Is the punishment worth the offence?

The next batch due for the National Youth Service

Corps (NYSC) – Batch C 2014(stream b) – will be going for
camping from November 26, 2014. What and what
should you take to Camp? Do you really need
most of the things you've packed into your big
leather box already? Here's a checklist of what
we think an 'Otondoh' like you is like to need...
Camp Items
1 Documents and Photocopies
2 Call-up letter
3 Statement of Result/transcript
4 First degree certificates
5 School ID card
6 Passport photographs
Comments
You won't be allowed into camp premises without
any of them. Go there with about 10 passports &
5 document photocopies each
Toiletries
Essentials
7 Toothbrush & Toothpaste
8 Bath soap & Sponge
9 Detergent & Bar Soap
10 Toilet Paper
11 Towel
Others
12 Sanitary Pads & Tampons
13 Shower Caps
14 Bleach
15 Disinfectants
16 Buckets & Bailer
17 Body Cream & Lotion
Its ok to buy buckets and non-essentials at the
camp.
Clothing Items
18 White T-shirts
19 White Shorts
20 Whites tennis shoes
21 White socks
22 Underwear
23 Bed sheets
24 Perfumes/ body spray
25 Rubber slippers/flip flops
26 Combs and hair needs
27 Makeup & accessories
* You will be provided with 2 pairs of white T-
shirts and shorts in camp but you can take up to
2 pairs along.
* Colored panties will be too conspicuous under
the white tops and bottoms.
* You can take a 2 - 3 sets of casual wears/mufti
for Sunday and camp fire night.
* 1 pair of shoe and socks is okay. It is good to
have a white rubber shoe that is easy to clean
(sold at camp also)
Other Recommended Items
28 Torch lights
29 Mosquito nets/mosquito repellant
30 Food flasks, cups, drinking flasks & cutlery
31 Cloth hangers
32 Wrist watch
33 Padlocks and keys
34 Waist pouch
35 Handkerchiefs/face towels/Kleenex
36 Pegs/clips
37 Get a cheap watch. Every one uses a waist
purse. Its your camp bestie. Most of these items
can be easily bought in the camp so don't worry.
If you cant get them before travelling.
Optional First Aid Items
38 Methylated spirits/ rubbing alcohol
39 Band aids/plasters
40 Robb
41 Bandages
42 Cotton wool
43 Anti-purging pills (flagyl, tetracycline etc.)
44 Anti-malaria pills
45 Inhaler (for those who are asthmatic)
These aren't necessary except you have
something to treat or known allergies
Miscellaneous
46 Camera & batteries
47 Writing pads and stationary
48 Novels/Books
49 Pillow
50 Games
51 Mp3/ iPod
52 Eye pads for sleeping & ear plugs
53 Surge protectors / extensions
54 Glue sticks & stapler
If you have an internet-enabled camera phone, do
take it along. Camp life can be very boring
without one. You will like to take pictures and
share with your friends. You only need to be very
vigilant and protective of your things. If you feel
you need a bulletproof vest or helmet, please
carry it. You know what we mean, don't you?
55. MONEY, MONEY, AND MORE MONEY.
* Never, ever, ever run out of it. Bring as much as
you can afford.
* Mirrors and forks are known to be contraband
items in camp
* Prices of items apart from fast consumer goods
(Credit, Gala, Indomie etc) are usually higher than
those outside so it is advisable you buy the
things you can before going into camp.
PACK AS LIGHT AS YOU CAN AND MAKE SURE
YOUR BOX IS AS THEFT-PROOF AS POSSIBLE.
OYA DROP YA COMMENTS...IF THIS WAS USEFUL......

The third and final week of camping came up in a jiffy and the camping rules were relaxed. It was a week of competitions in various sporting activities and groups.

Kenny joined the platoon 3 football team. He played in the number 10 position in the midfield. Adamma often came to watch him train and play in the inter platoon football competition. Kenny always played his heart out when she came around. The knowledge that she was out there cheering for his team was an extra motivating factor to put in his best.

