NYSC: Its Gifts Within

I am a week from passing out from the National Youth Service Corps, and if I were to attribute the experience to one word – it would be intriguing. My NYSC year started with a bit of running around as is expected. As I had initially been posted to Akwa Ibom, and after three weeks of experiencing that kind of air that does not kill (PH people, you should get this), I made my way for Lagos, my state of redeployment. Lagos, for anyone that does not live here primarily, can feel like a dough that did not properly bake. A sharp contrast to the easy moving flow of Uyo and the laissez faire nature of Port Harcourt, it comes like a slap that does not soothe quickly. Prior to my move, I had been requested to serve in a consulting firm and made my way early to do the modalities. What I noticed most about the ‘corpers’ in Lagos was the aura of confidence so easily exuded. They (or, should I say ‘we’) moved with an identifiable air attributable to those who knew what it was they were doing at any moment in time. I do not know why this is so, however, I can only attribute it to the fact that most people that served in Lagos lived in Lagos so they know the city as much as they know themselves.

Eti-Osa was my local government and it is often referred to as one of the richest in the country. On my first visit, those of us that had redeployed or that just got ‘posted’ to our Places of Primary Assignment (PPA) brought with us our mint letters revealing top or middle-bracket firms in whatever industry they operated. This brought a kind of respect. When you said you worked in a top firm, people asked questions and made inferences. It was interesting seeing how titles brought certain assumptions of one’s capabilities. This is another story on human psychology. In truth, Lagos was kind to me – I still feel that I am fortunate to have had a very reasonable passage of time amidst its chaos. Traffic was almost always soft especially as Uber gifted me with five free trips a week for four months and Bolt (former Taxify) had so many promo codes I used every once in a while. Hence, transportation was never too difficult, and I guess I cannot help but mention how this aided my eagerness in my PPA. I worked enthusiastically, not only because I could but, because the conditions were favourable to me – I do not take this for granted.

My most memorable event from the year is the Malaria Outreach my CDS group organized. It was at Oniru in Victoria Island – and I can imagine you thinking why we would choose that site considering the surrounding affluence. That is one thing you learn in Lagos. Do not be deceived by what you see. Truth be told at the time, I did not understand why we had chosen malaria and why the leaders were going after it with such energy. My vision had not aligned with theirs but on the 16th of September, it did. During the sensitization, we got questions like “Is Buhari coming?” They did not believe these were carried out by young people with the sole intention to help alone. After our sensitization, we got a crowd of over 300 people. A lot of us were puzzled. This is malaria, after all, drugs are subsidized. Why are there so many people?

In my PPA, colleagues were constantly shocked that I rocked my NYSC uniform in the office whenever I had a running around to do. They called it ‘bold’ and ‘courageous’, it was something I never understood. Some things are to be ashamed of, NYSC is not one of them.

We had organized our event into five categories: registration sections, vitals sections, the doctor’s consultation, a lab, and a pharmacy. The modus operandi was simple. Every patient needed to register to get a slip. After which, they would proceed to the vitals section for blood pressure and temperature checks. This followed by their first meeting with the doctor. The doctor recommended them for tests or not. The lab carried out the tests. Whether positive or negative, the results were sent to the doctor who recommended drugs and the patient would be sent to the pharmacy. The pharmacy collected the slips and passed them to the administrative head to be documented. Nursing mothers and fathers were given mosquito nets, mosquito propellants and insecticides. For anyone that participated, it was the best outreach we could have imagined– there was no security, just us. The energy of the people fueled our excellent delivery. At the end, we reach out to over 500 adults and 200 children.

NYSC represented a transition I cannot help now but appreciate. The concentration of people I met – passionate young people from everywhere in Nigeria – who genuinely wanted to make something of themselves made it worthwhile. In my PPA, colleagues were constantly shocked that I rocked my NYSC uniform in the office whenever I had a running around to do. They called it ‘bold’ and ‘courageous’, it was something I never understood. Some things are to be ashamed of, NYSC is not one of them. I did good this year and perhaps, it heralds what the future holds.