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The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), created in May 1973, is celebrating its 50th anniversary. To commemorate this, Citizen spoke to former and serving corps members. They shared their thoughts on whether the scheme should stay on or be scrapped.

Opinions were mainly divided among three camps. The “let it stay” guys argued that the NYSC remained relevant in fostering unity and job creation for Nigerians. The “let’s get it scrapped” folks said they didn’t benefit from the scheme and that it doesn’t serve the purpose it was created for. A third group, the “chill first” guys, said the NYSC should be revamped and given a fresh look.

In any case, Twitter gave us many smashing photos of young Nigerians who reminisced about their time in service. To feast your eyes, type “NYSC50” or “NYSCat50” in the search box. That said, I’d later stumble on an interesting tweet. I also had a conversation with a friend, both of which inspired today’s Navigating Nigeria topic. First, the tweet:

I spoke with a friend last night, and it occurred to me that she didn’t join in the WhatsApp frenzy of folks sharing photos of themselves dressed in Khaki. That was interesting to me because, knowing her, she’d be the first to jump on trendy stuff. So I asked why, and she told me like she was pleading her innocence, that she didn’t do it.

“Why, what’s the story there”? I asked. “Nothing”, she said. My journalistic instinct wanted to keep pressing her on the matter. Given her staccato responses, however, my head told me I was beginning to irritate her and would enter her block list if I continued. But she did manage to add, “I’ve always said I wouldn’t serve Nigeria.”

Now that we have some context let’s delve right in. What if I’m not interested in serving Nigeria? So what?

What the law says about NYSC

The National Youth Service Corps Act of 1993 specifies the Corps’ objectives and the service conditions for corps members under the Corps. Here’s what it says about the calling up of corps members:

This passage says that every Nigerian citizen must serve in the NYSC for one year unless exempted. The requirements for mandatory service include graduating from a university in Nigeria, graduating from a university outside Nigeria, obtaining a Higher National Diploma or other professional qualification as prescribed, or obtaining a National Certificate of Education. The service must be completed within one year from the date specified in the call-up instrument.

So what are the conditions for being exempted?

The section above says that starting August 1, 1985, certain people won’t be required to serve in the NYSC even if they meet the requirements stated in subsection (l) of the Act. These people include those over 30 years old, those who have served in the Nigerian Armed Forces or Nigeria Police Force for more than nine months, those who are staff members of certain security agencies, and those who have received national honours.

But I don’t want to serve; is it by force?

There are different arguments to consider here. The most important is the argument for patriotism and why serving is a civic responsibility as specified by law. It’s like paying taxes. You don’t have to like it, but you’re expected to do it. Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar.

Another is that there are penalties for not taking part in NYSC. Just because they’re not strictly enforced doesn’t mean they don’t exist.

Failure to report for service or refusal to make oneself available for service carries a fine of ₦‎2,000, imprisonment for 12 months, or both. Two thousand naira might be chicken change, but how does a one-year jail term sound? Think about it.

Before you retort that it’s not that serious and no one will arrest you, consider that if we want our leaders to uphold laws, we too must be willing to abide by those same laws, or else we’re only paying lip service.

Lastly, the law says that employers must demand either an NYSC certificate or a certificate of exemption from anyone who has obtained a first degree.

And as is common knowledge these days, aspiring to public office without an NYSC certificate—or worse, a forged one—can land you in soup. Someone like former finance minister Kemi Adeosun would tell you it’s a bad idea to do such a thing.

With these few points of mine, I hope I’ve made a case for why you should participate in the NYSC scheme. All that’s left is to forward this article to my friend while I wait with bated breath.
To commemorate its golden jubilee, Citizen reached out to Nigerians serving in or who have passed through the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to hear their views on whether the national youth programme should remain or be scrapped.

On May 22, 1973, decree No. 24 established the NYSC. It was created after the Civil War of 1967–1970 as part of a post-war policy formulated to reconcile and integrate young Nigerians across all regions of the country.

On its website, the NYSC says its primary objective is “to inculcate in Nigerian youths the spirit of selfless service to the community and to emphasise the spirit of oneness and brotherhood of all Nigerians, irrespective of cultural or social background.”

[NYSC members / BBC]

Our WhatsApp community has been discussing whether the NYSC programme should be scrapped or stay, with members sharing their thoughts and experiences about its relevance.

We’ve reached out to those in service of their country, Nigeria, and those who have passed through the system, so you don’t miss out on all they had to say:

Cynthia, 25

“I served at a firm in Lagos between 2021 and 2022. My Local Government Inspector (LGI) killed any hope I had left in Nigeria—not even the elections. She was the reason I had to indirectly offer a bribe for the first time in my life.

I believe it should be scrapped. It doesn’t address its initial objectives anymore. It could be remodelled since companies look out for corp members just for cheap labour—I’m only speaking about Lagos here. But this is like Jobberman or other online recruitment platforms. NYSC even has their recruitment platform; they made us sign up, but I don’t remember anything about it now.”

Nsikan, 23

“I currently serve at an IT firm in Ibadan, Oyo state. I think the NYSC should remain because it has helped me see a side of Nigeria I haven’t seen before. Having interacted with Muslims and Christians alike, I realise we’re all alike. We love the same and are caring. The ethnic divide we have is idiotic, stupid and self-inflicted.

During camp, I met a girl. We started talking and liked each other. She was from Kaduna.

I asked why she liked me back and that I was a Christian while she was Muslim. I felt we were supposed to be sworn enemies, but she explained everything to me and cleared up some nonsense myths about her religion. She was so nice and made me see the beauty in religious unity. I would have carried misconceptions about Muslims all my life if I hadn’t met her.”

