For the past 12 months, yours sincerely had been undertaking the mandatory national youth service scheme. It ended last Thursday, February 13, 2014 at the Lokoja Township Stadium in a parade that saw about 1,731 of us who served in Kogi State pass out. Our passing out parade (POP) was privileged to be graced by the governor. Yes, it was a privilege considering that that was the first time he’ll be honouring a POP with his presence. He had always sent his aides and in some rare cases his lieutenant to stand in for him.
But last Thursday, he was there live after highjacking the event for close to three hours. His delay in coming stretched to the point that the Director of SSS in the state left the venue giving this response when asked if he would return: “wasn’t it 9am that you said the event will begin?” With that, he justified his departure. The Chief Judge of the state, Hon. Justice Nasiru Ajana arrived the venue early enough. He too had to wait for the governor. I felt it for him.
In a courtesy call on the Chief Judge by the new State Coordinator of NYSC, Mr S.A.M Udolisah and his entourage, he expressed his reservations as regards coming for NYSC programmes. He decried the delay that usually attend such events. He rightly heaved the blame on the executive. Yet again, his reservations manifested in a grand way last Thursday. I’m sure the next time NYSC in Kogi State invites him to their programme and he fails to show up, they’ll understand.
The other people I empathised with were the passing out corps members on parade. They stood endlessly under the sun waiting for Captain Ichala Wada, the state governor. How I wish our VIPs learnt to keep to time and stop this irresponsible act of causing all else to cease pending when they show up. The way I see it, important dignitaries who fail to come early for functions give themselves away as undeserving of being waited for. Eventually, Wada was at the stadium and everything came alive. Even his deputy who came 35 minutes earlier couldn’t rev up the event. Much indeed is the influence of a governor.
What a digression! How come I didn’t realise I was so veering off? My bad! This isn’t supposed to be about Wada in any way. It should have had nothing to do with his penchant for not coming for swearing-in and passing out ceremonies of corps members neither is it about his predilection for coming behind schedule. Conversely, it’s about my odyssey of serving the fatherland. From Asaya Camp in Kabba/Bunu LGA of the state it started, at the Lokoja Township Stadium it ended. However, I gleaned a lot in between. I’ll try to briefly let you in on what I came away with.
At the Orientation Course, we were really oriented on the way to go when we get to our places of primary assignments. We were taught the major languages of the people so we can better interact with people of the state. There were drills, lectures, trainings and enlightenment campaigns to help safeguard our lives when we begin the service. We were served food that didn’t really tally with what government spends in feeding corps members per diem. But why should we complain when the camp market is there to suit our taste?
The orientation period lasted just three weeks after which was time to get into the service proper. Armed with all the trainings received, the corps members were to go out and serve. It’s a widely held belief that the camping period is the most interesting part of NYSC. In as much as the three-weeks orientation period was fun, whatever pleasure it brought was punctured by the knowing that it’ll soon end and the fear of where posting will eventually throw one to. A lot of gentlemen corps members got courting. However, at the end of the day: what orientation course joined together, posting severed!
That day of passing out from camp reflected different strokes for different folks. While some were happy for being posted to urban areas, others mourned and even wept for being pencilled down to serve in places with names that sounded awful. Many others were gloomy given that they’ll miss the friendships they’ve cultivated. Permit me to argue that the national integration NYSC promotes happens more during the orientation period than any other time in NYSC.
This is as corps members cannot not socialise with people from other parts of the country while in camp. If not in their hostels, it’ll be in their platoons. The platoon is a subdivision of corps members; all the corps members in camp were grouped into ten units called platoons. The platoons took turns to be on duty where they executed every chore for that day including cooking. Indeed, the platoons are a veritable avenue for socialising. There were also inter-platoons competitions that still afforded corps members the means of expanding their number of friends. Social nights equally facilitated this greatly.
Many are the things NYSC does for the country. That’s why those calling for the Scheme to be scrapped may simply be postulating out of ignorance. Granted that such calls were hinged on the senseless killing of corps members in troubled spots, the management of NYSC has taken concrete steps to guard against this. They even allow corps members serving in such hotbeds to be redeployed to safer places. Irrespective of what anyone is saying, NYSC helps youths to better know their country and its people. At least, I can speak for myself.
