I and my fellow prospective corps members were ignorant to see ourselves as corps members, when we were still prospective corps
"It is not pronounced corpse rather it is pronounced as ‘Cor’ meanwhile the ‘ps’ in front is silent,” one of the camp officials taught us. Yet I was amazed to see some corps members pronounced it as ‘corpse'
It was so scary that I always caught the State coordinator staring at me. Could it be our eyes coincidentally glued each time he was addressing us? I wouldn’t know. The eye contact left me with agitation but I would later brush it aside. It was becoming a frequent reoccurrance each time he was addressing us. At times I tried hiding my face the other time I blushed. I felt he must have heard something bad about me but I had no bad record yet unlike other female married corps members who were caught engaging in amorous activites and were sent out of camp alongside their cataparts. I was always exaggerating. At times I felt it was my subconscious mind that was inflicting my conscious mind. Perhaps I was hallucinating. But I later realized it was becoming a reality because it was becoming worried and uncomfortable because the problem was susceptible of a simple solution. I was not going to stop unless I was out of his sight.
When I noticed I was being observed by NYSC camp officials. That strange look on their faces when they were addressing us. It was as if I was that element placed on observations. When I glued my eyes with them I felt uncomfortable they might call me out and embarrass me. I began to wonder, could it be I was easily spotted out of the crowd. I was fair but there were other fairer and lighter skinned girls in camp. Could it be my beauty was flashy and shouty, recognizable that always gets people attracted and their eyes spotting at me but there were other more beautiful girls in camp. My height was okay to be appreciated by everyone but there were other taller girls in camp.
Then they question I ceaselessly asked myself was, "Why am I getting those looks and attentions from the camp officials?" "Am I really drawing attentions to myself?" Perhaps there was something different and undefined about me that they always tried to figure out. Definitely there was more to it than just ordinary looks. Probably I was a reflection of a public figure, ugh! I believed they gave me another definition of my real self.
It is the high self image and standard you set for yourself that will dispose you to self confidence and respect.
Who knew what they were actually seeing in me to attract such stare and look on their faces whenever they were either addressing us on the pavilion or anywhere around the orientation camp. I confirmed the high standard they placed me when I began to observe words, the tone they talk to me whenever any of them peradventured had the cause to talk to me and those looks they gave me was admirable looks because I could see it in their eyes. I noticed Mr Kehinde Aremu, the camp coordinator was always looking at me. It wasn’t a cold look I must say. It was always warm and friendly look of recognition and respect. But I was a nobody to attract such noble looks.
I was very calm and quiet but how people took notice of me in camp I didn’t know. I always caught them staring at me. I could reminisce what Favour, one of my roommates in room four who was popularly known as Amibo, in camp once told me. “Don't think you can intimidate me with that your eyes. You are always authoritative.” I didn’t know where that statement was coming from. I later realized that people were always feeling intimidated with my looks. But I couldn’t still see something different and special about my looks. Could it be the sparkling eyes or what about me? I didn’t know. Favour's statement only reminded me of the words my platoon officer, Mr Jonah Efughu used on me my first day in camp.
It all started when I arrived at the camp gate. I remembered sharing my story with you guys, What sucks my trip to Umunya. How I was warmly welcomed and recognized by one of the female soldiers at the camp gate that made me felt so special.
The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) a one year compulsory programme for all graduates of higher institution that are under the age of 30 from Nigeria. Before the award of the discharge certificate. The first of the four cardinal points is the NYSC orientation camp.
After registration for NYSC, applicants that meet mobilization requirements are given a green card. This is followed by a call up letter indicating the state orientation camp of deployment.
Now my story is based on my camp experience. The orientation camp is a place corps members (CM) undergo series of training and development programs including skill acquisition training. One of the reasons for NYSC is for blending the different regions in Nigeria; Eastern, Western, Northern and Southern regions hence the deployment of a prospective corps member to another state different from their region or state. This orientation camp takes place within 21 days. They perform several activities. However, all these will not be possible without first registration at the camp.
When I had gotten all the necessary checklist items, I was good to go. It is good to arrive camp a day before if you can. There are some advantage to it. It reduces the stress of joining queue for almost anything you want to do. It also makes it easy for camp officials to attend to you because there will be few corps members to attend to. Most of the Camp officials are nice. However, do not take it for granted. Be polite to them at all times. They value greeting just like your lecturers do. Just that they may not show it. If you come a day before the official opening day, you can only do one thing. That is to secure an accommodation. Every other activity can only be done the next day. Also, accommodation can be the last thing to be done. But for convenience, register for accommodation on time. However, in my case, I arrived the exact day we were asked to report in camp.