Adamma too had interest in sports. She joined the platoon’s female volleyball team and took part in the inter-platoon competition. She was also a member of the cultural dance troop. Unfortunately she developed a sprain on her knees during a military drill and had to be confined to the camp clinic for three days for treatment.

Kenny had tried discussing the issue of their future each time he went to visit her in the clinic but each time a distant look will creep into her eyes and she will change the topic. “maybe she is scared of commitment” he reasoned in his mind. He will give her time. He was willing to go at her pace. She was a beautiful lady, well mannered and from a rich home, he would be a fool not to take this relationship to the next level.

Another vexing issue was that of the place of primary assignment. It would be ideal if both of them were posted to serve in the same local government area so that the flow could continue. Several corps members have talked about the possibility of influencing their postings but the camp officials have been warning corpers to desist from trying to influence their postings as there wouldn’t be any preferential posting for anyone. Nothing was certain.

*********

“I have fought in Rhodesia, Germany, Congo, Egypt and South Africa!” Seargent Mustapha boasted as he addressed a group of corpers at Ruby wine bar in mammy market. He was in high spirits and was swinging a bottle of beer in his hands.

“But there wasn’t any war in South Africa” Someone chipped in.

“The Apartheid struggle! I fought the racist boers in the trenches alongside with Nelson Mandela! Infact Nelson Mandela was a close friend of mine!”

The corpers laughed at this obvious lie.

“I am a Pan Africanist and a black revolutionary soldier!”

“Old soldja!! old soldja!! Old soldja!!” The corpers chanted and ordered more beer for him.

*******

“Adamma why didn’t you contest for this Miss Nysc position?” All these contestants are not as beautiful as you” Kenny told Adamma. They were in the big hall for the variety night show. The major attraction of the night was the Miss Nysc competition. The contestants were drawn from the twelve platoons. All of them were vying for the crown. Kenny wasn’t impressed by them or by the show. Earlier on, he had joined fellow corp members in booing off the stage two amateur stand up comedians who had been telling stale jokes.

“Stop sweet talking me jor. I don’t like it! You know i am reserved in nature. I don’t want all that unnecessary attention”

“The position comes with privileges you know? Including being posted to any company or organization that you want in the state! You should have given it a shot”

“Forget it Kenny….Look at that girl on the stage” Adamma pointed at one of the contestants on the stage with her fore finger.

The girl was fat and shapeless. She had a protruding belly that was very visible. The moment she cat-walked onto the stage, the corp members started jeering and laughing at her.

“Is this the miss Nysc competition or the miss Big, bold and beautifulcontest?” Kenny wondered out aloud.

“Look at her tag number, she is Contestant six. She is from platoon 6″ Adamma whispered.

Kenny hissed “No wonder!” Platoon 6 were notorious for always taking the last position in all competitions on the camp. The platoon was largely composed of unserious and unmotivated individuals who were led by an obese platoon officer.

“dem no get beautiful girl for dem platoon. Na ugly girls full there.” A foul mouthed fellow sitting besides Kenny chipped in. He continued….”i hear say na she be the girlfriend of the platoon leader that na why he allowed her to contest!”

“Na wa oh” Adamma replied and reached out for her bottle of Vita milk. It was going to be a long night.

********

The final day of the day orientation exercise came at last and there was palpable tension and anxiety in the air. It was the day that the posting letters to the places of primary assignment were to be issued to each corps member. As he joined the queue for the collection of letters Kenny silently prayed that he won’t be flung into a remote village. At worst he expected to be posted to a small town.

The previous evening he had joked with his roommates on the possibility of being posted to serve in Buruntum local government area.

Buruntum local government was the remotest place in the state and was only accessible by boats and canoes. The inhabitants were rumoured to be savages who relished human flesh as delicacies. This was obviously untrue but they made jokes and taunted each other on who would be the first to lose his body parts.

