Welcome to Corpers Diary

  It all started on Wednesday, 2nd February 2022. I was posted to Sokoto for NYSC camp, but I had planned to be a “ghost Corper” since I lived in Kebbi, just two hours away. My plan was to only show up for clearances and return home. I was posted to Shehu Shagari College of Education (SSCOE), Sokoto, for my PPA with my friend Firdausi.  After documentation, we were to choose a CDS group. Firdausi picked Freedom of Information Vanguard (FOIV) because it was close to the Corper’s lodge and advised me to do the same, so I did. I still wanted to relocate to Kebbi, but Firdausi encouraged me to attend CDS at least a few times to know how things worked. One Wednesday, we trekked to the CDS venue at Bado Quarters. I arrived late.  As I entered, I saw her—Saudat. A calm, beautiful young lady. I froze thinking, “If she agrees to date me, I’ll marry her after NYSC,” but another thought said, “Forget it, girls this fine here are probably married already.” Throughout the meeting, I k...

  My wife and I met in the most unplanned and unconscious way during our NYSC orientation camp at Ede in Osun State, Batch B, Stream 1, in 2017. She was in Platoon 3 while I was in Platoon 4. We didn’t know each other then.  Our first encounter was during the man o' war drill. I had asked my camp photographer to capture random moments, and by chance, he took a picture that had both of us. Funny enough, I didn’t know her name. Life has its way of working things out. After camp, we were both posted to the same CDS group—Dance and Drama in Osogbo, Osun State. The first day I saw her there, I immediately recognized her from the photo. I wanted to tell her, but I was afraid of embarrassing myself.  She looked so sophisticated, especially knowing she was a foreign student from Houdegbe North American University, Benin Republic, where she studied Accounting. I, on the other hand, was just a simple guy from Ogun State Institute of Technology, Igbesa, where I studied Electrical an...

The NYSC year of 2022 took an unexpected but beautiful turn right after orientation camp at Ise-Emure, Ekiti State. After camp, I relocated to my home state, Delta.  Like many other corpers trying to find their feet, I joined a WhatsApp group created for corpers serving in Delta State. I remember feeling curious and a little nervous, so I asked in the group chat if there were other corpers posted to my local government area. A fellow corps member responded to my message. He had already been serving - he was from Batch B, Stream 1, while I was Batch B, Stream 2. That was our very first interaction. It seemed simple at the time, but little did I know it was the beginning of something truly life-changing.  Four months into our friendship, on December 28, 2022 to be precise - he officially asked me to be his girlfriend. I didn’t need to think twice; I said yes immediately. From that moment on, our connection only grew stronger. Throughout 2023, we dated with intention, learned abo...

Ride with me back to January 2017, NYSC called and we were posted to Benue. A few days after camp started, a friend who had met us individually said to Sodiq he found a lady from Ibadan who could be his match for ‘bad mouth’ and he asked to meet. Thankfully, we were in same Platoon 10 so it was easier for him to introduce us. Some bants here and there, well you should know who won. Fast forward to January 31, 2017, we happened to sit next to each other during SAED class and his phone gallery scroll revealed we have a mutual friend and that kicked off endless hours of talks and bants. While people were running away from SAED, we turned it to our rendezvous to nurture our friendship. Unfortunately, Sodiq got posted to Vandeikya LG while I got posted to Apa LG. I remember we asked one of the vendors in Maami market how far the two locations are to each other and the guy laughed at us for not sticking to the ‘don’t fall in love in camp’ mantra. Technically, we were just trying to nurture o...

  Samson and I met during our service year, precisely in our CDS group - Drug Free and Quality Control (DFQC), Ilorin, Kwara State in the year 2021. I was the first to spot him but he did not take notice of me until January 2022. He was Batch B2 2021 while I was Batch C1, 2021.  We were planning a Valentine exchange of gifts in the CDS Group where I served as PRO. So names were picked randomly in a ballot. After the exercise, I went around asking to know who picked my name. Samson came close to me and said he picked my name. I asked him to show me the evidence, he said he was joking, so I hissed and left him.  After the meeting that Thursday, we took pictures together as proof that the meeting held. He came back to me and gave me a phone to put my number which I obliged. Later that night, a message popped in with the words "My wife 😁". I was like "who wan marry dis one", after which I asked "who told u I'm your wife?". He said I should not worry. We g...

Oluwaseun and I were deployed for NYSC Batch A in March 2020 during the heat of COVID-19. NYSC had suspended the orientation program to curb the virus's spread, leaving me idle at home for months, unsure when I’d resume.  In August 2020, we were suddenly notified to report to our PPAs. Upon arriving at mine, I was distraught—I had been posted to Kishi, a remote village in Oyo State I had never heard of. But after months of waiting, I summoned the courage to proceed.  At the NCCF family house in Kishi, I arrived a few days before Oluwaseun and was warmly welcomed. The NCCF family showed us unconditional love, feeding and caring for us as we settled in. After weeks of staying, we were assigned roles — Oluwaseun became the Music Director, while I was elected the Uncle of the house and later the CLO by my LGI.  During our time at NCCF, Oluwaseun and I became close, and she helped me grow spiritually. On our POP day in February 2021, I was excited to leave Kishi for good but s...