Arriving at the camp gate, a checkpoint it was another small world. At the gate, a security operative will check your luggage in case you want to bring in prohibited items. Prospective corps members were asked if they had any objective or prohibited substance. “Saying no or hiding something weaponry or shape object that is against camping recommended items puts you under the law when you are later found wanting, that's when you are unfortunately caught. So nobody wants to be a scalp goat nobody would want to be caught in such indisciplinary at least not this early.
Never stop doing your best just because someone doesn't give you credit
No doubt some strong heads went in with shape objects but I played cool head and summited the comperse that accompanied my masset. "Are you an architect, this one you came with mathematics equipment,” one of the camp operatives asked. I smiled and proceeded. Also the security operative were checking prospective corps members call up letter and to identify the state NYSC orientation camp. If unfortunately they prospective corps member was not supposed to be at that particular camp or the person was using an old call up letter, they would have no option than to send him or her back home. They may also decide to check if they have the necessary documents to qualify for camping at that moment. Some people were sent home from here to get the complete items.
When I entered the camp gate, the environment was not enticing. I was not impressed with what my eyes saw, though I had no option, "Umunya here I have come" The first place I saw, was two NYSC official round a table, a place for accommodations registration to register for accommodation. I had to get accommodation first to help me keep my bag. It would relieve me of the stress of carrying bags around and the distractions I might get from carrying bags around. Now I had already envisaged how stressful it was going to be so I was ready.
Some orientation camp give all prospective Corps members (PCM) a code at the gate. Take it along with your bag and luggage to the accommodation stand. Write down your name and call up number in a book after providing your code given to you at the gate. The same information is entered into a form. The form is also filled by other prospective corps members (PCM). You will have to wait for the names to be up to a particular number. The number of bed space per room is what is needed for that list to be filled. If a room have 30 beds space, the list will be attended to when the names on it are up to 30.
However, all those in the list will be taken to a room. Each person will choose a bed space known as bunk. If there is a misunderstanding as to the choice of bunk between prospective corps members, the first person to write down their name on the list will be entitled to choose first.
In my own case it was very different, I went to the accomodation registration stand, I was given a form to fill my call up number and I showed my green card alongside other corps members. I was given a paper where they wrote silver up. I didn't understand this I went to silver hostel and went to the silver down to look for room, I succeeded in getting up bunk, though I loved the position I chose. It was very close to the window where I could hang my clothes. A fellow prospective corps member told me it was upstairs that what silver up means, so I decided to go upstairs to check how it was but when I got there I didn't like there, so I went downstairs.
Now what was left, the main registration proper. After securing an accommodation and a bed space, I kept my bags on the spring, move over to the registration stand. Some camp protocol calls for going back at the gate, the security man will direct you on what to do. The process is long and complicating for some camps. But Umunya camp was different, I went to the stand for foam collection.
It is camp officials who are assigned to attend to corps members from some particular schools. The security man at the gate will show you the stand for your school. For foreign trained graduate, they are directed to the stand where all their documents is verified with the documents they uploaded online. Go straight and join the queue. At this place, they want to see all your valid documents you were ask to bring to camp.
But Umunya camp, every prospective corps member was together, the difference was that there are queues but no specific school. The requirements were, NYSC original call up letter, NYSC green card duly signed by you, statement of result or certificate, final year school identity card, medical report or certificate, cover letter or licence. They need the original of all the documents. For non pharmacist, they are given a form called personal data form and they move onto the next phase. But for pharmacist, you need to go to another stand for your licence or cover letter to be verified. If you are going with a licence, chances are that the camp officials may be confused because many have not seen a pharmacist licence before, laughable, ugh! Yeah. What they normally see is the cover letter. Here at this stand, your documents need to be arranged in a definite manner. The arrangement is as follows; NYSC call up letter, NYSC green card duly signed by you, Statement of result or certificate, School identity card, Medical report or certificate, Cover letter or license.
Then, after verification of your cover letter or licence here, they will then direct you to go back to your school stand to continue the process. At your school stand, they will sign on your call-up letter and give you a personal data form. Head over to online verification stand.
Remember if you are pregnant or married, they will attend to you separately. Some of your details will help them to decide if they should start processing your redeployment to your state of choice or your preferred local government within the state.
Here, you will provide your signed call up letter and statement of result. After they have imputed some details into the system, you will be asked to thumb print. That is biometric clearance. However, if your biometric clearance fails, you just need to write and submit an application letter in the orientation camp before leaving. NYSC will drop it against next batch/stream for recapture. In my case the biometric was successful.
