A Farewell Message to NYSC 2015 Batch B
A Farewell Message to NYSC 2015 Batch B
Like a lion in the jungle, he stands over the hill in pride and views his territory.
His chest puffed out and his nose in the air with authority and arrogance to all the lesser animals that are yet to gain the experience he has in the past year. His elders let him enjoy his moment for the time being because he deserves it. This is how every Corper feels on the day of their passing out parade. You have every right to feel the intense happiness and relief you feel now and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
Your mind goes into a time warp from the tedious registration process to your nerves when you see where you have been posted to. You begin to prepare for life in a completely unknown and different setting than the one you know; hoping and praying to God you make it through alive and also wondering why service to your country is relevant.
The first day you stepped into camp, you remember the crowd of unfamiliar people coupled with people in military uniforms barking out orders to you on how to behave and what to do in camp. You whisper in complaint and someone close by picks it up, smiles and whisper a supporting complaint. That is the beginning of a beautiful friendship established in camp that could go on for life. The friends you meet make this process make the journey worthwhile because you learn how to hustle together and overcome your obstacles; lest we forget all the ‘gbeses’ you fall into. Do not forget any of them.
After the camp period, you moved onto serious work where you got a taste of the professional lives of Nigerians and their various sectors in the society. You learn how to perform various tasks in preparation for your work in that sector. Your PPA’s teach you how the Nigerian economy runs around your professional life and how to go about various tasks.
At this point, the journey that seemed to be an inconvenience to you at the start begins to make sense and you begin to see the relevance of the compulsory program instilled by the government. Let’s also admit it; the allowance money also compensates the stress you endure a bit.
At the end of everything, lifting that piece of paper at the end of your ‘otondo’ session makes everything worth it. My wonderful service mates, you can finally say, you came, you saw, and you have conquered everything NYSC has thrown at you to make you a better Nigerian and overall a better person.
Congratulations NYSC 2015 Batch B and good luck in your life endeavours.