Taiwo, 30

“I served at a privately owned radio station in Kaduna state between May 2021 and April 2022.

I believe that the NYSC should not be scrapped, it is serving many purposes now, and if it were to be scrapped, the ripple effect would be felt across the board.

NYSC provides the platform to gain a unique work experience for graduates that many would ordinarily not have. My work experience scaled up while serving at my Place of Primary Assignment (PPA), strengthening my application for a job after service.

At a time when Nigeria needs more cultural integration and unity than ever, scrapping the scheme will be going against one of the scheme’s core objectives. There might not be accurate data to back this up, but the NYSC Skills Acquisition & Entrepreneurship Department (SAED) program has helped launched several SME’s, leading to massive job creation.

Are there loopholes that need to be tied? Yes, because over the years, Nigeria has changed, and maybe it is time to revisit how the scheme is being run.

What NYSC needs right now is a better organisation and redefining and modifying its goals. Prospective Corp Members (PCM) should be able to choose how long they want to serve. They should be posted to relevant industries where their core skills will be used and developed.”

Ridwanullahi, 29

“I camped in Ogun State in 2020 but relocated to Lagos, where I worked at a broadcasting firm.

I feel that the NYSC is still quite much important. Apart from the fact that one gets to travel within the nation, one can easily build connections through it. However, the bad side or negative side I see is the posting of corp members who are not qualified—especially asking them to teach when we didn’t all read education courses.

I, for one, learned a lot during my service year as I was posted to my field, and it has helped me go back for my master’s degree program.

Thanks to NYSC, I’m more or less like a master when discussing issues relating to the field with my classmates, most especially group work.”

Korede, 28

“I served as a geography teacher at Lady Ibiam Girls Secondary School, Independence Layout, Enugu, in 2015.

It shouldn’t be scrapped. Instead, what it needs is an overhaul. Yes, the pressing concern of insecurity is a leading cause for it being scrapped. But how exactly does scrapping the NYSC solve the insecurity issue?

Elsewhere, as Nigerians, let’s move beyond blaming Lugard. The poor man is in his grave. Allow him to rest in peace.

To be fair, the scheme has exposed me to what Nigeria is. The good, the bad and the ugly altogether. Not leaving your immediate environment and believing stereotypes of other groups touches on the negatives of intergroup relations.

To have served in Enugu has changed my perception of Nigeria, particularly from the civil war background. More importantly, we must view the NYSC as a humanitarian and community-building effort. That doesn’t negate pursuing individual dreams or aspirations while in service.”

Lilian, 30

“I served in Ogun state in 2018. I’m 50/50 on whether the NYSC should stay or go. NYSC did nothing for me. So if it’s scrapped, I won’t feel bad, at least for upcoming corp members.

But then, many people saved up their allawee and used it to start a business, basically like a grant with no stipulations. So scrapping it will be bad for people who look forward to this.”

Tolulope, 30

“I was posted to Obubra in Cross River but redeployed back to Lagos for my social media job. This was between 2019 and 2020.

NYSC should be modified to allow people to choose their geopolitical zones, eliminating the insecurity fears people are showing towards the scheme. It shouldn’t be scrapped in any way because the benefits far outweigh the negatives.”

As Nigeria celebrates the golden jubilee of the NYSC, the debate on the programme’s relevance today in the country will continue, with some, especially those who consider it a key programme, continuing to advocate for its reform.
Over 200,000 corps members were deployed as INEC ad-hoc staff during the 2023 general elections. They play a crucial role in the process, manning polling units, handling electoral materials and making sure every vote counts.
This story is a first-person account of events from one of these corps members, who worked as a Presiding Officer in the February 25 presidential election in Osun state.

I’m a big fan of accountability and good governance. I believe elections matter. I don’t have a Permanent Voter’s Card (PVC), but I figured it shouldn’t stop me from participating in the 2023 general elections. As a serving corps member, I could sign up as an INEC ad-hoc staff. This way, I could ensure votes cast mattered at my polling unit. So I registered, did the mandatory training, and like everyone else, I looked forward to the elections.

INEC promised ad-hoc staff three things — welfare, security and due process. They barely delivered on any. On the eve of the elections, I found my way to the Registration Area Centre (RAC) per instructions. All electoral officials would spend the night there, get the election materials the following morning and make for our polling units.

The RAC was a secondary school. But I didn’t imagine all the rooms in the school would be mosquito-infested. The least INEC could’ve done was fumigate one or two rooms in the building they kept us in. And it didn’t help that the closest thing to sleeping materials the commission provided were a bunch of mats. They weren’t even enough for the corps members who signed up to work during the elections.

We survived the night, but this was a sign of things to come.

On election day, I got my materials and set out to the polling unit. One of the first things I noticed was my polling unit was short of an electoral officer. During the training in the months leading up to the election, they told us each polling unit would be managed by a Presiding Officer (PO) and three Assistant Presiding Officers (APOs).

However, we didn’t have an APO 3 – whose role is to control the queue of voters – in my polling unit. As I found out hours later, the same thing happened across other polling units in my ward. This was interesting because when I checked the ad-hoc staff directory, each polling unit had an APO 3 assigned to them.

Something had happened.

It turned out the names I saw didn’t exist. The Supervising Presiding Officers (SPO) filled the APO 3 roles with ghost workers. Essentially, the government will pay for people who don’t exist and didn’t do any work.

I wonder where the money will go.

Back to my polling unit.

An APO 3’s job is to manage the conduct of voters and maintain orderliness in the polling unit. Without one, we were short-staffed. Thankfully, the party agents and young people in the unit helped us to control the queue. It could’ve been worse.

