud wake up in the morning,go to sch,come bck around 12pm wen sch closes,prepare smtin to eatfrom the fud stuffs webrought from home,come out to gist with some jss3 girls dat used to come to keep us company.
We were not the ones dat invited dem o,dey came on dia own one faithful afternoon.we just came bck from sch dat particular day,ate n just decided to take our siesta wen we heared some group of girls calin us from outside.l was terrified at first and so i woke paul up to ask him if he had any clue as to who they were n he said no.As a result,we decided to go and n find out by ourselves.Wen we got to the gate,we saw a group of girls,about 5 of dem smiling and greeting us.″mallam jos da mallam fuus,inawuni ku″they said in unis″on meaning mr john and mr paul,gud aftnun .En mata kore,yakuke″we answere meaning kore girls,how are u? ″Lafya kalau,lafiya kalau″they answered meaning that they are fine.
We asked dem to come inside but they refused mayb out of fear or shame but i was soon to find out. I and paul went inside, brought out two plastic chairs and a bench.we sat on the chairs and offered dem the bench to wic they declined saying that dey enjoying sitting on the dusty ground.we were watching dem in amazement.as we sat down,they started bombarding us with all types of qestion:whether we are muslims,if we are married,which states we come from,whether we are hungry,if we wud allow dem to go n get water for us.lt as actually a question and answer discussion that first day to which was bound to charge in dia subsequent visits.l was able to flow along dat day as a esult of paul who was doing the interpretative role for me.
They were with us dat day till around 6pm wen dey called for prayers to break their fast.Males would rush to the mosques and d girls to their home to pray n break the fast for hat day.
We had no male friend for those days because dey gather as early as 5am inside mosques or under dogoyaro trees to medidate on the Koran n stay dia till around 6pm wen dey normally break deir fast.
In one of their visits one day,one of dem showed me anoda reason for their coming which i never envisaged.By dis tym,dey hv stated entering inside d lodge wen dey were convinced we wudnt take advantage of their coming. some of dm were sweeping and helping us wash cooking utensils buy Zainab chose to sit with me.wen she observed dat nobody was within hearing distance,she whispered to me,″kofa jos,mu na son ka″meaning that she luvs me! In order not to leyt her feel bad ,i returned the gesture by nsaying,″i na son ki Zainab″meaqning inluv u zainab.
Wen dey left that day,i called paul's attention to wat happened because he was making a call den.He asked me to treat it as a child's talk because one og dem called Aisha said same thing to him few days back.l asked him why he hasn’t told me and he said dia is no nid for that because it will never work due to the fact dat Jigawa is a muslim state n u dare not mess wit dia gals else u myt b charged to sharia court and ur life or hand will be lost if convicted.As a result of this,i kept Zainab and her overtures at arms length to avoid probem.But,they was anoda probem...
To be continued...

Ur title should have been "what u suffer while serving ur country" kai continue pls

donifecent:
Ur title should have been "what u suffer while serving ur country" kai continue pls

Lol. Service is all about sufferness. Though it depends on where u r posted in the first place. Keep on reading, I haven't even gone half.

Seems am going to learn some Hausa language with this ur write up

Gosj01:
Seems am going to learn some Hausa language with this ur write up

Sounds nice. Maybe I will have to be adding more of it for your benefit

After the break of their fast, things changed for the better in terms of access to few shades that they have there .As such,there was enough ″nama″,name for meat there.There was also ″kifi″{fish] in abundance.You can den infer that our delicacy started tasting better.Believe me you,if u purchase meat of 200 naira there,u will eat it for up to 4 days without finishing it.
Like i said earlier,things took a turn for the better after their azumi.For the sake of clarity,i will take their life styles one after the other.
RELIGION.
To an average person in Kore,it is religion first before life.They hold dia religion so dearly dat they are nready to die for it.You dare not say or do anything dat appaears blasphemous to their religion or u r on ur own.They wud first ask if u are a uslim b4 even asking for ur name.his goes to show you how they value their religion.Weneva prayer is bn called,u nid to see how all their males,young and old alike will abandon everytin they are doing and start rushing to the mosque.Even if they are selling a commodity to u and u hv collected the gud but hvnt paid,they will abandon u dia and start rushing to the mosque.lt is now left for u to wait for dem or come back later to pay.lf u want to play fast,u can abscond with their money and they wont even bother looking for you leaving everything to Allah who they bliv can't run away from.
One other thing i noticed is dat Yoruba muslims dnt enter dia mosque.Even the Fulanis are not allowed to worship with them.l wanted to ask dem why but paul warned me against asking irrelevant questions abt their religion b4 dey see dat as insulting and decend on me.
I quickly remove such thought from my mind.You nid to see elderly men above 100 years bowing down to their face to worship Allah.Trully,they are religious beings.
Their women and gals don’t enter their mosques which according to dem is to avoid distraction.What nif they die and go to heaven as they profess,will such separation be obtainable too? Many questions without answers.The bad part of their religion is dat dey dnt accommodate people of different faith.Once u r not a muslim,they see you as a lost soul and start behaving somehow towards u.They wont cease cajoling u to abandon us and embrace theirs .Some will even start seeing u as someone who have come to introduce ur religion to their children and as such they will start hating u for nutin ans warning their wards to keep away from u.
It isn’t just easy to serve at kore as a Christian but God saw us through.
To be continued...

