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sconp:

Thank you too

Thanks

sconp:


Hi Crazyman, I think anit spam bot has hidden one of OP update. Episode 23 precisely.

Thanks man

sconp:

I think the anti spam bot is hiding it. Contact any of the mods to unhide it.

Just seeing this now. How do I do that?

Compliments of the season.

Thanks for reading.

AN ABIA CORPER'S MEMOIR
EPISODE TWENTY-FOUR: THE POSTING
Tuesday, 15th August 2017

I woke up by past 2am to do my final packing. When I went out to brush my teeth around 3am, I was surprised at the number of people I saw outside, 3am has become the new 5am. I went to get water and met a long queue with only two taps running at low pressure indicating that the water remaining won't go round. Disagreement erupted here and there until power was restored and I finally fetched water after queuing for about 30 minutes.

I took my luggage to the OBS building after dressing up and again saw a longer queue at the point where beds were returned in order to get accommodation clearance, so I didn’t return my bed until later when the queue had diminished. I took breakfast of bread and tea, chatted with some friends and relaxed until the closing ceremony began proper with the late arrival of the representative of the State Governor.

The ceremony came to an end and we all went to our various platoon officers for our posting letters. Isiala-Ngwa has been the most talked about LGA because of rumours of them eating humans, so many were praying not to be posted there. I got my posting letter and realized I was posted to Emmanuel Group of Schools, Ohanze, Obingwa LGA and a strange fear-like feeling came over me. I didn’t anticipate such feeling because I was willing to go anywhere, Isiala-Ngwa inclusive. I have always believed I can have fun and an interesting experience anywhere.

The last bus to Obingwa LGA which I boarded left by past 3pm and for the first time in the last 21 days, I was out of camp, out of the regimented lifestyle and now on the streets of Abia state. It has been a wonderful, once-in-a-lifetime experience but as my version of the saying goes, "nothing lasts forever, even Hausa perfume".

THE END

#nysc #corper #abia_corper

Get ready for the last episode ...

AN ABIA CORPER'S MEMOIR
EPISODE TWENTY-THREE: MY BIRTHDAY
Monday, 14th August, 2017

The saying, "early to bed, early to rise" proved true this morning as I woke up past 2am feeling well rested. I went online to post "Happy Birthday to me" on Facebook and saw a video and two photos sent to me by a friend, Kevwe wishing me happy birthday and they served as my Instagram posts. On the parade ground, fellow platoon members wished me happy birthday and online friends did likewise. Today almost went sour as I continued looking for the misplaced book almost all afternoon but couldn’t find it.

Later on, the state coordinator addressed us in the multipurpose hall and awarded exceptional camp officials and corps members such as the parade commander. Both the OBS crew and the sanitation police presented the items bought for the camp to the state coordinator. Nothing else worthy of note happened all afternoon (today of all days, you can imagine!). It has been a boring birthday and the only thing I hoped on to eliminate the boredom is what will take place tonight at OBS.

The time finally came for the OBS get-together and chairs were arranged round a straight, long array of tables in front of the OBS building. The studio instruments were brought outside and a show where people called in to make a shout-out was done. The event started proper with a short introduction of ourselves and a birthday song was sang when it was my turn to introduce myself. Next, the PRO addressed us, appreciated us for the work done and even said we are the best OBS crew he has ever worked with. The time for refreshment came and we were served chicken suya and malt drinks, though someone brought rum that was also shared among those interested. We danced and the curtain for the get-together was drawn.

I went straight away to mammy market after the get-together because I heard it was fun the night before as evidenced in the increased noise-making that tormented me before going to bed last night. I got there and there were more bottles on tables than usual with corps members and soldiers sharing tables, everywhere was filled and you could tell that tonight is a special one, the last night in camp.

#nysc #corper #abia_corper

AN ABIA CORPER'S MEMOIR
EPISODE TWENTY-TWO: THE LAST SUNDAY
Saturday, 13th August, 2015

It's the last Sunday in camp. I resolved to do my last camp laundry since we will be leaving on Tuesday. Two issues arose; the first was getting two empty buckets (mine had been stolen) and getting a place to spread the washed clothes since a lot of people wash on Sundays, but that didn’t deter me anyway. I finished washing, took my breakfast and went to church. Today's service was a special one as new executives of the fellowship, NCCF were inaugurated. The new executives were called out and prayed for with two of my university school mates, Samuel and Tessy as part of them. The service ended as usual with the NCCF family song.