It afforded me an opportunity to better understand the average Kogi native. Prior to NYSC, I heard some negative things being said about people from that part of the country. Thanks to the Scheme, those ‘single stories’ have been found to be untrue. For instance, I was told to be wary of Kogites because of their diabolical nature. Yet for the almost one year I spent there, I rather discovered people of the state to be very religious, ever ready to abandon whatever they are doing to be in their churches or mosques. It’s possible my observation is informed by my serving in a metropolitan Lokoja. That notwithstanding, I’ll base my peroration on my experience not some hearsay.
There was also this tale of Ebira people being so wicked and unforgiving. But I discovered that what many people attribute to them as wickedness is essentially borne out of their utter hatred for injustice. Their being ‘wicked’ is simply because they waste no time in effecting jungle justice on whatever they think reeks of unfairness. A then corps member who served in Okene told me that the people there actually love strangers more than themselves. She said Okene people can go to the extent of siding with a stranger rather than one of their own.
Meanwhile, in the culture of some people of the state, I found points of intersection with mine. I even heard them bearing names that I had taught were exclusive to my place. In Confluence FM Lokoja, I met Mr. Stephen Onoja who is impeccable in speaking my dialect. His homestead is just a stone throw from my part of Enugu State. Yes, Kogi shares boundary with my state and about nine other states. So don’t be surprised when you hear somebody from Kogi State speaking your dialect too.
Another ex-corps member from my batch described the state as a mini Nigeria owing to the potpourri of tribes existing there. I totally agree with him. Aside the dominant tribes of Igala, Ebira and Okun, you will also find the Nupes, Kabawas, Kpatas, those from Bassange, Obajana etc. Still, the Igalas have continued to dominate the political landscape of the state without care for its other brothers. Since the creation of the state, the governors of the state have continued to come from that flank. But, they have the numbers.
I was told on good authority that the Maigeri of Lokoja stool had since inception been occupied by people who are not aborigines of Kogi State. My source disclosed that the current monarch will be the last of that sort as the original inhabitants have secured a court judgment affirming them as the rightful occupant of the Maigari stool. It is hoped that the people of the state will allow justice, equity and maturity prevail when it’s time to choose the next Maigeri so there won’t be any rancour nor blood-letting.
The Community Development groups come next to platoons in engendering integration among corps members. It instils in them the value of team work that allows them to collectively work for the development of communities where they are serving. Going by my experience as the president of my group: Editorial and Rebranding Nigeria CDS, I learnt how the little volunteering corps members make is appreciated by the society and how it helps in advancing the society. I also got to appreciate how herculean it can be for a leader to elicit cooperation from followers who know that he has no instrument of enforcement.
I served in a public secondary school in Lokoja. There I saw the height of indiscipline among students to the extent that a J.S.S. 2 student can threaten a female corps member teaching him in school that if she ever scolded him again she’ll see what will happen to her. The student actually gave this warning to her when he accosted her in town. Over there, teachers fear using cane on students as that will attract them bringing their gang to such a teacher’s house. Where students don’t respect the principal, is it a classroom teacher they’ll obey?
It’s a fallout of poor upbringing. It appears that most parents don’t really do much to train their children aright. They failed to bend them when they were amenable hence they can’t do that now they are all stiffened up. Parents of such delinquents pass them over to teachers expecting a miracle to be done on their children. One of those days, a father contacted me and two other male corps members saying he is ready to reward us handsomely if only we can beat the devil out of his 19-year old son that was a thorn on the flesh of the school management. You don’t want to know the response we gave.
Dear readers, if I’m to tell you about all I experienced from my service to the fatherland in Kogi State, columns won’t be enough. So permit me to let it be a synopsis like the title already indicated. One last thing I have to say is that it was a wonderful experience giving Nigeria my first fruit, I just hope the country will be magnanimous enough to let me have a bite on any of its numerous fruits.
Ugochukwu can be reached through ug.ugovester@gmail.com or followed @ugsylvester
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