You will be given back your statement of result and call up letter after the biometric clearance. After giving me my statement of result. The call up letter was signed by them at another spot. I moved over to the next stand. They looked at my call up letter, signed it and gave me a state code, a personal data file, a perforated rope, an undertaking form and bank account opening form. You should write down your name, call up letter and state code on a book you will be given where other corps members also wrote theirs.
The personal data file will contain your already written state code that corresponds with your tag. You state code is your identification throughout your NYSC year. It contains the state short name, your year of service, your batch and your special number. From the special number, you all will be divided into one of ten plantoon during the 21 days orientation camp. The last digit is used to divide corps members into platoons. For example, my state code was AN/19B/4877 means I was deployed in Anambra during 2019 batch B orientation programme and it was platoon 7. In my case I was first issued a tag number of four digits, where they indicated my tag number, to help me identify my platoon easily. So the tag number was 4877. I never knew the significance of the tag number, I took it to a particular stand—platoon 9 where the platoon officer looked closely on my tag number and pointed at a certain stand, it was later I found out that it was stand 7 but couldn't still relate.
This was the stage to register with my platoon to enable me collect my NYSC kit, you can go to register with your platoon or go straight to the bank. It is advisable you go to the bank first because some of the data's will be needed at your platoon. But it wasn't so in my own case. Again, you don't leave with them any of the original documents, after they had a look and verified it, they will give it back to you. You can only submit photocopies.
The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others
So I followed the stand the officer directed me to locate my platoon officer. It was actually platoon 7 stand to get my NYSC complete kits. Though I was ignorant of what it was called. To collect your kit, you must write down your name, your state code and signature. I did all this and queued for my turn to collect my complete NYSC kit. The kit includes the following; Two white short, Two white T shirts, A pair of crested vest, white table tennis shoe, A pair of NYSC socks, A crested NYSC cap, A crested vest, A khaki shirt or jacket, NYSC belt, A khaki trouser, A pair of jungle boot.
When I met my platoon officer Mr Efughu, he was tall, huge and dark in complexion. He was sounding tough and harsh to prospective corps members, I concluded he was trying to protect his pride but not for me because I can be tougher. So his strict and unfriendly approach and attitude never scared me. I was too confident and bold. His attitude was irritating and I was surprised how corps members were shaking at his loud voice.
"You can bring heavens down, let fire and brimstone down and your voice can thunder like thunderstorm for all I care," I thought. I don't have any business with you, just give me my NYSC kit and let me bounce," I soliloquized. He noticed I was unshakable and his arrogance never triggered fear in me. I was firmly immovable. It was my turn, he arranged like seven NYSC kits on the ground and asked me "take one" I did and immediatelly a little girl brought big fancy Nylon to carry my kit. So I showed the little girl of eight #500 to give me balance of #400. "Aunty, you can go with the bag and give me later," she said. How on earth am I going to locate you as this camp is large. She gave me direction of where to locate her. I brought her to my hostel in case she didn't see me.
I had to check my NYSC kit and to check if they they my size. I checked, it wasn't a complete kit. The two white T-shirts were missing, I dropped the bag and rushed to the stand to report to the officer. "Sir, I just checked now, my kit is not complete. Two white T-shirts are missing," I said. He flamed up and started roaring at me like a wounded lion as if he was going to consume and tear me to pieces. "I gave you a complete kit and now you come back to say that it isn't complete. Why didn't you check here when I gave it to you?"
"Do you think I will deliberately deny two inferior T-shirts and come back to lie for another one?" I explained. I never knew it got him infuriated with so much pain and anger. "I am not giving you another one" he said. "He has to give it to me for it is my right, even when I know it is inferior," I boldly said. He thought he could intimidate me. Other platoon officers gathered and began to ask what happened, the more I explained to them, the more he got upset. I never knew that the reason for his madness was my boldness and he concluded that I was full of myself.
“Who do you think you are? Whoever is your husband I don’t care. I will slap you and wait for your husband." I now knew his plight. I confirmed his insecurity. I was embarrassed at this. I wasn’t married besides I didn't go to camp with any security so why was he showing his fright and insecurity. "So where is such feelings of insecurity coming from. Isn't he a man anymore? So he can be afraid of his fellow man?” I wandered. No doubt he was huge and very tall, his fine face not withstanding he was a dark skinned young man. I was left with thoughts of why he uttered those words to me simply because I found out I wasn’t with the two white T-shirts which I knew from the look of the shirts were very inferior to be compared with the super Victan I came to camp with.
