THRoW frONTnBAcK....BORNO in NasaraWa!!!

It been almost a week since I left camp....

Flash back....

The newest set of corp members have just been released.......

Getting out of camp was quite stressful...the gate was full!!!....Everyone was trying to get out, dressed in their 6/7 corper outfit...O'course so was I.

Buses from almost part of nigeria were packed outside loading luggage of corp members...and also calling for more corp members!

It really was time to go home.

a glance back at my home for 3 weeks!

Time-place and purpose had brought so many lives together for just a short time.

Everyone was busy trying to get a vehicle.

Only a very few minority was going straight to their Place of primary assignment first.

I am going to miss one person the most!...CHIGO!!!

I had a great time with him

He had opted to stay at borno!

I connected with him the most....

A very great brother!

Mon beau chigo!!!

I would also miss ore....rachel and yemi too!

I didn't get to snap any picture with Yemi...we became friends towards the end of camp..but he is really a cool brother...though we have been at tussle ends!!!

Journey from keffi to abuja was a very tasking one....Many corp members were also going to abuja,so getting a cab was a serious challenge....

Ore , another OYEWOLE...

When I eventually got one,it was going to drop us all at Iyanya.

Everyone from there seem nice to a corper!

The road warden asked me where I was heading and showed me how to find my way to WUSE 2, osaro's workplace!

In no time, i was at HEROS PLAZA,Ademola Adetokunbo crescent, close to oti carpet.

I was very tired but the thought of another time with osaro was strength supplying...

I just dragged my box behind me....

The strength that comes when it's movie time
That osaro!
Right in front of her shop! 

Food was the first i needed...and that was i got......

Alil rest and chit-chat with Ore who was on his way to lagos alongside rachel.

Osaro dragged me out to ceddi plaza to see this funny *SPY* movie...

Nothing like a bowl of frozen yoghurt with
Toppings!

Osaro's mum and siblings were around in abuja.so it was a full house when we arrived home that even after I got my bowl of tutti fruity frozen youghurt...

Tuesday morning was my departure from abuja to lagos.. the only thing I needed to do was to roll my hair....i was ready to go home..

TB: rachel and i

I did have a great time with osaro and her mum. The three of us had that mother and daughter discussion...After biting on osaro on her need to add some weight....and it was serious!!!

Osaro dearie...Pls take care of yourself! EAT!

I met two of my platoon members amidst several others at the waiting lounge in nnamdi azikwe airport....

Goodbye abuja

This is the 2nd time dad booked my flight with MRS!!!...some kind of mistake!...and those guys who often check me in always address me as such...

*hello madam!!!*...

I even observed one looking for the ring in my finger!!!...lol!!

Sitting by the window was an opportunity to stair down at the earth while one board ugochukwu!...

The plane stopped moving in the air like thrice...waiting and waiting!!!...i wonder why??

Throwback :first competitive event in camp
The carnival.

I arrived in lagos quater past 7pm..

Longer than expected!

Tolu was running late!! He was supposed to pick me up!

I had claimed my luggage and even stepped out of the departure lounge and still he didn't show.i had run out of unit on my phone so I couldn't call.I even saw my dad and he had inquired where tolu was...

What a way to meet my dad for the first time!..lol.

I observed how busy the departure areas was.

Like 30mins later...there he comes with Mr yinka,his younger brother,trailing behind him...Dad was no where in sight.....

Yay!!!! 

It was a fanfare of welcome for me....

I caught a glimpse of dad afar off as we walked in the parking lot to drop my luggage...

So dad met mr Tolu for the first time....and Mr  yinka too.

It was a long ride back home!..traffic everywhere!!

Mr yinka was the chauffeur! 

I was told I snored in my sleep when I woke up the next morning....

It was the beginning of a sleepy time for me...

My body was taking time to recuperate from the rigour of life in camp...

I even observed i had gained some appreciable amount of weight!!!

I spent the rest of the week majorly in my room and on my bed...

Catching up with my new nysc buddies...

It was a holla-hoppa and some balloons trying to print my relocation letter..

Thanx to xerxes...,

I miss my padi chigo!!!!....he had arrived in borno and was giving me a load down of his experience at the NCCF house at borno...

I caught up with Ore on whatsapp!!..thats bully of a dude...it really was fun talking to that hairy WEBIC church brother!!

Yemi and I have been at tussle end over some lie he and ore had told me....