Remember that they promised us security, too. We got an elderly policeman who couldn’t do much, and we felt exposed the whole time.

One of my friends at a different polling unit had a scarier experience. Some thugs came, fired a few shots in the air and asked her to think through returning for the forthcoming House of Assembly elections.

If anyone wished to attack us, they would’ve been successful.

At different times during the election, the party agents came in clusters to discuss with the voters. They asked the voters for their account numbers, promising to send them some money if they voted for a particular party or candidate. It looked a lot like vote buying.

INEC instructed us to look out for vote buying and stop it, but only if it happened close to the voting area. If it didn’t, they asked us not to interfere in the process, especially if it might put us at a security risk.

With this in mind, all we could do was stay on the sidelines and do our jobs — the only thing we could control.

In my friend’s polling unit, someone came and distributed prepaid ATM cards — they work the same way gift cards and vouchers do — to the voters. Each card was loaded with a sum and whoever got one only needed to activate the card at an ATM machine to access the money.

By the end of the voting process, I knew one thing — the cash scarcity didn’t stop vote buying.

But this wasn’t the last of the irregularities I witnessed.

I’ve seen a couple of complaints online about manipulated results and people blaming us corps members for it. From my experience, Presiding Officers are pawns in whatever chess game INEC staff are playing. It’s not far-fetched to say that some Presiding Officers were forced to countersign fabricated results.

In my polling unit, we accredited 288 people, but 287 people voted, which meant someone left without voting. I didn’t think this was a problem. The rule states that the number of votes cast cannot exceed the number of accredited voters. So we were good.

However, the INEC official I reported to at the collation centre didn’t think so. They asked me to stamp an unused ballot and record it as an invalid vote. Subsequently, they adjusted the numbers so that we could have equal numbers of accredited voters and actual voters.

While this didn’t mess with the actual results, it rubbed me the wrong way because I was forced to sign off on the change they made.

I’m glad the federal part is over. I signed up to participate in the next set of elections, but now, I’m wondering if it’s a good idea. I hope INEC is more prepared this time around.
This week’s subject of Navigating Nigeria is Mike, a serving corps member in Rivers State. He spoke to Citizen about his camping experience in Yobe State, and the twists and turns are straight out of a Nollywood film.

Walk us through the moments leading up to NYSC

I was supposed to graduate in 2019 but had school issues . Then 2020 came and COVID-19 struck which meant another year wasted. Eventually, I graduated from the University of Lagos in 2021. The Senate published the call-up list and that’s when I knew I’d be a part of Batch A2 for NYSC.

You know how the process for NYSC is na — printing letters, photocards, this document and that. Everything was quite stressful because I was already working at the time. Taking permission from work was a big issue and I really had no idea how to go about the registration process.

Mad

I resigned from work two weeks before my resumption to NYSC camp. One of my brothers was staying around UNILAG so I stayed at his place. I went to the cafes around and thankfully those guys knew everything about what was needed for registration. After they were done they gave me a printout and asked me to wait a few days to know where I’d be posted. Oh my God, I was so nervous.

What was the problem?

On one hand I’m an adventurous guy, yet on the other I was praying, “God, don’t let them carry me to Jigawa, or Borno or Benue”. Still I made up my mind that wherever I was posted I wouldn’t redeploy because that’s where God wanted me to be.

I remember the day I got the posting. March 12, 2022. I wasn’t online. I was playing at home when my phone rang. “Guy, how far, you don see your call-up”? Omo, that’s when I turned on my data. First place I checked was the WhatsApp group chat. I saw people wailing. They were lamenting about being posted to places like Gombe, Jigawa and so on.

I had issues with accessing the site. The tension was mad. To calm myself down, I just told myself I’d go do something else. I was supposed to pick up my statement of result and some other documents from UNILAG, so I took a cab there. When I tried to visit the NYSC portal again, it asked me if I wanted to download my call-up letter. I clicked yes. As I opened it, what did I see? “You’ve been posted to Yobe State”. I shouted “Jesus”.

Lmao

I just kept shouting Jesus inside the cab. The driver was asking what was going on? I was asking him “How would they carry me to Yobe”, as if he could fix the issue. It was crazy. I know I said I wasn’t going to redeploy but when I saw the posting, there was just no way on earth I would do my youth service there.

The first person I called was my mum and she too screamed. I have three older brothers who have served and I called them too. They told me I had to go to the camp, and could only redeploy after I’d completed the three-week camping.

Yeah, you can’t skip that

I was so sad. Anyway I started planning to travel. I went to the market to shop. I had grown so big, the items I bought didn’t even fit but I took them with me anyway. After much debate with my family, I eventually took a cross country bus that had nine other prospective corp members going to Yobe.

At first everyone kept to themselves and some were pressing their phones. I brought three novels with me and my power bank in anticipation of boredom. It was about an hour into the journey that we loosened up and started making friends. It was the longest journey of my life. We were on the road from 7 a.m. till we got to Abuja around 11 p.m. where we had to stop for the night.

I wanted to stay at a hotel but it was a Friday night and the one I saw was fully booked. So I settled for the bus park. We resumed our journey the next morning. and arrived in Yobe around 10 p.m. We were searched and cleared and eventually settled in the camp.

How was the experience at the NYSC camp?

The first thing that surprised me about camp was people wearing their whites even late at night. Apparently there was strong enforcement of the rule against mufti. Then lights out was also a thing. They’d turn off the lights and it would be pitch black.

Camp was fun. I was assigned to a platoon. I ran from parade duty at first because Yobe was so hot. It was like the state was the headquarters of the sun. But seeing the soldiers parading was beautiful. After a while I took interest in it. It was a good way to shed some weight.

