by Popoola David

 A feeling of importance started creeping in on us, the green khaki and the white shirts made us a “no-commoner”.

In pain and sadness, we bid our friends and enemies “goodbye”,  our  five-year journey ended. National Youth Service Corps came calling, not everybody picked the call, some had to stay back. It threw us all in different parts of the country. “Now Your Suffering Continues”. Was there any more suffering than the long course registration queues, 7am lectures, missed quizzes, assimilating manuals and textbooks and going blank during exams? We were curious to know. Instincts we had to call on. With packed loads in our hands, smiling faces of our parents and loved ones behind our heels, “goodbye” was the word that escorted us. A new “compulsory” experience beckoned.

Strong faces, heavily built men and a few women with guns and whips tightened to their grasp, we were welcomed in to our new home for the next 3 weeks. The stress of registration, waking up 4am daily and being under dictation 24 hour daily, morale was low. The same morale which we all shouted to be “HIGH” during parades.  Quizzes, tests, exams, library, lecturer were no longer terms on our lips, Double-up, morale, ‘Otondo’, platoon took over. Our mental journals were full.

Our 3-weeks rapport with the soldiers ended and the local indigenes called us to service.  A feeling of importance started creeping in on us, the green khaki and the white shirts made us a “no-commoner”. A huge chunk of us had to teach, the FG’s option of salvaging the decaying educational system, putting us in a position to raise or disgrace our intellectual capacity, some were inept. Daily experiences with our new societies introduced us to different norms, cultures, languages and acts. Weekly CDS meetings reminded us of our goals and the monthly “allowee” kept our hopes and pockets fresh.

Representing an authority shaped our living; we earned respect, care and had a voice wherever we went, having many ‘lowlights’ and highlights. Knowing we had just 11 months to live it, we lived it gracefully. The time has come to pass the baton; it has been a pleasure serving our country. It’s been a great experience and so I agree with the DG who says the NYSC Act should remain in the constitution. To some this is the best they’ll ever get and to some life has just begun. A personal sentence for the coming ‘Otondos’: whatever you do in the next 11 months, know you wouldn’t do it again in this lifetime because: You Only Serve Once (YOSO).

————————-

Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.