I was constantly on his back about it....

He finally surrendered to the truth today...

(plus he is always taking church attendance on me...hmm!!)

I CAME...i SAW &....i RELOCATED!

Crazy as it might have been,

there is always this nostalgia everyone gets when the end of an event of experience as come.....even those who complained about everything were having that *Awww...ohhh...Awww moment!*

After 4am this morning, many were already dressed for departure!

It was a bed retuning and luggage securing affair!

we were returning our loaf-size slim  beds to where we got them in exchange for a clearance slip!

The line after I had returned my bed around 6am

Everyone seem pretty edged up about securing their load....some were pulling their luggage in one hand and clutching their beds with the other,another fraction chose to carry the luggage on their heads....whatever!

The point is we were all out at 4am making a complete evacuation.....

OK! I got two beds because they were
Really slim!

When I got out to join the line of those returning their beds....my mouth was wide opened in surprise....

I seem to have woken up late...the line was so long it would take forever to get to my turn if the rumoured procedures i have heard would be implemented.....

I had joined many others to drop my luggage at NCCF church house for security reasons...

Goodbye NCCF nasarawa chapter!
Folks going to pick their luggage
After the closing parade!

There had been a word around about those hausa potters(who washed and fetch water) stealing people's things on the final day in camp when folks were retuning their beds....so no one was leaving the room without their luggage with them even after using a paddlock. The hausa potters were everywhere too though asking around for buckets to be given to them..

Well I gave mine to the NCCF donations...

After being on a line that didn't move an inch for almost 30mins....i just lay on my bed and I snooze off....

I must have slept a while when the line started moving...it was like a block sink has just being unclogged....the line was moving so fast..i had to double my pace to catch up the line.

As the closing ceremony commenced 

There was no procedure! we just dropped our beds in a hostel in good order and we were handed a clearance slip that was supposed to be our gate pass when the gate were officially open....

Photographers weren't cutting down prices of pictures snapped!

I had been snapped 19pictures at man-o-war drills...haba! It wasn't kuku a modelling photo shoot....even though all my pictures really turned out nice....19pictures and each cost 150naira!..

The dressing for parade!

.those cunny photographers had made many us to pay a deposit of 500naira in advance that day and they had snapped so many pictures,even those you didn't send them to..now,that deposit is non-refundable and we can't even select pictures for the worth of the deposited amount.we must pay for everything!
We all thought waiting last minute would change compel them to bring down the price!

The borno state governor's representative led by flag bearers
In company of the parade commandant,camp commandant,
Camp director and commisioner of police,nasarawa
State

They threatened to burn the pictures if we didn't pay.they were ready to loss and still hold on to our deposit...chai!

I had to bargain and bargain for mine with alil bit of pleading...ok...alil more pleading....he gave me a fair  discount..my pictures had come out too great for me to let go of them..so i got my pictures from the red-eyed DE-MAT(my platoon photographer)

Mami was busy...everyone making last minute buys! 

It was a tick tock moment when bugle went off!
everyone was saying a final goodbye to mami..i bade obama charging services farewell after picking up my phones.....i also gave that nostalgic glance at what has been my place of shelter for the past twenty days, my hostel (block D).

We all assembled at the parade ground for the closing ceremony....

Please governor representative!
Go and open the gate!

Those of us who were on the parade team positioned  ourselves in the three ranking

It was a beautiful ceremony....

Everybody wants to go!!!
The very long queue....

Aurevoir Magaji Dan-Yanusa permanent orientation camp....!
Aurevoir keffi!
Aurevoir Nasarawa!

And more importantly....aurevoir mon beau BORNO!....

Let's go to ABUJA for a getaway!

Thank GoD and reLOCate!

The end really is near....

The atmosphere is pregnant with excitment of departure!

I have taken my time to arrange some of my belongings and put them in an order that spelt ready to depart soon....

When I woke up this Sunday morning...it was to a very busy hostel...majority were already awake....it looks like everyone was going to church....well...not everyone!...

Today was the thanksgiving service of the Nigerian Christain Corpers fellowship(NCCF)...

The thanksgiving service at NCCF,magaji dan-yanusa,
Keffi.nasarawa!

It had been publicly announced to us and we had voluntarily contributed 200 hundred naira each person in the ten different platoons as a token of cooperate thanksgiving to God for a successful orientation camp course.