********

Kenny opened his sealed posting letter and the name of a community secondary school in Buruntum local government area jumped up at him.

“Wtf! I am not going to serve there!” he shouted.  He couldn’t envision himself living in a remote riverine area.

The corps members who got posted to towns and cities moved around with radiant smiles on their faces while the ones posted to “unfavourable areas” stood in groups discussing their fate in low tones.

Kenny joined one of such groups.

********

Twenty minutes later he was with Adamma.

“Where have they given you?” She asked.

“They gave me Buruntum, can you imagine that?!”

“Eeiya sorry dear….maybe that place is not as bad as they say it is”

“I don’t care. I will ask them to reject me! What about you? Any luck?” Kenny asked with an anxious heart.

She paused for some seconds and then said.

“I redeployed to my husband’s state”

“What?…your what?”

“I am sorry Ken”, Adamma said and moved few steps backwards. “I have not been entirely honest with you”

“I am married” She raised her left hand and he saw a glittering ring on one of her fingers. He had never seen the ring on her finger before.

Kenny was too shocked to say anything. He had been having a love affair with a married woman!

“When i noticed you staring at me two weeks ago i decided to encourage you because i needed companionship and protection. I wanted to stave off advances from other men”

“You were using me!” Kenny found his voice as he shouted.

“But didn’t you like it when i was splashing money on you? Adamma retorted.

“My husband is in Abuja. I tried to influence my posting there but i was late as all the spaces were filled up, so i was asked to choose any other state of my choice for the 3 weeks orientation exercise after which i will be redeployed as all married woman are entitled to.

“But…but i thought you loved me”. Kenny stuttere, he felt horrible, like a blumbing idiot.

“Love?” she gave a quick chuckle and continued “i only liked you. Like is different from love”

“You kissed me!”

“It was just an act of the moment and it served its purpose of dispelling any doubt you had about my sincerity. I have to leave now. Please don’t try to contact me again. My husband is knows everything He is a dangerous man so don’t even think of blackmailing me”

“I can’t believe this is happening to me!” Kenny said.

“You were too love stricken to notice some of the obvious signs that i wasn’t a single lady. Goodbye mr Lover boy”

He watched her walk away from him. He was powerless. There was nothing he could do about it.

His plans and dreams came crashing down. He had been building castles in the air.

He remembered when he was told to be wary of the antics of married woman in camp who disguised themselves as single ladies.

“I never knew this could happen to me. I have been played for a fool”

As Kenny pulled his luggage around looking for a bus conveying corpers to Buruntum, the lyrics of a song byRoxette kept on playing in his head while a small rivulet of tears trickled down the corner of his eyes.

“it must have been love but its over now

It must have been good but i lost it somehow”

The Police in Enugu State have arrested a
suspected fake member of the National Youths
Service Corps, NYSC.
The suspect, whose name was given as Henry
Emeka Onyekwere was arrested at the NYSC
orientation camp in Awgu, Enugu State.
Police spokesman in Enugu State, Mr. Ebere
Amaraizu, DSP, who confirmed the arrest, said
Onyekwere, claimed to be an indigene of Ihube
Okigwe, Imo State and that he was residing in
Ghana.
According to a statement made available to
DailyPost, the suspect equally claimed to have
graduated from the Abia State University Uturu, in
the Department of Industrial Physics.
“He was apprehended by the operatives of the
Nigeria Police Force on 9/11/14 at the National
Youth Service Corps orientation camp in Awgu for
allegedly stealing an NYSC tag and using same to
produce his own tag, with the same tag number
1614.
“Photographs in his ‘call up letter’, as presented,
was quite different from the one in the system of
the NYSC orientation camp.
“The suspect claimed that he actually got into
Abia State University in Uturu between 2010-2013
where he graduated from the Department of
Industrial physics. He further said that he was
not called up to the orientation Camp at Awgu,
hence he had to steal a tag from a corps member,
from where he did a tag for himself to enable him
have a free access in the camp.
“He confirmed that he came to the orientation
camp with a call up letter that is different from
the one in the NYSC system and that he has
stayed up to three days in the camp.
“The Suspect is now pleading for forgiveness just
as the operatives have vowed to bring those
behind the act to book”, Amaraizu said in the
statement.
DailyPost

In Bayelsa oriantation camp,a lady did abort her 7months old pregnancy and dumped it at thed back of the registration building.

