Corpers' lodge

My diary Comprise of two parts; The Journey to Iseyin, Oyo state on the 23rd of May. And The Camp Experience. This comprise the first part, The road trio.  It was a tedious but highly stimulating journey. At different points in the journey to Oyo, Various things crossed my mind. Enjoy.                    *   *   *   *    * May 23rd. 4:14pm. Shades of disregard. So, the driver slows down, alights and declares 'na oil i wan buy'.  Without any regard for us, the passengers. Moments ago, before several palm frond constructed stores, displaying yellow bags of garri and several lines of four litres, filled with red oil slid past us like a video reel, this driver complained of disregard. He was on top speed, disregarding my intimate conversations with Alessia cara, of which i didn't mind. He halted the bus suddenly, i looked up and saw a cattle herd crossing the road. The herdsman,...

Chika woke up to the sobs of his mother in the ward. He tried to reach for her face to wipe her tears but he felt a sharp pain. A drip was attached to his left arm. He sighed. "Mother what happened? Why am I in a hospital? " "Just rest Chi nwam, doctor said it's just rest you need." " I was with a wedding card mama, the card-" He cut short his statement as his mother pointed at the card on the table beside his bed. A good Samaritan  brought him to the hospital when he collapsed in the middle of the road. He spent three days in the hospital. On the way home from the hospital, his mother drove. The envelope was lying on the dashboard. He glanced at his mother and sighed. He couldn't be mad at her. Even though she told him she did not know about Trustlin's wedding, he wondered if he was not expecting too much of the woman.  What widow in the world would call his only son, far away at camp in Oyo, to tell him the great love of hi...

After arguing and fighting with people for many years now, I can proudly say, and without regret that I love to sleep. The rigorous and unorganized schedule of camp didn't change that. It didn't matter to me if I had to skip parade - skipping parade sounds rather permissive, the right word being "duck" parade. I strategically hung my mosquito net and covered myself in my blanket in a way that my roommates had a hard time telling if I was on my bed, except of course for my bunkie who always complained of how much I shook the bunk, which I blamed on the age of the bunk, when in fact it was an indices of how much I was enjoying my sleep - talk more of soldiers who came into rooms to chase us out. On the last day in camp, my bunkie, thinking he was doing me a favour woke me up by 3am! "3am?! Common! You should've given me an hour more"  was my thought, but my consolation was "It is the last day".  The day all the fears that lingered in my...

Chika staggered from side to side down the road, oblivious of his immediate environment. To passers by he could be judged as heavily drunk, but it was 4:00pm and he was sober. The soft evening wind gently harassed his unbuttoned khaki shirt. He was in his full NYSC uniform, the 7/7. His cap on his left hand and a wedding card on his right hand. He barely lifted his orange jungle boots, digging them into the red earth as he staggered home. His heart was shattered, his world was crashing. The day dreams and pictures he nursed in his mind since childhood, all broken. How it all went wrong, he couldn't have seen it coming. If their love was real it was difficult to explain and accept this turn of events but, If it was fake, then what have they been doing since over a decade ago. He needed answers but his grief was most persuasive.            * * * Chika walked into a class accompanied by his mum in 2005, after enrolling at the proprietor's office. This...

  The  Call up letter When I received my call up letter to serve my fatherland in Imo State, I was filled with so much joy and excitement that i was finally a confirmed corps member. Part of my joy was the pride of putting on the NYSC Khaki.  It was indeed a dream come true. For the sake of this article, I would advise you to go with the following: •     Your cardigan, •    Few clothes, •    Mosquito nets, •    Bed sheets, •    One white shirt and short •    Your certificates •    School I.D card •    Call-up letter •    Slippers •    Undies •    Plates, spoons, fork •    Bathing tools •    Etc Well, if you are the type that don't like carrying loads with you while traveling, you can buy all the above items on the campground. The Mami market comes in handy if you want to shop for things on the campground. Apart from carry...

Prospective Corp members are usually baraged with a lot of information,most of them conflicting. These informations range from Online registration, getting the call up letter, preparation for deployment and that picture listing the 'requirements' in camp. While getting this general information are thrown around, its harder to get detailed break down of what really would go down the first day at camp. We'll explore what an Otondo should be expecting and how S/he could make it easier. The first day of camp can roughly be broken down into five parts, arrival, accommodation, registration, kits collection and platoon registrations. Part 1:  Arrival. On arriving camp, you'd be directed to the police post, to have your luggage checked. The check is to ensure Corp members enter camp with the required materials and not prohibited materials. Afterward the Corper will be required to write down their name and will be given a number. This number is very important during re...