But there were three things I disliked about camp. One was the skills acquisition programme run by the Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Department (SAED). The programme bored me to death. I still hate it, till now.

Another was being woken up by the annoying bugle at 4:30 a.m. I used to silently curse the soldiers, “Una no dey sleep”?

I also didn’t like the food. Maybe I ate camp food only four or five times. I sorted myself at the mammy market. I made a wealthy friend who used to take me and a couple of other ladies on spending sprees at the market.

Must be nice

My platoon was mid and always finished in sixth or seventh positions at competitions. But we won the Macho competition and finished second at the march past.

That’s something. Were there other good times?

Well, the weather during the morning parades was so cold. There was this babe who couldn’t stand it and would come and hold me tight to keep herself warm. Ah, camp was sweet. In those moments all my troubles would disappear.

The three weeks went by quickly and we had our passing out parade. Everyone was sad at this point because we’d bonded. We said our salutes to the state coordinator and then it was time to get to the real thing.

Which was?

During camp, we were told that anyone interested in relocating from Yobe State should fill a form. I didn’t have to pay anybody. When I heard this I told myself, “Forget the promise you made to God that you’ll stay here. Wetin you dey find for Yobe?”

I filled the form and thought that was done but I found out later from my platoon leader that my application wasn’t submitted for some weird reason. I was worried. The government really wanted me to stay in Yobe. I’d given up hope but another opportunity came up, thank God.

Apparently, a lot of other corp members had failed redeployment requests so they had to do another round of applications. This time I ensured it was properly submitted and I noted I would stay anywhere but the North. I chose Rivers State for a funny reason. I’m a good chess player and I knew Rivers had the strongest chess players in the country after Lagos.

Check

I wasn’t sure the request would be successful. My folks at home were already thinking I’d remain in Yobe and were suggesting I sit out service year and try again another year. But I’d lost enough time. My mates had served in 2020 already.

On the final day at camp, I got my letter. I had been posted to a polytechnic in Potiskum.

Wow

There were lots of tears that day. Some corps members had paid money but got postings to remote villages. Among those of us that didn’t have success with our earlier relocation applications, I was congratulated because Potiskum is the largest city in Yobe.

Almost everyone had left the camp, and there were just five or so left. I decided to stay back a bit and relax before heading to my place of primary assignment (PPA) to secure accommodation and other documents. I left to take my bath and before I got back, my school bag had disappeared.

Ah

I was just away for like six or so minutes and that was all the time needed for this bag to find legs. I went around looking for it. It had a distinct red and yellow colour and had all my documents in it. Omo, where didn’t I search?

It was getting lonely so I just went with the rest of my stuff to my PPA. When I got there, they had closed for the day. This was just around 1 p.m. or so, and that’s when I learnt it was a Muslim state and they don’t work long hours there. I went to a nearby market to try and replace a few of the items stolen from my bag, like toiletries and my charger. It shocked me to discover how very cheap things were. Afterwards, I had to stay the night at the corpers’ lodge.

I was going to resume the PPA for documentation the next morning when one spirit told me to check the NYSC portal again. That was when I clicked the relocation option and downloaded a document. That was when I shouted “Jesus” again, but this time it was good news. My redeployment was successful, I had been moved to Rivers State.

Checkmate!

I was so happy, but also a bit sad because I’d already made friends at the corpers’ lodge. They had this Calabar market they took me to where we had fun. Potiskum wasn’t a bad place after all. I was introduced to some of the beautiful ladies there — I still remember Jumai who was so, so lovely.

I was having second thoughts about staying back but when I called my mum and told her the relocation process worked, she talked sense into me like an African mum would and told me to get set to leave. From Yobe, I said my goodbyes reluctantly and took a bus to Kano where I arrived around 9 p.m.

I didn’t want to risk traveling at night so I had to lodge in Kano. I noticed that when I got there almost all the shops and kiosks had shut down. A Lagos boy like me found that very strange because that’s the time nightlife ordinarily begins. It was tough for me because most people didn’t understand the English I was speaking. I was also low on cash at this point.

I had to find a nearby NYSC secretariat to spend the night. My phone’s battery was dead, and I couldn’t communicate my whereabouts to my parents. The next day, I bought a power bank at the park to charge my phone. We left late, at around 1 p.m. and arrived at Port-Harcourt at 10 the next morning. That was how my camping experience was. I’d say those three weeks were a bit of a rollercoaster.
The three most certain things in this life: death, taxes and NYSC Local Government Inspectors (LGIs) making your life a living hell. Nigerian civil servants are the masters at stressing people’s lives for no good reason.

Here are a few things NYSC LGIs really need to understand

No one: NYSC LGIs

1. Corpers aren’t the cause of your life problems

Whatever is going on in your life isn’t the cause of that poor corps member. Put your issues aside and handle your job professionally and with kindness, like a human being. There’s no reward for being wicked.

2. If you do your job, you won’t die

What will kill you is the accumulation of all the curses from the corpers you’ve stressed. Doing your job well and effectively will surely not kill you.

3. Any parent that gives their child a headache will also have a headache

If you like, make it your life’s mission to give corpers a headache, you too, you’ll surely receive a headache. What goes around comes around and your own headache will be double. Better calm down if you want to live a long life.

4. Life doesn’t begin and end at that job

If you think you’re the almighty God because of that yeye job, we need to let you know that life doesn’t begin and end at that job. The wickedness you’re doing to corpers will surely meet you in front.