The soldiers helped to bury the innocent dead baby yestarday. 

What a lady....!
More Gist Coming Soon..........

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ATTENTION:PROSPECTIVE CORPS MEMBERS.
NYSC Management wants inform all the 2014 Batch 'C' prospective corps members deployed to YOBE State that their orientation course will now hold in KOGI State NYSC orientation camp on 26th November 2014, as stream II instead of jos.

Platoon Registration
When you've submitted your forms and been
given the go-ahead, it's time to report to your
platoon and get registered with them. You have
a Platoon Coordinator and 2-3 Military
Commandants. Your platoon members can
potentially become your family for the next 3
weeks, so mingle and get to know some people.
You might form lifelong friendships, or even meet
your future wife/hubby.
Anyways, you may spend another hour plus
trying to get registered with your platoon. It
depends on if they're registering you on a first-
come, first-served basis, or by your number. This
is the point where you
Get your NYSC kit = Khaki shirt,
khaki trouser, belt, NYSC cap, 2
pairs of socks, 1 pair of boots, 1
pair of white tennis shoes, 2
white t-shirts, and 2 pairs of
shorts. Please be prepared, as all
or none of the above may fit you.
I was lucky - everything fit!
WAIT! On one of the numerous
forms you fill out, they ask for
your clothing and shoe sizes...
so why do they still give you kits
randomly? NO SENSE
WHATSOEVER.
Fill out your information for what
will be your NYSC id. You'll need
to attach another passport
picture here. *My advice about
always having passport pictures
will help you a lot. It doesn't
stop at camp.*
They might also give you a
booklet which has lots of vital
information in it, such as the
Camp Schedule, the NYSC
anthem, rules and regulations,
etc....................

 
Now you have been mobilize, there is a list of things that you should
have with you during the camp period. Some of
these things can be brought with you from home,
or you can buy them at the " Mami Market" when
you've settled into camp.
LIST OF THE ITEMS BELOW.....

• White shorts, shirts and socks.

BRING from home. I would say
at least 3 pairs. This is what you
will be wearing for the next 21
days. Some camps allow plain
clothes on Sundays; mine didn't
(actually they did, but only for
guys - SEXIST LAGOS CAMP!!!

• White sneakers. BRING. NYSC

will supply you with one, but
you'd be lucky if they fit you.
Other alternative is to exchange
with someone else or buy at the
market. It's better to bring one
that's easy to clean because
they get dirty very quickly. I
bought one that all I needed to
do was wipe it down with water
and voila!

• Dettol. BRING or BUY. It's just

to disinfect your bath water,
which brings me to...

• Bucket. BUY in camp Mami

Market. There's no sense in
traveling around with a bucket,
and chances are that you'll want
to leave it in camp when you're
leaving anyways.

• Towel. BRING from home. At

least you know it's clean.
Anything you buy from Mami
Market may or may not be
secondhand. Now is NOT the
time for vintage/thrift shopping!

• Bedsheets, pillow cases, and a

pillow. BRING from home. Again,
the peace of knowing what
you're sleeping on is clean.
Mattresses will be provided by
NYSC. It is best to "double up"
with the mattresses, as they are
about 1 to 2 inches thick. I
basically slept on the spring for 2
weeks because I got one
exceedingly thin mattress :(

• Handkerchief. BRING from home.

There will be BUCKETS of
sweating. Do yourself a favor.

