Ever since I was little, one of my hobbies was discovering new places and exploring them, because, to me, there is nothing quite like traveling and seeing a new place for the first time.
People of all ages, from all around the world, go to foreign places for different reasons and in this post, I will be narrating my NYSC travel experience to Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria…
Please, you’re free to also share your Nysc camp or travel experience in the comments section if you’ve done yours or are still in the process..
The term NYSC is not new to most Nigerians. But should in case you’re coming across it for the first time. I’ll throw some light into it for you quickly..
The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) is a program set up by the Nigerian government to involve Nigerian graduates in nation-building and the development of the country..
Graduates of tertiary institutions are required to take part in the National Youth Service Corps program for one year, which is known as national service year.
They’re to arrive at the NYSC orientation camps to be there for three weeks in which thereafter, they’re deployed to a Place of Primary Assignment (POP) which could be a school, a hospital, a private establishment, a government or state parastatal, etc. for the rest of the one year..
As a Nigerian Youth, It is compulsory to serve the country, as it is part of the requirements to getting a job in Nigeria, especially if you want to work for the Nigerian government.
(See Also Eligibility for service)
At the end of the Service year, a federal government-issued certificate is given to you as an evidence of your 1-year of complete service.
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Ok with that said… My starting point of traveling happened from boarding a bus at the park…
My traveling style is always backpack traveling because it can make everything easier… The journey took four hours. because i traveled from Abia State. Abia State isn’t that far from Akwa Ibom, so I just stayed awake looking outside through the bus window and enjoying my journey.
I always love watching the many trees along the road via the window while traveling, it reminds me of the wonders of our creator…
When I arrived at my destination (Akwaibom), I notice the surroundings first. (I do that a lot). I noticed the nice ornamental flowers planted on the divides of the road, the cool traffic, the roadside drainage’s that were designed nicely and the nice traffic lights and cool roads too..
When i got down from the bus at the bus stop, I realized that there were other corpers going to the NYSC orientation camp as well as I, and almost everybody that boarded the same bus which I did all the way from Abia State, surprisingly were also corpers going to the nysc orientation camp.
So i made friends instantly with some, as we were all going in the same direction…
We had to board another cab to the NYSC Orientation camp precisely at Nsit Atai in Akwa Ibom State, where the NYSC orientation camp is located.
My experience in the Orientation Camp
when we arrived at the camp gate, we were greeted by the soldiers.. They told us to join the queue we saw there. First, our luggage were seriously scrutinized in case of any exhibits.. Electronic gadgets, knives, and some kind of key holders weren’t allowed in..
They were seized right there at the gate if any was found. Our documents were verified, all of them.. Our call-up letters, statement of result, O level result, School ID, etc Were temporarily verified.. I said temporarily because we still went through another serious verification at the next verification line… I felt relieved the moment i passed that step..
A number was given to me/us during those verification and registration steps…
Whatever the number ended with was the platoon number one fell in… For example, if you were giving 0571, you are meant to be in platoon 1.. 0572, you’re meant to be in platoon 2.. but if your number ends in zero (0), like 0570, you’re meant to be in platoon 10…
So with this number, we went to our various platoon stands for registration… My number was 0571, meaning that i was in platoon 1.. Once i was properly registered in my platoon, there and then i was given my NYSC kits… I rejoiced…phase cleared…
You can also write /share your own NYSC experience story for others to see by clicking here
The next step was getting a hostel, where we would stay during the three weeks of orientation camping.
First, I had to go and get a mattress from a different room together with my new friends.
The room where these mattresses were kept was a very stuffy room. Most of the mattresses there were very dusty and flat, so we had to search for nicer ones.
We then went to the hostel and got a bunk space. (See Also the hostel stories you will never be told till you get to camp)
The activities I did everyday while on Camp
Every morning, the soldiers woke us up with trumpets by 5 am. We had to hurry and dress up before they came to drive us out..
You’ll be hearing soldiers shouting with their deep voices, ‘Are you walking down here? Come on, double up! double up! ‘ ‘What’s double up? ‘you might be asking yourself right now.
It means, ‘You better start running down here! ..
We gathered for morning devotions where the Christians and Muslims prayed at their designated places together for like an hour. After that, we would jog and do man-o-war drills for another hour.
By 7:30 8 am, we go to the dining with our meal tickets for food. Its usually very long queues for almost everything in camp. which I got used to it with time.
I participated in various activities such as Man o war drills, Jean carnival, match past, SAED training, and the swearing-in ceremony where we were inducted as Corps members.
I didn’t take many pictures but the few i took I’ve kept for you. See photos below
After the 3 weeks orientation camp, I was posted to Ibeno LGA where my place of primary assignment was..
In the camp on our departure day, I and others posted to the same LGA were welcomed and conveyed to our PPA by the (NCCF) Nigerian Christian Corpers Fellowship..
They provided a bus to aid various corps members to their individual PPA’s.. The NCCF is represented in all the 36 states of the federation and with their sub-zones in almost all the LGA’s in the country..
I eventually became a member of the NCCF and i spent the rest of my service year under their shelter.. It was a home away from home..
click here to know more about the Nigerian Christian Corpers Fellowship..
It was really a nice and memorable experience in general. It was an opportunity to meet new people from different parts of Nigeria.
Akwa ibom is really a nice place to be and also to serve.. In the future, I will try to visit more places and probably go around the world someday to find new and nicer places….
Thanks for reading… You can also write /share your own NYSC experience story for others to see by clicking here or in the comments section
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Thanks for reading…