5. NYSC is only year-long; corp members are still going to jam you in front

Do you really think corpers have short term memory and won’t remember to deck you when they’re done with their service year? Don’t be shocked if you’re walking on the road one day and a random person slaps you. It’s not a slap; it’s your reward. Smh.

6. One bad deed deserves another

Any bad thing you do as an NYSC LGI is going to meet you in front. The superstitious Nigerian in me really needs to let you know that one day, you will be at the mercy of a corp member you treated badly.

7. You aren’t special because you’re doing a job you hate

Hating your job doesn’t make you special; it makes us mates. Corpers hate their jobs too, but they don’t go around making other people’s lives miserable.
A Week In The Life” is a weekly Zikoko series that explores the working-class struggles of Nigerians. It captures the very spirit of what it means to hustle in Nigeria and puts you in the shoes of the subject for a week.

The subject of today’s “A Week In The Life” is a youth corps member currently without a place of primary assignment. She talks about the bleakness of her days, being frustrated by the NYSC scheme and the ways she sparks joy in her life.

MONDAY:

I feel like my life ended when I started NYSC. First of all, I didn’t get mobilised with my mates because my university was playing with my certificate. I had to wait for the second stream.

When my posting came out, I ended up being posted to the north. As if that wasn’t bad enough, my redeployment to Lagos failed. After camp, I spent two months in a totally different state with no housing or family members. When I finally redeployed to Lagos, no PPA. And thus began the next two months of my life hanging in limbo doing nothing, waiting in uncertainty and listening to NYSC officials say the infamous, “just keep checking your NYSC dashboard for your new posting.”

The first thing I do when I wake up this morning is to open my NYSC dashboard to check my PPA portal. I’m met with the familiar disappointment of a blank page, so I log out.

It has been five months from mobilisation to redeployment, and I’ve not done anything significant. But that’s not the most annoying part. The worst part is that other people wake up with a clear idea of how their day will go and then there’s me who just, well… wakes up. A large part of my day involves figuring out how to occupy myself until everyone returns from work at 4:00 p.m.

Sometimes, I sleep or read a book, or just stare out into space. Nobody tells you how slow time moves when you have nothing planned for the day.

Another thing that frustrates me about the uncertainty of my situation is that I can’t get a side job. Every company I’ve interviewed with wants some measure of commitment, but I’m scared of taking a job, getting a PPA the next day and having to deal with clashing schedules. So I find myself declining jobs and waiting for NYSC to sort me.

Today is gearing up to be a long-ass day. I can’t believe it’s just 10 a.m. My initial plan was to scroll mindlessly through social media, but everyone online looks like they have their life together — and that’s just going to make me feel bad.

I can’t do NYSC, can’t do a side job, can’t scroll through Instagram. All I can do is wait for 4 p.m.

TUESDAY:

I find it ironic that I had more fun outside Lagos than I’m having in Lagos. Although NYSC chopped my eye for redeployment on the last day; I still had a swell time in the north. The camp was fun and I got to meet interesting people.

Now, my life is far from fun. My days are monotonous, and they repeat themselves. The only reason I remember that today is Tuesday is that I’m receiving a delivery for my sister whom I live with. Another aspect of not having a job is that I’m the designated “always-at-home-to-receive-a-package-person.” Sometimes, I feel like I’m part of the house and will soon merge with the furniture or the house itself.

By mid-afternoon today, tired of sleeping, I call my contact at the NYSC office for an update and he goes, “Why are you complaining? Are you not just sleeping and waking up?”

I’m speechless.

In terms of how great my life could have gone, things haven’t gone according to my plan. I’m not only humble, but I believe that I’m now a cautionary tale. People are now like “If NYSC posts you outside Lagos, don’t redeploy. *Yinka redeployed and now look at her life.”

At this point, I don’t mind working for free; as long as I can just start working.

Wait, I mind working for free. Lagos is too expensive for that behaviour pls.

WEDNESDAY:

En route to the Secretariat for monthly clearance today, one policeman shouted “corper wee” at me. I felt like coming down from my bike to punch his silly mouth because who is smiling with him.

This NYSC period has been full of only stress and frustration for my life. If not that allawee is tied to monthly clearance and monthly clearance is tied to wearing the NYSC uniform, where will people see me to be shouting “corper wee”.

In all honesty, even the ₦33,000 allawee is not enough to survive on. Before NYSC, I used to comfortably buy Chicken Republic Refuel Max, but now, my motto is that there is rice at home. I can’t believe part of the reason I left the north was because they didn’t have Refuel Max, and now, I can’t afford to buy it in Lagos.

Today, I find myself very grateful for my benefactor aka my older sister. If not for her financial support, I’d probably have died of starvation. As a way of extending my stay in the house, I make up for my lack of earnings by doing domestic work.

I clean, cook and do everything in between.

If my sister asks me to run an errand, I do it with no questions asked. How can I protest when a carton of Indomie is now ₦3800?

Once I remove money for data, transport money from running around to sort NYSC runs, there’s almost nothing left to spend from the allawee.

My mentality now is that if any activity is going to remove from my ₦33,000, I’m not doing it. I’m going to politely decline, stay home, eat rice and do the dishes after.

THURSDAY:

I wake up with this bout of sadness and an impending sense of gloom. I don’t want to talk to anyone around me; at least, not for a few hours.

I feel like the last five months has made NYSC a core part of my identity, and I’ve given it more power than I’d like. It has become an integral part of my conversations with people.

Friend 1: “How far your PPA?”

Friend 2: “Can’t you do the NYSC without PPA?”

Family and friends: “Why is this happening to you?”

