I
recall in 2006 when I received my NYSC call-up letter and discovered I was
posted to Kebbi State. I didn’t know exactly what to expect. Having spent most
of my time in Kaduna, I assumed it wouldn’t be anything different.
Incidentally, I did not have a clue how far Kebbi was from Kaduna.
“NYSC
here I come”, I happily murmured. But on a second thought, we were ‘broke’ that
period and the excitement vanished instantly. Popsi gave me N2k and said when
things get better, he would send more money.
Well,
when I was about to leave for the motor park, popsi phoned Alhaji Shehu, his
student in Kebbi State, to inform him that I was deployed to Kebbi. I spoke to
Alhaji Shehu and he promised to pick me up from the motor park and take me to
the orientation camp.
Let
me not bore you with the grisly details of what happened on the journey. But
let me just give you a synopsis. The journey took about 8.5hrs. I’m sure most
of the passengers did not anticipate an unpleasantly long trip. One lady in the
taxi was so hungry that she pleaded with me to share my biscuit with her. In
fact, the further away we were from Kaduna, the more it appeared as though we
were on our way to Sahara Desert. As we passed Gusau heading to Sokoto, two
female corps members from the South Eastern region began to cry as we drove
past camels in the scorching heat.
Fast
forward to orientation camp. I am usually very picky with food. So, for the
first week, I was forming ‘big boy’ and eating only at the Mammy Market until
my N2k finished, and the ‘big boy’ finished with it. That’s how I began to join
the queue to collect camp food.
Unsurprisingly,
angels come in different forms. That’s how Ene Nefisat Agbo, called to
congratulate me and asked how I was doing. “Eye red oh”, I replied. From that
day, Ene started sending me N1500 MTN recharge card regularly, which I was
reselling at N1300 to those ‘business center’ guys. Ene may have forgotten all
these good deeds but I have not forgotten. Thank you Ene.
Back
to Alhaji Shehu (my dad’s student). Prior to the posting within the state, he
asked me where I wanted to do my primary assignment and I told him I wanted to
lecture at Waziri Umaru Polytechnic (now Waziri Umaru Federal Polytechnic).
Thankfully, he assisted and I was posted to the Department of Metallurgical
Engineering where I taught Material Science and Iron Making to the National
Diploma students.
Also,
after our passing out ceremony at the end of the three weeks orientation camp,
Alhaji Shehu introduced me to his friend, Kunle. Kunle in turn, introduced me
to his brother, Williams. I was extremely fortunate. Williams offered me his
one-bedroom apartment FREE OF CHARGE for the duration of my NYSC.
While
at William’s apartment, I met Prof Eyene Okpanachi. Prof Okpanachi and I
developed strong ties due to our mutual interests and he linked me up with Mr
Bala, a lecturer at the polytechnic who was looking for a private tutor for his
two kids. Mr Bala employed my services and that’s how I got an additional
income.
Service
year that I arrived with a meagre N2k, became an interesting sojourn as I began
to earn N16.5K per month comprising N5K from private lessons, NYSC allowance of
N8.5K (later increased to N9.5K) and my N2k monthly stipend from the
polytechnic. This is excluding other financial support from family and friends.
Just
like Job in the bible (Job 42:12), our latter days in Kebbi became greater and
even more enjoyable than our former days. We became accustomed to the weather
and toured the state moving from Birnin Kebbi to Gwandu to Argungu just to
visit other corps members.
Let
me stop here. If you did not learn any lesson from my story, please remember
this: all the contacts and new friends in Kebbi made my stay worthwhile. If
not, my experience would have only been better off imagined.
I
don’t know what your NYSC experience is / was, but going forward, please build
positive relationships. Your network is important! The more influential people
you know, the higher your chances of success.
