The Beginning

Hello Everyone! 

Thanks for stopping by on the blog today; I hope you enjoy your time here today. See previous posts titled "Camp Chronicles", if you haven't done so already.

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The last day of camp was stressful. We woke up around 4:00 am to turn in our mattresses and to complete other tasks. I hardly got any sleep the night before and I wasn't feeling too good. During one of our "lectures" the day before, it started to rain. As the rain began to fall, we all began to make a dash for our rooms; but the camp commander stopped us dead in our tracks; she threatened consequences if we moved another inch. She reminded us of the NYSC anthem that we sang every morning:

Youths obey the clarion call

Let us lift our nation high

Under the sun or in the rain

With dedication and selflessness

Nigeria is ours, Nigeria we serve.

Members, take the great salute

Put the Nation first in all

With service and humility

NYSC for the noble youths

Make Nigeria a great nation.

Far and near we come to serve

And to build our fatherland

With oneness and loyalty

NYSC for unity

Hail Nigeria, our great nation.

She put emphasis on the 'rain' part, as she took cover under an umbrella. To say that I was upset was an understatement. When she finished her insignificant speech, she dismissed us. By that time I was drenched. I arrived in my room to see many of my roommates chilling; one of my friends asked why I bothered going. 

Shortly after I arrived in my room, my once peaceful room quickly turned into a war zone. One of my roommate’s cell phones mysteriously disappeared while she took her bath outside. Everyone was stunned; we were in the “good room”. And we managed to make it to the end of camp without any drama, unlike other rooms. Our room leader called a meeting and encouraged the person that took the phone to return it; but no one budged and there was tension in the room.

The owner of the phone had a suspect, she was sure it was her bunk mate (she slept at the top of the bunk bed and the other lady slept on the bottom bunk). She stated that they had been bumping heads since the first day of camp. Her bunk mate lost her phone a few days prior and had been accusing her of stealing it. We all went to sleep on pins and needles that night; it was a horrible way to end our time at camp. I also spent most of the night sneezing and coughing. 

The next morning, an official report was made about the stolen phone. Security officials arrived at our room bright and early the next morning and started searching people randomly. We couldn't leave the room until the phone was found. Tempers were flying, and people were yelling back and forth; pleading with the theft to turn herself in. We knew that It was definitely someone in the room because it was left on her bed. 

After a few minutes of random searches there was till no phone. So the security officials had to take her bunk mates and the closest people to her bed to their station. After arriving at the station, the bunk mate (the original suspect) admitted that she stole the phone. Everyone was livid, first of all she wasted everyone's time, secondly everyone's mood was messed up and lastly she was an older woman (she looked like she was in her late 30s). We were all disappointed and ready to go.

We then proceeded to the field for the closing ceremony. We had to wait for the governor to arrive before commencing the ceremony. We waited hours on end; doing absolutely nothing (it was during this time that I went to have lunch with Mr. Stalker). Only for the governor to send a representative. The rest of the ceremony was rushed; don't ask me because I can't recall what happened. 

Next up was our posting letters, these letters informed us about which town or city we'd be serving in and where we'd be working (place of primary assignment). It took forever and a day to receive our letters, of course there was no organized method for distribution. When I finally got my letter, I almost cried. I read "Ile Ife" and thought where is that? My place of primary assignment was "Obafemi Awolowo University", I had never heard of either place before.

As soon as we received our letters, there were numerous buses waiting to take us to wherever we were posted to. Everything happened so fast, people were rushing to get seats. I frantically looked for my friends but everyone was scattered. The few that I found were posted to different places, I was crushed. I automatically felt lonely. 

I ran into Mr. Camp Official and he asked where I was posted. With fear in my eyes and anxiety laced in my words I told him. He and His friend (who was nearby) and exclaimed "That's good nau!" Mr. Camp Official proceeded to say, "I'm the one that worked it for you. Ife is a good place, you'll enjoy it." I didn't believe him, nonetheless I said thank you and gave him the rest of my food items...it was too much for me to carry around. 

I had to choose out of a plethora of buses, I finally settled on one. I sat on the bus feeling terrible, my nose was stuff and my chest was congested. As we drove to Ile Ife, I was overwhelmed with sadness. The road to Ile Ife was not pretty, it was rough and muddy. Originally I had hopes of being posted to Osogbo (the capital of Osun State); I heard that it was much better. I was told that it was more developed and had good electricity. I was looking forward to it.

When we arrived in Ile Ife, we were taken to the local NYSC office. By this time I was exhausted and hungry. We were given a packaged meal and a drink. There were a number of speeches; I paid attention to none of them. But I remember a portion of one of the NYSC official's speech. He told us that Ile Ife was a great place. He also mentioned that we should not be concerned about the amount of jazz (voodoo/witchcraft) that is said to take place there. He said that he's been living there for a while and there was nothing to worry about. After hearing that, I tuned out completely. Was the information supposed to make me feel better? Well it didn't.

During one of the speeches, a beautiful tall lady walked in. She sat next to me and after a few minutes, she said "Hello, do you have anywhere to stay tonight?" I just looked and nodded my head; I did not want to be bothered. She handed me a flyer, and said that her church would place me with someone until I found my own place. I took the flyer without responding. I thought to myself, "She just wants me to join her church." I wasn't interested but my options were slim.

My other options were to get a hotel room or stay at the family house of one of the Christian organizations. I didn't know my way around; neither did I want to spend any money so a hotel room was out of the question. I was over staying in a room filled with a bunch of people, so the family house was a no. After the numerous speeches, we were dismissed. As I walked out of the office, I prayed secretly "Father please lead me to where you want me to be." 

I walked to the bus that brought me from camp to Ile Ife to get my belongings when the beautiful tall young lady appeared again. She said, "You're coming with us right?" Before I responded, I heard another young lady call my name. "Bunmi! Come with us, it's my church." She turned to Ms. Tall and Beautiful and said. "She was in my room at camp." The funny thing is that I do not remember seeing her in my room. I decide to follow them.

And that's how it all began...stay tuned!!!


You're blessed!


- Bunmi


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