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How a random photograph brought us together


 

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 and Electronics Engineering. 

One day while sharing camp memories, the Man o' war experience came up. That was my golden moment. I gathered the courage to shoot my shot. I told her I was the guy in the photo with her, and I had solid evidence. That broke the ice, and from there, we became good friends. Coincidentally, we were both executives in the CDS—I was President, she was Financial Secretary. Our friendship grew so deeply that by the end of our service year, we had become inseparable. 

It wasn’t an easy journey. She came from a devoted Muslim family—her father, an Alhaji, was strongly against our relationship. I am a Christian, and initially, we thought it was impossible. Her father was furious, but when he found out his daughter was pregnant, he eventually gave in. By November 2020, we got legally married, and God has blessed us with two beautiful children: David and Anastasia Olaniyan. 

Today makes it exactly 8 years since we met at NYSC camp. By November, our marriage will be 5 years. NYSC didn’t just give me a certificate, it gave me a life partner, my queen and my jewel of inestimable value.❤️

Thank you NYSC. Long live NYSC. Long live Nigeria.

________

#CorpersDiary_NG #nysc

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