Hmm.
let me spread my mat.
Oya op come and continue ur story.
I know there's more to come.

So how do u cope with them being a Christian and Is there any church around??

IghravweIG:
Hmm.
let me spread my mat.
Oya op come and continue ur story.
I know there's more to come.

Sure. Much more. I will update soon. How do u see the story. Am I making sense at all

Gosj01:
So how do u cope with them being a Christian and Is there any church around??

There is no church ⛪ in Garki LG as a whole not to talk of kore village. Corp members at d headquarter do arrange worship on Sundays but we were very far away. So I neva went to church 2ruout my stay dia

Respect55:


There is no church ⛪ in Garki LG as a whole not to talk of kore village. Corp members at d headquarter do arrange worship on Sundays but we were very far away. So I neva went to church 2ruout my stay dia

More of ur strories.
You make sense.
Wen shld we be expecting more stories??

Pheeco:


More of ur strories.
You make sense.
Wen shld we be expecting more stories??

Unfailingly tomorrow. Laptop ba3 is flat now n dey is no power. Chatting with phone now n it's difficult to type long article with phone. So bear with me till tomorrow.
I have more to write. All of their life style will be put down in writing

Respect55:




Sure. Much more. I will update soon. How do u see the story. Am I making sense at all

Yes, You are.

Respect55:


Unfailingly tomorrow. Laptop ba3 is flat now n dey is no power. Chatting with phone now n it's difficult to type long article with phone. So bear with me till tomorrow.
I have more to write. All of their life style will be put down in writing

update pls......

sasquareT:
update pls......

I will do. Surely. Today

[color=#006600][/color] so Muslim do segregate but when they travel out they will pretend as if they're one

donifecent:
[color=#006600][/color] so Muslim do segregate but when they travel out they will pretend as if they're one

Dats how it is o. Aldsame, I dnt like like criticizing people's religion but Dat is how it is at Kore in particular.

Continue abeg I dey enjoy your story...Mention me when you update.

Update today will surely come b4 9pm wen I retire for the day. I hv something on my hand Dat I'm doing so I write for pleasure. Sori for kipin u waiting peeps.

MARRIAGE.
This is anoda aspect of their live that they dnt joke with.As soon as a male child locks 18 years,he is bound to leave his father's house to stay on his own.lf by any means he dsnt have what it takes to rent or erect his own building which is normally a two─room building made of clay fenced throughout to avoid passer−bys from seeing their women/girls,his father is bound by tradition to provide one for him.You can imagine a situation where by a young man who is living on his own is not allowed to to visit his father's house like that so dat he won't see his(the father's) wives without hijab. The woman in question is his own mother o. sounds ridiculous.
As a said earier,the boy is supposed to get married as soon as he leaves his father's home.To get married dia,all he needs do is to make his intention known to his father who ten makes out time to meet the girl's father in question even without her knowledge.Then he gets an iron box,fill mit with goods mostly made of clothes and footwears. The box is den locked with padlocked and taken to the girl's home a mid night by elderly women.All they do is to come out in the night and make a cll that only dem understand.Those to carry the box to the girl know demselves so dey gather together n off they go.
It is after such box has been taken to the girl's place that the parents will inform her that the box was brought on her behalf.They den go ahead to tell her who the boy in particular is and she has no other option than to accept.lf she is still in school,she is made to drop out immediately lest another boy sees her.She begins to spend most of her time inside and only comes out by 4pm and 8pm to attend their 'karatu'(a formal gathering where they are been taught koran and its recitation in Arabic.Outside this,she is meant to stay indoors to prepare her for wat she is goin to face in her husband's place─married women rarely come out except at night or on serious occasions.
The next visit will be to pay her bride price which is normally between 30 to 50 thousand.Such bride price is normally paid twice on two occasion that they wud go their.lf u have the money,u r free to pay once.After the payment,'aure,'marriage ceremony will be fixed which must be from 3 months afar.
On the day of marriage,music will be set and all road will then lead to the mosque if it is the boy's first marriage.The girl in question won't go to the mosque(i have told u why b4) but will be represented by her parents.After everything dat will be done in the mosque(cant say much abt this because i hvnt entered one),everybody will march straight to the boy's house for refreshment.Thereater,at nyt around 9pm,married women will take the little girl to her husband's house.
As to how old a girl will reach before she is due for marriage,any age from 10 is okay.You hardly see a girl of up to 20 years their.The believe that it is always better to marry dem off when they haven’t been exposed to the world.You can imagine a situation where an elderly man of about 60 years will be getin married to a girl of 12years.Thats their tradition ad u cant take that away from dem.My employer,Mallam Musa did that,lol.

Ranchhoddas:
Continue abeg I dey enjoy your story...Mention me when you update.

i have bro