I had my siesta, took lunch and continued looking for the book I forgot at our stand the night before. I went to the OBS building to ask whether it has been found or get it announced over the camp radio and got into some conversations that kept me there for some time. I later relaxed on one of the beds and started thinking of how far God has brought me and couldn’t help but thank Him. He has been keeping me and I'll be a year older tomorrow and that is a testimony. I chatted with some friends after dinner and went to bed before 9pm, my earliest bedtime in camp.

#nysc #corper #abia_corper

AN ABIA CORPER'S MEMOIR
EPISODE TWENTY-ONE: THE COOKING COMPETITION
Saturday, 12th August, 2017

OBS crew members went to the OBS building to sort NYSC ID cards into the ten platoons, after which I had breakfast. I had my siesta and went to my platoon's stand to assist in the cooking competition. We brought chairs and tables to our canopy, fetched water, bought firewood, got cooking utensils from the kitchen and also rented some. Each platoon was given about a quarter bag of rice (about 217 members in a platoon), raw meat, about 1.75 liters of groundnut oil and some other ingredients. What we were given was obviously not enough, so we went to purchase more cooking materials (including rice) needed for the cooking using the money we contributed.

Other platoons had started cooking or at least making fire, washing meat, etc. but nothing had begun in my unserious but interesting platoon until few minutes to 4pm. We started cooking and everyone wanted to be the chief cook with some complaining about the method of others but it was fun as we progressed and everything fell into place. My platoon prepared what we were given, i.e. rice and noodles given to us by Tummy Tummy noodles. To my surprise, some other platoons included various types of soups and 'swallows' but I wasn’t bothered because I thought we were not going to be judged for other meals.

Then came an issue with the jollof rice we were preparing, it was not evenly cooked, it was a mixture of well cooked and fairly cooked rice. The group who wanted the rice to be parboiled started to blame the other group that insisted that parboiling was not necessary but washing with hot water. It was finally resolved as we came to the conclusion that the various kinds of rice used may have caused this, whereas the bottom was well cooked and that's what will be presented to the judges.

The meals were finally ready and all platoons took their delicacies to their canopies now on the parade ground to present them on well decorated tables. My platoon prepared a three course meal of fruit salad as appetizer, jollof rice garnished with diced liver and fried meat as main meal and noodles prepared with eggs, vegetables and beef for dessert. Peanuts, fruit juice, canned drinks, bottled water, cutleries and empty plates were also neatly arranged on the table. The tasting started and the judges tasted all the meals including the soups I told you about and went away with everything on each table. While this was going on, loud music played from the speakers on the elevated stage brought by the sponsors (Sminorff) while corps members were dancing and having fun. Various musical performances took place and it was more than a cooking competition, it was a party - the last party in camp.

The results were announced, platoon 1 took the 1st position while platoon 10 took 10th (what a coincidence!) even though they prepared various soups. At least, platoon 3 didn’t take the last position in any competition, though we didn’t take first either. The party was taken to the next level and there was more than enough food to go round. Beautiful Sminorff ladies dressed in all black gave mixed drinks in disposable cups to all that cared for and the party progressed despite the rain. It all came to an end when the bugle blew by past ten.

#nysc #corper #abia_corper

Sarpyro1:
Wow! nice write up... I'm currently serving in Abia state l8Ci

Thanks. Which LGA? I served in Obingwa

AN ABIA CORPER'S MEMOIR
EPISODE TWENTY: THE MOST ANTICIPATED EVENT IN CAMP
Friday, 11th August, 2017

This morning's man o' war drills were the best ever. We jogged round camp clapping and singing and finally settled to play different exercising games. Next, we did an intra-platoon race competition where those to represent platoon 3 for the inter-platoon race competition were selected. After breakfast, I had my longest siesta in camp, it lasted for about 3 hours (by this time, the race competition was ongoing). I woke up, went for lunch and collected my #19800 allowance without stress as there was no queue.

It was announced that those who missed their man o' war drills should come for theirs. I had missed it because my platoon had theirs on the debate day while Andy and I were preparing. This is an experience I do not want to miss because I may not have it again (remember I intend to make every moment count). I didn’t plan to take photographs because phones were not allowed for taking photos but ended up taking 19 photos worth #3800 (I know this was an irrational decision but it felt good). The drills involved navigating various obstacles and climbing ropes. Some of the gadgets used include tunnel, pigeon hole, Jacob's ladder, Scramble net, 6 and 12 feet wall, gorilla bridge, etc. I will say this was my most interesting experience in camp.

