Too Much Paperwork
filling nysc forms
From the moment we stepped into camp we were filling all sorts of forms and submitting till we left. Then you continue at your PPA. That was the worst form of paper pushing I have ever seen (well apart from the undergraduate days; that one was crazy and cannot be compared to any other)
2. You Must Teach Except You are a Medical Doctor
Imagine asking an Engineer graduate with zero patience to go teach a bunch of students who were taught by their teacher in the local Yoruba language. How the hell does one do that?
3. The Camp Infrastructure and Health Risks
Ah the state of the camps? From the looks of our camp I bet it was still built relatively newly then but the plumbing, toilets etc were in shambles.
How we survived 3 weeks of ‘shot-putting’ was divine. Bathing nko? You either do that under the cover of the night (before 4.30 am) or just wash your face, hands and legs.
4. The Queues
Oh the lines! For everything you practically had to queue under the blazing sun. To sign your monthly clearance you had to do a day worth of para-military standing and shoving. CDS? You had to queue!
During camp? Your life is practically taken over by queueing – in food lines, to take your bicycle allowance, to write attendance, hell to even shit you had to queue!
5. The food
Hey! The only thing I ever managed to collect during the 3 weeks camp was the occasional tea, bread and egg for breakfast. I went mostly for the egg. So each morning I waited for the rushers to go and then confirm from them on their way back if egg was on the menu.
‘Egg dey today?’
If the answer was no I skipped the ritual for that day. Lunch and Dinner? I never went near the camp food for those two.
Maami market was my one and only saviour!
How was NYSC and camp life for you?
6. The Lectures
Those NYSC lectures in camp were the definition of boredom. We were packed in the next door Sagamu Stadium and forced to literally listen to hours of the worst lectures we have ever had in our lives.
And dodging the lectures were almost impossible as those soldiers lurked everywhere in camp looking for people who would rather hide somewhere than be subjected to the punishment of 3 hours or more of drab lectures.