The journey of three weeks was drawing it curtains gradually,it was only logical for anyone to think let's go to church and do thanksgiving even if they have not attended 1 service all through the camp times....

"At least for the sake of journey mercies as everyone will be travelling home tomorrow"..so I heard one of the guys in my platoon say yesterday at the parade ground when we were being remind of the individual,voluntary 200naira contribution.

A selfie for thanksgiving! 

I wore one of my white shirt and a pair of jean trousers. I made it early enough for the interactive bible study....a lot of people arrived later in when service had freshly began in proper...

It really was a thanksgiving service...

In a part of the service,we danced out in thanksgiving from the back of the church with our individual platoons to the front podium as the levite sang different songs and each platoon representative gave a speech of thanksgiving to God with members hooting,clappong,jumping and dancing!

...*young lady...how about the picture you requested for*....

the camp commandant in army camo!
And that's yemj,my friend behind in his white-fowl outfit

After the evening parade,i walked past the camp commandant and he recognised me Immediately. He was in company of some NYSC officials.i quickly took a good shot.i even got the friendly picture with him and I look like someone who had just been in a hair pulling fight!....very rough?!
And again chigo who was in some far
distance snapped his own view of the 

Chai.....i look like a weather beaten chicken! 

There was also much agitation and tension in the air as corp members anticipated the pasting the feedback of their relocation letter...

*why was it taking so late??*

Even my parents have called to ask when. And why it was taking so long....

 Everyone was questioning...

Rumour has it that some have seen theirs...and it was exactly what it was a rumour! 

Chigo's shot!

Everyone was murmuring...and it was getting louder.....

*Mama lolo *...(a very funny igbo lady whose bunk is adjacent mine,i gave her that name that everyone in the room calls her!) was making a very hilarious and loud jest of the relocation matter...she was taking advantage of the delay to predict the state given to her friends....everyone was laughing...and those who she had mentioned borno...maiduguri...adamawa for weren't finding it funny...they tried shutting her up!...it was an hilarious time in the hostel...

Our dear mama lolo!

 Evening parade was brief and we did the final rehearsal of the closing ceremony parade..

The camp director addressed us concerning out relocation list...and he passed a lot of other vital information across before we were dismissed....

Visit de hausa cusine for Sunday lunch 

Everyone was running towards the multipurpose hall!....

The relocation list has been pasted!

By the time I got there...almost everyone was already there already pushing,puling,stretching and trying to go find their names on the list....

Everyone was asking....???

*Where did they relocate you to?....is that what you wanted?....what state did you want?   

Well.......don't ask me?

Many professors!

Fountain of knowledge! 

Xerxes' own state of origin.

Governor Ayo Fayose!.......

.................GO figure!........

MaMi lOvEs Allowee!

I have always known money has a voice.....

"Spend me!...buy this!...you know you want that....buy it....wow! please buy those....

Ahaaaaaaaaaan!!!

PUH-LEEZE spend me already!"

Money talks....for some it has a voice of a soldier, ordering them to do his bidding with force!...

For another,money is the mere voice of a beloved friend whose beck n call is met with a YES-MAN!

My most visited spot in mami...the charging point! 

And recently money has been talking in Magaji Dan-Yanusa orientation camp!

Making a type of noise that everyone can hear....even the disciplined ones amongst us.

The trinket-wristwatch-gold accesory section 

When money talks....mami listens....

Mami is constantly visited than usual....

Two love birds have met....

.....Money & Mami....

Eating!....Window shopping!....

ShE(mami)has become closer to my hostel....

If HE(money) won't come to her(Mami)....

she will come to him.....like a desperate prostitute....she must have him....she will go to him....and that is what a determined mami did!

The make up section! 

i have been seeing her come as close to my bunk,looking for him!..even when the voice of Him(my money) wasn't loud enough to order me to go to her( mami)world of ever increasing temptation.

ALLOWEE is being paid!!!....

 

You can shop for clothes and shoes
With your allowee @The boutique section

I often did my laundry here...its just
One of laundry shops...Always busy!

Mami is now at every corner!...tempting an already talking money(him!...pushing his owner to embrace her(mami)!

Am a very imaginative person....

I have been getting funny cartoon picture in my mind when I see people at mami...opening their purse...money was smiling...owner was smiling....

The grocery stores bursting with lights

mami was smiling much more...everyone seem happy!