Fast forward to evening to the most anticipated event in camp - the Mr. and Miss NYSC competition. The multipurpose hall was already filled even before the show started. It was beautifully decorated and a different and better sound system provided by the sponsor (Nigerian Breweries) was used. The show kick-started around 08:35pm with the contestants labeled A to J coming out in pairs (male and female) as white fowls in their immaculate white attires. Comedians, artistes and a dancer performed while the contestants changed into their evening wears.

The evening wears were glamorous, the men wore perfectly tailored suits, sparkling wristwatches and shoes that reflected the camera flashlights descending on them. The ladies wore flowing dinner gowns (some even cleaning the tiled stage), glittering necklaces, earrings and bracelets and their flawless made-up faces seemed too good to be true. I wondered how the judges would make their decisions because I would have been confused if I were one.

After parading and queuing up on stage, each pair of contestants came forward to dance as R & B songs emanated from the huge, black, loud speakers; you are not human if you don’t feel the emotion and excitement in the air. They went back to their positions on the stage posing elegantly and smiling throughout while they provided answers to the questions they picked randomly. Other set of performers came up stage while the results were collated with the crowd cheering and anxiously waiting for the results.

The results were finally announced and platoon 8 contestant became Mr. NYSC while the Miss NYSC crown went to platoon 9 contestant. The top three contestants were presented with gifts such as microwave, LCD TV, refrigerator, etc. Next was dance, dance, dance and the dj played the right party jamz as evidenced in the roars of fun as each track is changed. The soldier blowing the bugle came into the hall to blow for light out because it was already past eleven but the bugle sound seemed to add flavour to the music as the shouting and dancing intensified. The dj finally stopped playing by 11:22pm and everyone dispersed. What a night!

#nysc #corper #abia_corper

AN ABIA CORPER'S MEMOIR
EPISODE NINETEEN: MY THOUGHTS

Let me at this juncture give my impression about the orientation camp with all I have seen thus far. I will begin with the meals. Within the first few days we arrived camp, the meals were okay quantity-wise (I am a light eater) and manageable quality-wise. But later, there was a drastic decline in both quantity and quality and coming relatively late (though within the time allotted for meal) is almost tantamount to not getting food or getting it in drops. I had been given tasteless rice without meat, I complained to the server and she said I was not even happy I got rice, you can imagine how graduates are treated for something the federal government has paid for. I had also been given small, oiled yam that could as well be mashed for baby food, tea that could pass for sweetened herbs, meats that could be mistaken for seasoning cubes (they are that small even though they were not even fried), etc.

Next are the amenities in Abia camp. The first thing I (or anyone else) noticed is the lack of maintenance culture. I was surprised to know the facility was just ten years old. The pavilion roof looked like poorly done thatched roof, the multipurpose hall leaks when it rains, even on the stage, the water tanks (even though few) were all opened, I stopped drinking the water when I noticed this. I don’t know whether the bathrooms were designed to retain the bathing water as you have to sweep thoroughly after bathing, so most of us bathe outside, there is not even a tap around the bathroom or toilet area, you have to walk some distance before you can get or even buy water, the toilet does not have an outlet for waste water and the list goes on. Something really has to be done about the camp facility because I wonder what it will look like in a few years’ time.

You want to know what I feel about the behaviour of corps members since we are all graduates? I am challenged by the behaviour, experience and intellect of some and those are the ones I mingle with and try as much as possible to learn something from. But there are those I just imagine what they look like. For example, those who don’t flush the toilet, the one who took the bottle of water I wanted to brush my teeth with and returned it empty, the one who stole my bucket from right under my bed. There are others I know like the ones who don’t take correction, the one who was proud of stealing someone else's bucket of water, the guy who is always drunk every time of the day, those who don’t want to queue and behave like it's their right and the list goes on. Sometimes I wonder whether we are all graduates.

#nysc #corper #abia_corper

AN ABIA CORPER'S MEMOIR
EPISODE EIGHTEEN: THE INTER-PLATOON PARADE COMPETITION
Thursday, 10th August, 2017

After morning devotion, the PRO (Public Relations Officer) told all OBS crew members to wait behind. He was very angry with us because only few crew members carried out their responsibilities in OBS, leaving the work for a few and he collected our OBS tags. I believe the reason why some joined OBS is because they don’t want to partake in the parade since that was the orientation I got before orientation camp but not why I joined.