Me: “I don’t know…”

I miss the old me. The fun me. I remember enjoying things like musical concerts, book shopping and watching plays. I’ve allowed life and NYSC take those away from me. But I can’t continue like this.

Today’s operation is to spark joy in my life. I’ll kick off the day by watching season 2 of the series, Ted Lasso. Then, I’ll listen to the Hamilton soundtrack and scream along when they say “how do we emerge victorious from the quagmire”. After that, the soundtrack is over.

By then, the day would be perfect for taking both Zikoko quizzes of the day. Finally, I’ll end the day by listening to Zikoko’s Love Life and that one will spark endorphins that’ll carry me for at least 30 seconds.

Less worrying and more enjoying.

FRIDAY:

If there’s any lesson from this period, I’m struggling to see it. But today is not the time for plenty of questions. I’m packing a bag to one of my friends’ houses where I can binge TV and let someone else worry about feeding me.

I could do with the company and distraction.

When my NYSC service is over, I’ll throw a party. Then I’ll tear my uniform. After, I’ll frame and hang my NYSC certificate because I’ve suffered for it.

I lied when I said I didn’t have any lesson from this experience. I do, and it’s that life doesn’t always go as planned. If you had given me a thousand guesses, I don’t think I’d have guessed that five months into NYSC I’d still be struggling to be posted. In my head, I thought that I’d be saving money from PPA [the subject has paying PPA options] alongside my allawee for jaapa. Then I’d also use the opportunity to build up hours for my minimum work experience.

All my planning is in the mud.

My prayer now is that when I wake up on Monday morning my PPA has changed. God pls.

Editor’s note: The subject in no way seeks to tarnish the image of the NYSC scheme. She simply wishes to share her experience of/with the scheme.

Check back every Tuesday by 9 am for more “A Week In The Life ” goodness, and if you would like to be featured or you know anyone who fits the profile, fill this form.
If you have served in Nigeria and spent some time in NYSC camp, you’ll understand how unpleasant the experience can be. However, for these few, they lucked out and found both love and friendship during NYSC. Here are stories of a few Nigerians who found love and friendship in a seemingly hopeless place:

Hannah, Iseyin camp in Oyo state.

I met him on our first night in camp, we were on the longest queue waiting to register. He asked me to keep his space while he made some business calls, I waited for almost three hours before I eventually left, I told him I was going to get food and I wished him good luck.

We met the next morning and I asked him if he was able to finish his registration. By evening he asked me to come and sit with him to talk and have a drink and we were there for hours till it was lights out, it was like talking to a friend I had known for a lifetime.

We eventually became inseparable in camp, we did everything together, the only time we were not together was when we were asleep. I’ll sit in his platoon even though I was in a different platoon and I used to call him my NYSC bestie still. I stayed in camp for him even when I had like three different Illnesses, refused to redeploy too, he did the same too. We’ve been together for three years and I’m not going anywhere any time soon.

Amaka, Cross Rivers Camp.

We met a few weeks after camp, I went to see my friend who was staying with a friend of hers. He was her housemate and we got introduced. I ended up spending the weekend there and we spoke for a while and got to know each other.

He tried to kiss me and I laughed and told him I wasn’t ready for that. He also laughed and apologised and we ended up having sex. I didn’t go back to mine that week because we literally became inseparable. We talked about everything and enjoyed each others company so much.

He was on the phone with his friends one day and mentioned that he was with his girlfriend and I was like “ehn?!”. After the call, I asked him why he told them I was his girlfriend and he went “come o, what have we been doing since?” and that was it. I had never felt anything like what I felt for him and we dated for 3 years before the relationship ended in 2019.

Kike, Jalingo Camp.

We met on the parade ground. We were in the same Platoon, I had seen him around and he was just this annoying person trying to form group captain (which he wasn’t). One day, he was trying to fix his passport to a form he was supposed to fill and I overheard someone offering him chewing gum to fix said passport. I had a glue stick in my fanny pack so I brought it out and gave it to him. He returned it with the cheesiest line “do you carry that around for sticky situations like this?”.He insisted that we have lunch at Mami market to say “thank you” but I said no. We got paired up to select a representative for the beauty pageant. Our Platoon won the competition.

We started talking a lot after that and we became inseparable and at this point, I wasn’t interested in a relationship because I had never been in one before and I wasn’t ready for the heartbreak. I was actually going along with the mindset of “whatever happens in camp, stays in camp”. We both redeployed and we didn’t expect to get the same State because I wanted Oyo and he wanted to remain in Abuja. Somehow, we both got Ondo and I was so distraught because I knew I had no excuse.

We officially started dating in February, almost 2 months after camp and we had our first official date in Abuja after we had left. I had travelled for my call to Bar and he was living there at the time. It was really cute and I remember walking around Abuja and window shopping furniture.

We have been together for 5 years now and we got married in October 2019.

Wilson, Benue Camp.

Her name’s Osemen. She was probably the second or third person I spoke to properly. I went to Benue not intending to meet anyone new because meeting new people and falling out of touch is really exhausting. Didn’t want to have to go through that. Somehow, and on some random ass day on the parade ground, some girl in my platoon started talking to me, and she introduced me to Osemen later that day- they were friends.

My first interaction with her was very funny. I said hey, and introduced myself, then stretched my hand to take hers. She was singing a song, and so she just left my hand hanging until she was done with the song.

The first evening we spent together, we started talking about music and we found out we both really liked Lana Del Rey, her album had just dropped. So we started talking about other artists and we liked the exact same people. I gave her my phone for a bit and when I got it back, I noticed she had added the Lana del Rey album for me. For some reason, I thought that was sweet.

