MY NYSC CAMP THOUGHTS AND OBSERVATIONS 2

From my 2021 diary

11. "Japa" Gang

Hmm, I wrote this in 2021. This is 2024, is it still relevant? I will just rephrase. There is nothing wrong with wanting to leave your country for a short period of time. Do we need to start organizing excursions to change the Japa stereotype? I am writing this while in Nigeria but I might have "Japaed" by the time you are reading it (if I do, I will be back ;).

12. Lagos success myth

Lagos is a beautiful city with a healthy environment that supports the growth of businesses and tech startups. Regardless, I dislike the state because of the population, traffic congestion and air quality. I want to live long and the quality of air that I breathe is important to me.

During the 3-week orientation camp, A large percentage of those relocating are moving to Lagos. Some people don't even know what they want to do there but they believe that as soon as they step on the sole of their feet in the state and see yellow Danfo buses they have made it in life.

This is not entirely a myth. No thanks to Nollywood movies for shaping the narrative. Opportunities exist everywhere and much more compared to older times opportunities for Africans exist. You just need to find the right opportunity, and platform and brace for impact.

The next time you feel pressured, remember that Tolulope Theresa Gbenro served in Ilorin Kwara State and is not a failure or a miserable person! Phew!

Fruits have seasons and so do humans! With the help of technology fruits can grow outside their normal seasons and so can humans!

Phew! That was intense! deep breathe! breathes oxygen!

13. NYSC is trying

Before you complain about the number of crested vest, oversized khaki and jungle boots given to you. I see a structured organization with a vision. For those in business you will agree that it is not easy to manage a Franchise (you should watch "The Founders" or ask the McDonalds brothers). A lot of money has been put into the scheme to make readily available printed materials with the necessary information required by corp members. There are definitely areas requiring improvements. Growth is a process.

In my camp we were 1939 corp members and the feeding budget was 650 naira per head daily for 3 square meals. You can do the mathematics yourself. Although foodstuffs were affordable where and when I served. my opinion the budget was still small.

Regardless, the NYSC management in my state and kitchen staff tried with the quality of food served. The quantity also increased with time. Kudos to them. Every time I ate and enjoyed my meals, I felt happy for those who could not afford to eat from the Mami Market. I was happiest when my platoon or my friends were serving :)

We all hate corruption but when the corruption affects you positively it is called favour.

14. Dear plastic recycling companies, you are needed in camp

I don't recall the number of times I stared at plastics on the floor in camp just to calculate the amount of money I would have made from selling them. "Cries in discarded plastics". Many of them ended up burnt! (You know what Tolu Thunberg has to say about that?) With the little population of corp members in my camp, at least a ton of plastic could have been recycled weekly. Let us not even talk about camps with larger populations. Personally, I think plastic recycling should be a Skill Acquisition Entrepreneurship Development (SAED).

15. Strike did a lot of people dirty

The average age of most corp members on camp was between 24-29 (including those that swore affidavit to change their age). It is sad to see that students spent 6 years to study courses worth 4 years. I am more concerned that a number of the people affected by the strike see it as normal. "This should not be normal!"

`16. It should be a Federal or international Crime for any state in Nigeria to exist without an airport

I am not even joking. Ask those that traveled for over 16-20 hours by road to get to camp. Like me. Emphasis on "functional airports". For example, there is an airport in Ilorin but someone traveling from Port Harcourt, needs to get a flight to Lagos and then fly from Lagos to Ilorin (as at 2021, I don't know of now).

It should also be a crime to travel long distance by road. Suffering should not be normal. Sighs in soft life and sips smoothy.

17. Government parastatals need more young educated people in government.

We had someone from a government agency proudly say that youths were empowered with 3,000 naira each (That is less than the transport fare for most corp members to get to camp, In 2024 that is a portion of special rice from the place without meat. A corp member asked a representative from the NDLEA about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder OCD and ADHD Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder and how it affected substance abuse and the representative didn't know. I was not surprised! Should I mention the representatives that were using "self-reliance" as a national value to justify the current state of unemployment in the country? It is well oh!

18. Debate review

The debate topic in my camp was "Understanding the national youth policy 2019, as a panacea for effective generational leadership". I was sad because only the representatives from platoon 8 (David and Daniella) spoke against the topic constructively. Others spoke for the topic and sang the praises of the government using N-Power and the SAED program to buttress their points. You can download the document and review it.

I think the model of winning this kind of debates is to sing the praises of the government while sounding like Adolf Hitler then complain about the government at the slightest convenience. God help us! Amen!

19. Nigeria sleeps and wakes up by 6:00am and 6:00pm

As a nation, we take our mental health seriously. If only our national treasury was as round and buoyant as our pot bellies. Sigh! I don't have a problem with the bedtime, I will just appreciate if she kept to it especially in Lagos.

In the military there is a long trumpet procession to wake her up and send her to bed. In the morning, it sounds like a lullaby and at evening it sounds like a lullaby or a solemn hymn for a wake-keep service.

20. Others

Humans are social beings as we know and what better way of experiencing camp that with those you have spent over 10 hours in a road trip to camp. Yeah! That was how the basic cliques were formed. They were adorable at first, like house fly following shit up and down until priorities change or they find another shit to chase.

Boundaries!

Hmm, the number of people I punched. rephrase, the number of male species of humans I punched! I know I look like a cute teddy bear with round cheeks that can not raise a finger but please don't grab and touch people indiscriminately especially after using your hands to scratch your butt.

Everyone can dance!

The morning drills coupled with great instructors and good music brought out the musician in me. I danced well. If not for NYSC travel restrictions you would have seen me on America's Got Talent. In fact, once I blow and leave my parents house, I will pursue my dancing career. A multi-talented queen I stan!

Stereotypes still exist!

I once had a male ask me why I was going for solar panel installation as my SAED instead of food processing (sadly people like this still exist in this age and time, let's blame the strike).

Marching is a great way to loose weight!

From just marching you can take over 10,000 steps in s day. Looks like a healthy way to grow leg muscles. Mr Macho! ;)

See you in my next article.