The meeting ended and we went for lectures on INEC and YEDP (Youth Empowerment Development Project) after which we went for SAED exhibition. At the exhibition, all the different classes showcased their materials and what they produced during the five-day skill acquisition training. Dignitaries attended the event and went round the various SAED stands where corpers explained to them what they had learnt. During the exhibition, I finally met Joanne since the last time we met and used the opportunity to ask her questions concerning her work as a writer and she gladly provided all the information I needed.

When the exhibition was coming to an end, I went to my hostel to do some laundry, the first time I will wash in the afternoon, since that’s the time others’ buckets will be empty as mine was stolen from right under my bed a few days ago. While washing, the people paying 'alawee' (monthly allowance of #19800) came to pay us in cash and this brought about an 'infinity-sized' queue, so I didn't collect mine today.

The inter-platoon parade competition came up a few hours later. It was a colourful event as we all put on our crested vest which accentuated the uniformity of the parade routine exhibited by each platoon. It was a stressful event for the participants as they had to stand for an extended period of time and two corpers fainted, including one from my platoon.

In every competition, there must be a winner and to my astonishment, no platoon exceeded a score of 50% as given by the judges. Platoon 10 came out first while my platoon took the fourth position. The top three platoons carried their instructors and a song of victory played from the loud speakers.

#nysc #corper #abia_corper

AN ABIA CORPER'S MEMOIR
EPISODE SEVENTEEN: THE JEANS CARNIVAL
Wednesday, 9th August, 2017

I went to the camp market to charge Sarah's power bank I had drained and guess who I saw there, Harley, the exceptional debater I told you about. We chatted for a while but I had to let him go because he was going to eat at a cafeteria.

The jeans carnival and cultural presentation was supposed to take place after lunch but thank God it rained as I had the opportunity to relax properly. Waking up, I put on my blue jean, white vest and sneakers. I got out and it was a colourful event as beautiful designs were printed on most corpers' vest. Beautifully designed hand-made and ready-made carnival masks adorned our faces and rich cultural attires of various cultures assigned to each platoon were worn by the cultural demonstrators. Each platoon went round the parade ground passing in front of the high table with the culture representatives taking the lead and the rest of the platoon following behind, chanting and singing in that culture.

For me, it was photograph galore as I took almost a hundred photos until my phone battery ran flat. The result for the cultural display was announced and platoon 5 won. They roared aloud with shouts of victory and marched round with the band to the camp market, stopping at strategic places to dance while the drums, trombone, trumpet and other musical instruments played in concert.

I went to Harley's hostel after dinner and met him with his friend, Kelechi (he also debated for his platoon) who recognized me because he was among those I interviewed few nights before. We talked basically about writing, books and Harley's debate and I was enlightened. The talk was more like an interview as I asked most of the questions while Harley and Kelechi answered. After about an hour of discussion, I took my leave and ran to my hostel as it was already raining.

#nysc #corper #abia_corper

AN ABIA CORPER'S MEMOIR
EPISODE SIXTEEN: THE TALENT HUNT SHOW
Tuesday, 8th August, 2017

During the morning devotion, the camp director made an announcement that one of the boys' hostel, Ochendo X1 (I stay in Ochendo X2) is the neatest and the girls' hostel is the dirtiest. She also announced the debate results and my platoon came third out of ten, our opponents took the first position. This was an improvement in my platoon's positions when compared to our position in previous activities. We took 5th in the recently held Miss BBB (though I believe we deserved higher), 9th in the drama and dance competition and didn't pass the first round in the volleyball and football competition.

We commenced parade, putting on our crested vest in anticipation of the arrival of the NYSC Director General. We later went for breakfast of beans and pap, and for the first time in my life, I put the pap directly on the beans because I didn’t want to relinquish my position on the queue by returning to the hostel to get my cup, and to my amazement, it tasted normal.

The representative of the DG finally arrived and was entertained with cultural displays, man o' war games and was saluted in our usual way by removing our head dress (cap). I chatted with some friends afterward and the discussion was on relationship (I know you want to hear about this but I won't tell you the details) and I got to see people's perspective on relationship issues.