If there’s one thing that started all of this- there was this evening we drank so much palm wine, and I had some beer before and after the palm wine and I got really drunk. Benue camp is really hilly for whatever reason, and I was drunk and not exactly walking in a straight line.

She held on to me while we were headed down for the social evening after dinner and all the drinking. I threw up that night and she was there for me as well. That was great. I had my other babes there as well but I seemed to connect with Osemen the most.

We spent so much time together after that- practically every day. We watched movies, ignored all the lectures together, everything. She’s been helping me with my relocation since we left camp, it’s something that has been stressing my entire life but she’s really pulling strings for me, and following through.

Nonso, Shagamu Camp.

I was at the gate waiting to fill a form, I didn’t have a pen with me and was looking around to find how to get one. Someone eventually offered me a pen and while I was using it, the pen got snatched from behind me, a bit of an unusual situation, but that was how we met. It turned out, the pen was hers and she really had to use it.

I met her again on a line, I did small shakara for her when she tried to shunt the queue. She recognized me and told me she apologized earlier although she apologized again, said she had been very frustrated from the whole registration process and was very cranky. I kept meeting her at different times.

She introduced herself to me and realized we had a mutual friend. I thought she was dating him, I eventually asked him if they were a couple and he said no that they were friends from university.

We got really close after that, we spent a lot of time together during our lectures, shared meals together and meeting her made the entire experience worth it for me. It has been a few years now, and although we are not together anymore, we have since remained best friends. She is getting married in a few weeks.
The Passing Out Parade (POP) for NYSC Batch C, Stream 1 corps members has been set for the 15th of October, 2020.

The Batch went to camp in November 2019.

At present, corps members who redeployed to Oyo state are being issued their ID cards, and the OYOKOPA magazine for their stream is currently in the works.

A sample of the OyoKopa magazine.

Nothing concrete has been said yet concerning resumption for schools. Any update will be posted subsequently.

Other NYSC posts you’ll enjoy: 16 Ways To Make Money During Your NYSC Year

7 Types Of People You’ll Meet At NYSC CDS

Hello there! Thank you so much for always reading. Are there topics you’d like us to write about? Do you have any NYSC-related questions you want us to answer? Send us an email kunle@bigcabal.com We look forward to hearing from you. Xx
NYSC PPA Posting

It’s every youth corps member’s nightmare.

You get your posting letter after three weeks of camp activities and your heart sinks into your stomach (which then proceeds to drop into your ass) because you’ve been posted to a village so remote it could pass for Jaguar Paw’s village in the movie, ‘Apocalypto’.

If you never want to experience the terrible feeling just described, keep reading.

1) Suck up to your platoon leader:

It’s like the saying goes: Serve at the king’s side so when the beheadings begin, you’ll be last in line.

This is a real saying. Don’t @ me.

2) Be a platoon leader:

And order the beheadings your damn self.

3) Join the parade:

Sure, you’ll spend an insane number of hours stomping the yard like Columbus Short. But it’ll be worth it when you’re lounging at your PPA with electricity and running water.

4) Join the Orientation Broadcasting Service (OBS):

Join the broadcasting service and get to do cool stuff like practising your white people accent for when you eventually japa, escaping stressful camp activities, and picking the soundtrack for the daily chaos that occurs when soldiers chase people for morning prayers.

5) Join the camp’s medical team:

This only works if your studied medicine, anatomy, physiology, etc. So don’t think they’ll let you join if you studied accounting but learned CPR from a movie.

6) Join the band:

So you can walk around camp serving “Drumline” line.

7) Join the kitchen volunteers:

And serve your fellow corps members the colourless and odourless gruel.

8) Win Mr. Macho or Madam Macho:

If you win this, just start preparing to move into your lavish PPA with the DVD & stereo set they give all the winners.

What’s up, Zikoko Fam? It would mean the world to us if you spared a few minutes to fill this Reader Survey. It’s so we can bring you the content you really want!

NYSC PPA Posting
NYSC camp is the ghetto. But you know what’s even more ghetto? Having to survive NYSC camp. We asked 11 corpers how they managed to survive NYSC camp and here’s what they said:

Hannah – NYSC Camp, Nsai Atai, Akwa Ibom

I weaseled my way into becoming the social director of my platoon and they gave me ID card to get past the soldiers and others. The rest is history, my dear. Every other thing I did—from missing morning parade and SAED lectures—was for the glory of the platoon.

Anu – NYSC Camp, Iseyin, Oyo State

How I survived NYSC camp? Lmao to God be the glory, my legs were swollen so I couldn’t wear boots or sneakers. For most of my days in camp I wore bathroom slippers. The clinic gave me a pass so it was was easy to escape parade and drills. I never ate camp food, na me be Queen of Mammy Market. I also didn’t join anything abeg, I no get time. In all, camp was interesting, but the weather was too hot. I turned black in just a few days. I had to sleep with a small fan by my side. That fan was a life-saver.

See how dark I was?

Onyx – NYSC Camp, Imo State

Imo camp was different and fun and everything else you can think of. My survival technique was that I stopped thinking and feeling. Food became my coping mechanism. Even when I was suffering on parade ground due to those “papa flies,” the oily water and early morning drills, I thought about food. If I wasn’t sleeping, I was eating or I was doing the eating in my dreams.

Lytan – NYSC Camp, Borno state (Camped in NSCDC Babbar Ruga, Katsina)

Bathing more than six times and drinking close to three big bottles of Eva water daily was how I survived. The sun was terrible. To escape parade, I did a lot of things. I hid under the bunk, hid in Mammy Market, ran off to join those on sanitation duty even if it was not my platoon. I faked sickness several times too so I could avoid the useless social night activities, the morning drills and SAED.