• Sleep clothes. BRING from home.

*note that it is ridiculously hot
at night, so a large t-shirt or
long tank top and little shorts
will suffice. In my experience, I
went from fully clothed at night
to sleeping in my underwear by
the end of the camp*

• Underwear. BRING from home -

DUH!!! Although I have to
mention that I discovered
disposable underwear at one of
the stalls in the market. It's not
a bad option, seeing as someone
stole one of my panties!
Ewwwww, how do you steal
someone's underwear??? NASTY!

• Bathroom slippers. BRING or

BUY. Trust me, going barefoot
for even a second in camp is
NOT an option. The bathrooms
are filthy! The bedrooms are
dirty! The corridors are icky! Just
have something on your feet at
all times.

• Detergent. BUY from market.

Again, this reduces the amount
of load you're bringing into
camp. Remember how I said
camp offers no frills? You have
to wash your clothes, underwear,
and bed things. However, if
you're lucky the mami market
will have vendors offering laundry
services! The only caveats are:
you run the risk of your stuff
getting lost (this one vendor lost
my shorts, shirt and socks and
had the nerve to grumble when I
switched to someone else) and
the money quickly adds up. It
costs N50 per item, N100 for
your khaki trousers or shirt, extra
N50 if you want your items
ironed. I'm not sure how much
washing your shoes cost.

• Flashlight and batteries. BRING

or BUY. Seeing as there's hardly
ever any electricity, and you
might want to read at night,
having the flashlight helps.

• Toilet paper. BUY in Mami

Market. The bathroom situation -
well, I'll give tips in another post
- but you do need toilet paper.
Always carry around with you,
just in case...

• Painkillers, malaria medicine,

allergy medicine, etc. BRING
from home. You do not want to
make the mistake of getting ill in
camp. The camp clinic is a BIG
JOKE! True story - A corper from
the previous batch donated at
least a million naira worth of
medicine to our camp clinic, and
barely a few days later, they
claimed to have run out of
medicine *insert BB straight face
here* WTH?????

• Padlock. BRING or BUY. Well, I

didn't take any with me because
I went to camp with a hard
Samsonite suitcase - no
padlocks required. And anyways,
thieves apparently were simply
tearing people's bags with
scissors or knives to get to their
things.

• Waist pouch/Fanny pack/Bum

bag (or for the more fashion-
conscious, a cross-body purse).
BRING from home. The bum
bags are more popular because
they won't bang against you
when you're active and your
hands are free to do whatever.
You need it to carry your money,
phone, small valuables, pens, etc
around with you at all times. You
should sleep with it too.

• Good old CASH MONEY! If

you're like me, you would need
money for laundry, to charge
your phone, to eat and drink, to
purchase necessary items, to buy
UNnecessary items, etc. You can
budget N1000 per day to cover
the basics. Make sure you bring
smaller denominations... I ran
into issues because I had only
N1000 notes most of the time.
Plate/Bowl or Food flask with
Cup. BRING or BUY. I never ate
the food provided by the camp
kitchen, so I never needed these
items. I only drank coffee (yup,
we had a coffee stand) and ate
chicken pie from TFC (Tasty
Fried Chicken); shawarma (yes,
we also had 3 vendors making
shawarma); small chops, suya;
and noodles. Ooooooh! I also
bought akara in the morning
(take one notch from my Aje-
Butter belt), and had plantain
and/or sweet potatoes for dinner.
They cost N10 per piece, so it
wasn't expensive and I got full
on 5 pieces generally.

• Mosquito net. Erm, considering

that I still got bitten by
mosquitoes EVERY NIGHT and
caught malaria 3 weeks after
camp, I'm not sure this having
this helped. Maybe BRING
mosquito repellent? But you
must religiously apply it on your
skin! MUST!!!
MORE LIST COMING...PLS SHARE THIS POST TO YOUR FELLOW OTONDO.
and drop ya comments below.