Evening parade came and as usual, my platoon was not serious about it and we ended up not doing much. I later went to a part of the camp I had not been to where some platoon 3 members were rehearsing their dance for the next day's jeans carnival and cultural display, my platoon representing the Yoruba culture. I was not surprised at the gross lack of maintenance I saw there just like the other parts of the ten-year old facility.

After having dinner of a sacrifice-like meal of yam porridge (yam and oil), I went to the multipurpose hall for the evening's talent hunt show. The turnout was very poor, mainly because we were not forced outside, so the event was not as interesting as I envisaged. Corps members presented dance, comedy and drama. The event ended by past ten.

#nysc #corper #abia_corper

AN ABIA CORPER'S MEMOIR
EPISODE FIFTEEN: THE DEBATE
Sunday, 6th and Monday 7th August, 2017

I woke up around 7am feeling pains all over and went to the OBS building to get something. Fortunately for me, the generator was on and I utilized the opportunity to charge my phone that had been down since the previous day as I need it to prepare for the debate taking place the next day, Monday. I needed a lot of time on the topic my platoon was in support of: the rule of law is a hindrance to the fight against corruption in Nigeria. To cut the long story short, I continued my research on the topic until after lunch when interested platoon members came to discuss the topic till almost dinner. Andy, a fellow platoon member and I still waited after dinner until light out fine-tuning our points.

I woke up on Monday morning around 3am and continued working on the debate, writing out separately what each speaker will present and did some personal writings afterward. We went to the multipurpose hall after breakfast where we had lectures on leadership and were introduced to the Igbo language. We later went for SAED and were taught cattle rearing in the agro-allied class. Later in the evening, my debate partner, Andy and I began rehearsing until dinner.

The debate commenced by 8pm with two platoons going head-to-head against each other, giving a total of five debate sessions on different topics. It was really an exciting time as graduates engaged in erudite arguments. We were the fourth set of debaters and it was a heated battle between us and our opponents as one of the judges confirmed. The final debate, i.e. the one after ours caught my attention because of the last speaker. This guy had charisma and his presentation was flawless. If there was a best debater of the night, I believe he would be the one, so I decided to speak with him after the event.

At the end of the debate, one of the judges came on stage to correct our mistakes and rounded up the event by few minutes past ten.

#nysc #corper #abia_corper

AN ABIA CORPER'S MEMOIR
EPISODE FOURTEEN: MISS BBB COMPETITION
Saturday, 5th August, 2017

It began to rain during morning devotion, so we had to go to the multipurpose hall. The camp director continued her address she began earlier on the parade ground. She talked about the NCCF, Catholic and Muslim associations been the only recognized religious bodies on camp, reiterated that relocation is only permitted on marital and health grounds and that we should not rewrite our destiny by lobbying for posting which she said is impossible anyway. We were given a short talk about our Primary Place of Assignment (PPA) and later went out for sanitation exercise where we were given polythene gloves with each platoon given an area to take care of.

After breakfast, we went for lectures on responsibe drinking (Drink IQ) and SDG and were taught about business plan. Later on, we went for family meeting where our platoon officer advised us on how to utilize our service year, answered our questions and also talked about the social activities in camp. When he left, we (platoon members) came together to discuss on how to move the platoon forward and I noticed that everyone comported themselves and showed keen interest in the prosperity of the platoon, certainly because of our poor performance last night.

Tonight's event is Miss BBB and the OBS crew prepared the multipurpose hall for the event. The pageant finally began around 08:30pm and the hall was filled beyond capacity. In their first outing, each contestant came out on white vests and shorts, paraded and danced on the stage. They were tagged with letters in a random order so as to conceal the identity of each platoon representative. Before the second outing, there was a break where recording artistes and a dancer (all corps members) performed on stage to entertain the audience.

The contestants came on stage on dinner gowns and were asked questions pertaining NYSC by picking a number. The results were announced and there was an uproar, some of celebration, others of unfair judgment. In my own opinion, the winner definitely merited it as she was the biggest, wowed the audience and answered her questions correctly, though I have reservations about some of the decisions taken by the judges. The winner was awarded a refrigerator, first runner-up - a microwave and the second runner-up - a standing fan. Consolation prices of the sponsors (Hero lager beer) were given to other contestants.

After the official closing of the event, music blared from the speakers and there was energetic dancing and picture taking greater than that of the welcome party till about 10:30pm - the second time light out was exceeded in camp.

#nysc #corper #abia_corper