Iyanu – NYSC Camp, Ogun state.

You want to survive NYSC Camp? Join the OBS crew. That’s the best advice. As part of the crew we had an ID card which served as immunity against soldier and parades. During programs like swearing in, I was seated under the pavilion all in the name of OBS, while my fellow corps members were sweating in the sun.

Princely -NYSC Camp, Nonwa-gbam-Tai, Port Harcourt, Rivers State

I survived by not staying. I have a medical condition —a series of conditions actually— that would not allow me participate in full camping activities. My plan was to join OBS, render my professional services, and in return avoid the physical activities. That didn’t work out. I was told to leave camp the next day; a soldier insisted I was going to march —shortly after leaving the forced (happened like a kidnap) jogging by Man-O-War— and I had told him if I marched, I would leave the camp, but it wouldn’t be with my own feet.

I was sent to the clinic where my exeat was processed. I wanted to have the experience anyway, but life happens.

Uzo – NYSC Camp, Iseyin Oyo state

I have lived in boarding houses from around age 9, so camp didn’t feel any different. I was just a low budget kinda guy. Did everything on a low-key. No girls, only made and hung out with a few fun friends who didn’t cost me so much money. I made do with about 9k till we got the bicycle allowance and first allawee. I ate at Mammy market once in a day. To get high, I discovered black bullet. One can does more than 3 bottles of beer and costs just the same as 1 bottle. Flex.

Samuel – NYSC Camp, Dakingari, Kebbi state.

I had to deliberately enjoy every camp activity. The weather was mean, yes, but I enjoyed the drills. I was the director of socials, the drama director, and I was quite popular. Three-in-one fun. I almost lost my phone after the welcome party. The funniest thing was, they already blew the bugle for lights out! Omo, I no gree o! I ran outside. Thank God I saw my platoon instructor who guarded me till I found my phone in Mammy Market! Make I no lie, camp sweet me die. Maybe we should do another 3 weeks before POP?

Adisa – NYSC Camp, Babbar Ruga, Katsina.

My survival technique was hiding under my friend’s duvet in the corner where his bag was located. I’d surround myself with his luggage and ask someone to lock the door at the front for me. Sure way to escape without being caught.

Tobi – NYSC Camp, Rivers State.

To avoid morning parade, I’d pretend to shit for long, because our block’s toilets were quite neat. But then I wasn’t always successful as platoon rep. Them go find you come shaa ni. But camp was literally the best part of service for me. I could have gone on for 2 months.

Tiana – NYSC Camp, Cross River, Obura camp.

I’m a very careful person, so I was less adventurous in camp. The only time I escaped from parade, it was because my friend gave me liver. Obura camp was bad, abeg. Mud slides, hard water (very oily surface), and there was no light, so the camp ran on generator. I ate camp food only three times. The rest of my stay in camp, I spent money on catfish pepper soup and Smirnoff ice. I also liked eating egusi and pounded yam. It’s heavy spending, but at least there was enjoyment.

This is what the water looks like when you leave it overnight.

The mosquitoes were terrible. I fell sick a week before camp ended so I took four injections on my butt. The camp also had notorious flies. They bit my friend and he got sick and ended up with scars on his body.

Platoon activities were the most fun I had. I danced for my platoon about 3 times. And then there was this suya that I always bought during social night. I played volleyball too!

But see ehn, if you know you’re like me and you hate suffering, please don’t be ashamed to outsource. I paid those “any work” people to do my laundry and fetch water. No shame there. SAED lectures were torture for me. I spent most of my time either sleeping, listening to music, eating or chatting with friends. Because, let’s be honest, how can a sane person sit through two hours of boring lectures?

How did you survive NYSC camp? Tell us!

What the law says about NYSC

So what are the conditions for being exempted?

But I don’t want to serve; is it by force?

Cynthia, 25

Nsikan, 23

Taiwo, 30

Ridwanullahi, 29

Korede, 28

Lilian, 30

Tolulope, 30

Walk us through the moments leading up to NYSC

Mad

What was the problem?

Lmao

Yeah, you can’t skip that

How was the experience at the NYSC camp?

Must be nice

That’s something. Were there other good times?

Which was?

Check

Wow

Ah

Checkmate!

1. Corpers aren’t the cause of your life problems

2. If you do your job, you won’t die

3. Any parent that gives their child a headache will also have a headache

4. Life doesn’t begin and end at that job

5. NYSC is only year-long; corp members are still going to jam you in front

6. One bad deed deserves another

7. You aren’t special because you’re doing a job you hate

MONDAY:

TUESDAY:

WEDNESDAY:

THURSDAY:

FRIDAY:

Hannah, Iseyin camp in Oyo state.

Amaka, Cross Rivers Camp.

Kike, Jalingo Camp.

Wilson, Benue Camp.

Nonso, Shagamu Camp.

Hannah – NYSC Camp, Nsai Atai, Akwa Ibom

Anu – NYSC Camp, Iseyin, Oyo State

Onyx – NYSC Camp, Imo State

Lytan – NYSC Camp, Borno state (Camped in NSCDC Babbar Ruga, Katsina)

Iyanu – NYSC Camp, Ogun state.

Princely -NYSC Camp, Nonwa-gbam-Tai, Port Harcourt, Rivers State

Uzo – NYSC Camp, Iseyin Oyo state

Samuel – NYSC Camp, Dakingari, Kebbi state.

Adisa – NYSC Camp, Babbar Ruga, Katsina.

Tobi – NYSC Camp, Rivers State.

Tiana – NYSC Camp, Cross River, Obura camp.

**Nonso, Shagamu Camp.**