I am not exempted from the effect of the talking money too...neither am I immuned to the desires welling up in me for impulsive-buys! nor from the tempting provocative mami who bares it all before my sight!...

The infamous platoon 11
For all alcohol!!
Xterized with loud music!

Don't forget,we can be moved by what we see..

Anyway,thats on one hand, the atmosphere of camp..on another, camp has been running loose since yesterday morning when an issue ensued between some corp members and soldiers while the rest of us were on parade ground rehearsing for the closing ceremony on monday!...

The suya...from beef to chicken suya!...
It's another section!

I won't be speaking much about it because we promised the state coordinator not to make an issue out of it....

But the summary of it was that Buckets were broken...the corp members revolted in something that could have become a riot, state coordinator got involved....the soldiers were blamed...while corp members got what seem like a liberating victory!

The beauty and bathing salon section...

Well the aftermath was a withdrawal from the soldiers authoritative control of corp members....and gross indiscipline began to manifest in different forms and fashion....

Now that soldiers have withdrawn the firm control....things were beginning to happen....beastly animals have suddenly moved into camp...

Morning parade was slow and not properly coordinated....civilians were in goverment...everyone just did as they pleased...it was irritating to me!

Even the crowd control has been terrible....

Some guy got decamped yesterday while we were on parade....

Apparently civilian rule can be tough too!...

The hausa attires for sale 

Rumour had it that the guy was high on alcohol and he took to insulting some soldiers, some of his friends urging and supporting him in his display....

The camp coordinator arrested the issue and he was brought before the assembly of corp members during the evening parade with all his luggage....

Indiscipline will not be tolerated from any corp member within the few days we had left....

The books section!

He was the scape goat warning the rest of us to be well behaved as the threat to decamp anyone who misbehave even within just two days to the end of the camp...

A fraction of the crowd took to pleading on his behalf but the camp coordinator was too angry to even listen to anyone....

We watched as they walked the offender with a policemen and man-o-war to the gate after collecting all the NYSC kit he was given...

As everyone was talking about it...i took more interest in something else...

I wanted to have a one-on-one conversation with the camp commandant....he was standing afar off where he had also addressed the issue of indiscipline...

Chilling with my friend
A saxophonist....
One of the band leaders!

Courage always comes to me at what others considered a no-go-area!

I just walked past the crowd of corp members and those doing parade maneuvering my way through another set of corp members(quater guards) who were rehearsing at the addressing cubicle...

I needed to appear as prepared as possible so I asked for a shit of paper from those around.nobody seem to have one,the one I got was quite rumpled.i had to make do with it...

I chilled with my band friends before evening parade! 

the camp commandant was just a few steps away, speaking with another camp official.i just walked up to him and asked the permission to speak with him.

He consented with a smile after taking a deep look at me.

and off I was,asking the dreaded commandant questions and he replied with such calm enthusiasm.....

He is a very interesting person..he answered all my questions with poise of a army general.

The PRO of OBS(orientation broadcasting service) who had been speaking with the commandant when I got there was also listening to us.

He asked me several questions and requested to see my blog.

"where have you been and why didn't you join OBS..."

God bless chigo for this..i want even aware he was going
To snap me interviewing the camp commandant.
Beside him is the PRO!

Then he talked about the writing for NYSC magazine!

In the end he invited me for the OBS dinner later that evening.

I could see folks everywhere looking at me.

Little wonder why everyone was asking me what I was doing with the comnandant when I returned to my hostel...

...............

SORRY!..Twil only get BERRA!

Hello dear,

Thanks for reading my blog!

Am hadassah......i just thought to say this in response to some very friendly observations some of you have made.

Being in a busy camp like this leaves me little or no time to edit my write ups...i am often in a hurry to pen down and post things as they unfold...everything happens fast here...charging my phone is always a challenge too...so I just do all I can....and in that hurrying....errors are bound to be made....

I am sorry!!!

I know a lot of people have been reading my blog.big thanks to everyone who has given feedback to encourage my little adventure..

 I am also aware that some of you have serious difficulty enjoying my blog  because of the errors here and there!....

To these wonderful people...i want to say...am sorry...please be patient with me...it will get only better.

Hadassah apologises for typographical errors.....thanks for the kind and courteous correction especially you, chigo!

thank you!

Bon INFErNo nUIt....burn FIrE NYT!