Asking him to complete my NYSC kit became a crime. To clear his doubts “Do you think I would want to frame or cook up a story just to claim another pair of white T-shirts?” For him I believed those words sounded proud, arrogant and intimidating to him too. That was why he felt I had a rich husband perhaps I wanted to show off by showing that I had nothing to do with those pair of T-shirts but just to have them because it was my right. It wasn't anybody’s concern what I would later do with them possibly use them as rags. They began to talk to him, he had no choice than to say." He was happy his colleagues begged him, "Come back by 8pm by then we must have sorted out, if it remains then I will confirm and complete your kit. His colleagues began to beg me to go and return later. I later left. Read also, How I almost lost my sanity . After having dinner with my friend from Katsina, I went back and he was walking out of the hall with two other corps members who helped him carry the remaining kits, "Oh, you are here already, we are about leaving, give her a pair of T-shirts," he ordered but with a friendly and calm tone this time. "Who cares if he chose to be friendly or mean?" I ignored and left with the pair of T-shirts.
When Captain Adeyeye arrived in camp, every corps member was scared. We heard of how strict he was and how mean he was too, we became scared looking like scary birds hiding in their nest. We wouldn't want to be victim. But I never knew, there was another reason for the panic, there was complete pandemonium, everyone was in panic really. The next we were hearing was;
"Everybody hold your girlfriend, captain Adeyeye is in camp” that was what someone posted on Facebook. Anybody who did that should stop, because readers may misinterpret it," captain Adeyeye said as he continued. "I felt embarrassed when my wife called me to tell me what she saw on Facebook. I’m happily married with two kids, a boy and a girl. You should not write what may destroy one's reputation,” he pleaded when he was at silver hostel to address all female corps members concerning the recent happening. I believed he did same at the male hostel.
I noticed Captain Adeyeye always staring to spot at me and once he did, he wouldn't cease to staring at me until he finished addressing us. I never knew what the looks was about until he came out to plead on whoever wanted to tarnish his image. He was actually engaging himself in amorous behaviour. It was earlier he just arrived in camp few days ago. His eros was annoying and such obnoxious behaviour that it irritated they male corps members, and prompted them to write such post.
We never knew before then, he was asking female corps members out and pretending a ever mean and too serious commandant we were deceived by his camouflage. I began to confirm the rumours I was hearing about soldiers in camp and their escapade with female corps members in camp. A lot of amoral activities in camp already, without my knowledge on time because I was really not that type, so nobody was willing to tell me what was going on in camp. They all thought I was married and I was full of myself.
By thinking big we transform our world. Ben Carson
I was late for the ABS camp orientation audition so that made me to miss the audition. I believed I would have been qualified to be one of ABS broadcasters. I didn't hear about it. It was late after the audition had taken place that I went there but was told that they came to know the corps members that were selected. I believed I wasn't attentive all the while. So I was waiting for another activity to engage myself in camp.
I have always wanted to be a television host or presenter, so I wanted to grab the opportunity to go for the audition. But unfortunately I was late when OBS fm in camp was recruiting, on the day of their audition I missed the date. So when the state coordinator organized Essay competition I was very fast to submit before the expiration hour. The way those corps members in OBS collected my script and the ones I saw them copying to compile theirs, I zeroed my mind that my script was going to be copied to and wasn't going to be submitted. It was obvious they would screen theirs first in the list before thinking of submitting corps members who weren’t OBS members. It is better trying and not succeed than not trying at all. When I heard them announced of dancing and theater art/band and script writing group during the morning meditation at the pavilion, I decided to join. I knew I didn’t know how to dance or perform on stage very well but because I love art and again script writing was involved I indicated my interest.
The way you present yourself is the way people will address you
I later joined SDG when it was announced also, I was auditioned into the group as a member, my name was written in the "book of life", we performed other activities. We were given membership letter and project report activities letter. I didn’t come early, especially the time for giving of SDG Manual, it was a fat guide for SDG members but corps members who were punctual got a copy each. It was first forty. That was Mrs Ngozi, the head of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG). She introduced Ifeanyichukwu also known as 2nd son. He ushered him to come and assist her. That was my first time of hearing apama clap, rain clap, taborina, tobacco, and even queen Elizabeth clap. It was fun anyway.
Little did I know that everyone in camp thought I was married, fellow corps members, camp officials, state coordinator, and soldiers including the camp commandant, captain Adeyeye. It was all this happenings that indicated why the looks and attentions. They believed I was married to a rich husband but there were many married women in camp, so why only giving me attention more than necessary?
Always learn to set a high self standard for yourself to gain a high level of respect from people. Don't always make yourself look so cheap and inferior by allowing inferiority complex set in for others to intimidate you.
Read also, My terrible past childhood experience
Hope you enjoyed my story. Don't miss my next story, thank you!
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