Abia State? NYSC, You Must Be Joking
Read the second part here
NYSC is the only scheme you would go through shege to register for only to face shege banza after registration.
I remember getting to the café before 6 AM on the day the portal opened, and I didn’t leave until 9 PM. It was crazy. Honestly, NYSC needs to work on their portal because it’s too slow, and you guys need to see all the errors we encounter during registration because of the traffic. Error 401, 404, 601, 603, 419 ati bebeelo, but what do I know? I’m just a corper.
Let me tell you something sweet that happened on that day. After spending so many hours at the cafe, I had to step out because I was losing my mind and I needed some fresh air. So I went out and a woman walked up to me with her daughter to ask about the registration because her daughter wanted to register too. I told her the situation of things and she asked me how long I had been in the cafe and I told her since 6 AM. She was shocked like, you mean you’ve been here all day? She then opened her purse and gave me money to buy food. I didn’t even say no lol. My friend , also sent me money for rice and chicken that day. See, when I become rich, she’s one of the people I want to buy Benz for. Period.
After registration, the next step was waiting for the call-up letter, which takes about two weeks. For those who don’t know, the call-up letter is the document that reveals the state you’ve been deployed.
Those two weeks felt like twelve months. Some people didn’t even get a call-up number, and honestly, I can’t imagine spending 14 hours in a cyber café only to not get a call-up number. Most times, that means you’ve been pushed to the next batch, which is disappointing.
Finally, at midnight on January 19th, the call-up letters were released. The moment I saw mine, I told myself, “My life is finished.” I had my heart set on Lagos and even tried the direct posting option, but it didn’t work.
I saw Abia State staring at me, and never in my life did I think I would step foot in a state I only knew existed because of the State and Capital nursery rhyme. Is NYSC whining me? Is NYSC trying to ruin my life? Is NYSC playing with my future? I can’t spend a whole year in Abia State. Olorun maje.
The 5 Stages of Grief
I went through all five stages of grief in 24 hours after seeing Abia State on my call-up letter.
Denial: “This must be a mistake. Maybe the portal glitched. Let me refresh.”
I logged out and logged back in. Still Abia. I closed the tab and reopened it. Still Abia. Checked again in incognito mode, but Abia was still there, staring at me like a bad decision. I was in denial so much that when anyone asked me where I was posted, I just told them Lagos. Although that wasn’t the only reason why I did that, it was one of them. I kept telling myself there was no way I would go to Abia. I remember saying I’d rather die than go to Abia State.
Anger: I was angry at people that their direct posting worked as if they were the cause of my problems. I remember how a girl was jubilating in one of the groups I was on and I was telling myself that this one can't read the room. I was fuming. I started blaming NYSC, the DG, and even my village people. How could this happen to me?
Bargaining: “Maybe I can do reprinting immediately.”
I started Googling: “Other options after NYSC posts you to a state you don’t want," “How to escape NYSC posting," and “Who can I pay to change my state?” I even considered calling a few “connections” to see if something could be done. Surely, there had to be a way out of this. I remember paying 300k just so my state of deployment could change to Lagos but well…
Depression: “So this is happening...”
Reality started sinking in. My dreams of serving in Lagos, networking, and building my career while enjoying my service year were crushed. I imagined myself in a town where I knew no one, far from home, struggling with bad roads, poor internet and electricity, and God forbid no good shawarma spots.
Then the paranoia kicked in. Lagos to Abia is 13 hours by road. What if I got in an accident? What if I got kidnapped? That week, news broke that a girl had been kidnapped on her way to the state NYSC posted her to, and I was going to pass through the same route. Jesus.
These were the two images playing in my head 😭👇🏾👇🏾👇🏾
Acceptance: “It is what it is.”
After exhausting all my options, I finally accepted that my fate wasn't going to change and I only had one option left which was redeployment but first, I had to go to camp. I never imagined myself in Ummuna, Bende but then… NYSC humbled me.
Insensitive People
One thing I quickly learned is that people love to give unsolicited advice, especially when they’re not the ones suffering. Also, sometimes you might mean well and still be insensitive. Some people had the mind to tell me, “God has a reason for sending you there.” Did God personally tell you that? “Be grateful. Some people didn’t even get a call-up number.” Be grateful? For what exactly? Grateful that my one-year plan was shattered? Grateful that I was being sent to a state I never imagined visiting, let alone living in?
It was all fun and games to them because it wasn’t their reality. It wasn’t their life that was being uprooted and I don’t blame them.
As if dealing with my own emotions wasn’t enough, some people found my situation funny. They laughed, called it cruise, and made jokes like: “Ah, Abia?! LMAO, you don go.”, “Omo, you go enjoy village life!” “Just accept it, my dear. NYSC na pure lottery.”
Excuse me?! Was my suffering a comedy special to them?
Some even made fun of my reaction by saying stuff like “You’re acting like they sent you to Sambisa.” and “At least be grateful and just enjoy Abia” It’s true what they say that people will never truly understand your pain until they experience it themselves. Everybody will be fine sha.
Why I Kept Quiet About It
At first, I didn’t talk about it. Not because I had fully accepted it, but because I knew how people would react and I wasn’t ready for that. I remember how I was just telling my friends I didn’t want to talk about it.
I told some people it was Lagos, and here’s why:
- Some would laugh and think it’s funny.
I don’t cruise with my problems. My NYSC posting wasn’t a joke to me, so I wasn’t about to let anyone make a joke out of it.
2. Some would tell me not to go.
“Just forfeit this batch and wait for the next one.” But what if NYSC posts me somewhere worse next time? Or what if my direct posting fails again? Will I keep waiting?
3. Some would say, “It’s God’s plan for your life.”
I wasn’t in the mood to hear that. I know people mean well, but sometimes, you just don’t want to hear “God’s plan” when you’re still struggling to accept the situation. I mean, someone even said I can start a business in Abia. lmao.
4. Some would say things that won’t sit well with me.
I’m quite sensitive, and I knew people would throw around careless words that would only make me feel worse. The last thing I needed was unsolicited advice from people who weren’t in my shoes.
I also didn’t want people to look at me like I was one unlucky person. I didn’t want anyone to pity me because I knew I’d be fine.
So, I kept quiet. Because sometimes, it’s just easier to deal with your battles alone than to let people add to them. But friends like Kosemani, Beatrice, Toluwanimi, Mr. Peter, and Adesola were there for me. Even Adesola wasn’t posted to the state of her choice and we were trauma-bonding together lol.
Why I Didn’t Cry
I wanted to cry. I felt the tears coming, the frustration, the disappointment, the helplessness. But I couldn't. What was the point of crying? I just swallowed my emotions, sat in silence, starved myself by not eating, and just stared at my life sentence. sorry call-up letter.
Bus Ticket
I finally accepted my fate and went to Libra Motors at Jibowu Yaba to buy my bus ticket to Abia State.
This is actually happening.
I remember holding the ticket in my hand, staring at it and my mind started running wild with thoughts I had no business entertaining.
“What if I don’t live to tell this story?”
Don’t blame me, that was the first time I would be traveling such a long distance, and with all the stories I had heard about road travel, my mind wasn’t exactly at ease. But at that point, what choice did I have?
Ticket in hand, fate sealed. There was no turning back.
What’s Next?
The next phase of this journey was about to begin But that’s a story for another episode. Stay tuned. 🚶🏽♀️