Burn fire!

Last night's burn fire was an event i really didn't fit into somehow....

I was bored!

Lots of preparation had gone into it.....

Just yesterday,when I walked past the sport arena,i sighted a lot of large logs of timber...dark-chocolatey brown!...they were arranged in high cone-like shape....

Burn fire set up

I didn't need to be told that was the site for burn fire!...others were staring at it too....

It was obviously going to be a crazy and rowdy night....everything and everyone in camp was preparing towards it...

Canopies for the different platoons were arranged in numeric order around the field close to the basketball court,just in safe distance from the arranged logs of timber!

Each platoon decorated their canopies in a way that it can be recognised by anyone who was looking for his/her platoon.

In another side of the camp,Corp members were gathered around pots,coolers and cooking stands.each platoon was cooking at different spots....

Everyone always wants to participate in anything food!

The crowd at the cooking spot was large....

Everyone was talking!...everyone was the cook!.

*bring this!...bring that!...no! Bring those!

My platoon cooking
Rachel with the braid 

One platoon fighting another because of turning stick....

There was argument here and there.....

Either those who have been doing the cooking and running errands had gotten short of tolerance or someone who just appeared suddenly wants to take over the cooking....

the cooking battalion was working and WARRING!

As the cooking wind down to an end....the crowd doubled!

..*well done o*... was being said repeatedly with their coolers in their hands...

the crowd around the food was like that of ants around a cube of sugar....

In one platoon,everyone was talking over the food!...seriously arguement....almost a fight! 

The inter platoon cooking eh!....Afi suuru!

Eye just dey red!!!

Well..the hight point of the day for me was when my platoon guys came running around the camp in jubilation with one of them carrying a trophy..dancing and singing on top of their voice

.....see as them dey look us......

....see as them dey look us...those otondos!!!

We won the final football match!

We have bagged in two out of the most important trophies in all camp competition....

We won the dance competition too....

We won only in places where team work was unquestionably displayed.....

I observed it other platoon's too....

Victory in this camp is a siamese twin to team work!

No team work! NO VICTORY!!!

They fun about it was that as they passed by any platoon 3 members,that person either joined them rejoicing,smiled or lifted his/her hands(thats what I did)....or did everything and alittle more...!

Everyone was really looking at platoon 3!

My platoon dish table! 

I got talking with yemi.he is a corper too who often says hello to me...he has the physic of a basketball player and often dressed like one...a graduate of uniabuja.we talked and talked....quite an interesting fellow.....

Rachel was also one of the cooks except for the fact that she sat down,played with her phone and chatted with me half the time!...( we had fun together though, she was quite impressed with my blog)...she and yemi are friends too...

The bugle sounded ...everyone trouped down to the burn fire site in masses...

Getting a chair was like treasure hunt. The ones yemi and I sat on disappeared from where we hide it when we returned from a sharp visit to mami market for pure water!

Lucky me,there was an empty sit beside ore under our platoon canopy at the burn fire site!

Different platoons displayed their dishes in front of them awaiting the judges and soldiers  to come around for inspection ...

Where I sat i got feedback from those who have eaten their food...

*that rice bad eh...e no done at all*

I had collected mine and dropped it in my hostel just before we came down for burn fire.

it was really bad!

I confirmed that when I returned to my room!

As the burn fire was about to be lit!

Man-O-war guys were running around  the log before it was lit...

Some mini parade was done involving certain  corp members who wore their khaki..

With much ceremonial hurrah....the fire was lit.platoon by platoon danced around the fire...Photographers everywhere...People shouting and gyrating. 

Platoon dance around the fire!

I was alone!!!....Ore had disappeared into the crowd...

I was bored...so I left for my hostel....

I had to go to a quiet and deserted mami to get something better to eat alongside the bad jollof rice my platoon cooked!

Xerxes is always a friend in distress!

Platoon 9 won the contest with 7 different dishes!

There was quietness and a short time to rest before folks return from burn fire....

The noise returned when they started retuning...everyone was talking about their platoon cooking and the burn fire

Wild laughter and loud talks...jesting and mocking of different platoons..

Those igbo ladies around my bunk are worst...the talked the same time in their language and laughed the loudest...yelking eachother's  name and platoon! 

Platoon 1

I was told my platoon had the fourth position...i was surprised...apparently several other platoon too produced even worst cooking than mine....