Service Year Boulevard 69

Kofa Bibious can be likened to Helen of Troy huh?LOL

Stella nwunye Korkus you are really doing a great job on this blog with the various posts you keep us informed, educated and entertained with, kudos nwanyi oma. I have decided to send in my SYB before you freeze it like the mmm ponzi scheme...*side eyes @ bv fan Emmanuel n co.

Anyways my nysc year was such an eventful one that a single post won't be enough for it but I still must tell my story in one post. Its lengthy pls bear with me.

In 2008, I happened to be among the pioneer batch C set that spent just 2 weeks in camp as against the usual 3 weeks. I was posted to the north; kano precisely. I literally died and woke up and even cried my eyes out the day I got my posting letter. I was heart broken because despite my 'working' it to Abuja where i had relatives i ended up in far away Kano. I actually schooled in the east.

The very Thursday camp opened I traveled from Abuja to Kano. I was moody all through the journey. I happened to be the only corper and the only lady in the 504 station wagon heading to Kano that morning and different thoughts played in my lil head as the men in the vehicle with me could barely speak English and I could not speak Hausa. 'Lord am in your hands" was my heart's ringtone all through the journey.

 I was quite relieved when I alighted @ Naibawa park and then my mood lightened up when I was joined by other corpers from other parts of naija who were also heading to Karaye camp. We got to camp @ about 4pm; from the gate the officials on duty checked to ensure we had no sharp object eg razor or electrical appliances eg kettle, boiling ring etc in our possession, then the ladies proceeded to the camp clinic for PT while d guys went straight to the multipurpose hall where registration held. 

I and the new friend (who later became my corner mate and camp bestie) I made while on transit to camp were certified pregnancy free and so we proceeded to the hall for registration, it was stressful. We retired to the rooms alloted to us around 9pm after we had dinner @ maami. We were abt 11 in our room, Infact d total number of corp members was not even up to eight hundred (800) so there was no case of ovecrowding as the rooms had empty bunks unoccupied. Infact i slept up while my boxes and other personal effects graced the down bunk. 

Camp was fun and quite stressful because the usual 3 weeks activities was moduled up into the 2 weeks we spent. The camp environment was clean and new; my set then was the second set to encamp the newly built karaye camp by the then Gov. Mallam Shekarau as @ Nov 2008. 

Camp food was nice to an extent but their tuwo was a no no for me. We had light most of the time and there was generator on standby for use @ night when PHCN decides to hold power.

 I took part in almost every activity on camp minus the endurance trek(my lovely fair skin had already darkened from the almighty heartless mean kano sun and I didn't want to turn to 'burnt charcoal black' before the expiration of my 2 weeks stay). I would have contested for miss nysc but my 5'4inches stature according to our platoon commandant was a no no... even though I beauriful sha.. 

There was serious harmattan that season so we experienced extreme cold in the mornings, heat @ noons and triple extreme cold @ night. I fell sick towards the end of camping and so i stopped going out for morning parades. I had no camp boo but I made lots and lots of friends like it was going out of fashion.

After the 2 weeks myself and about 8 others were posted to an interior village to teach, d village lacked good road and basic electricity. Light came once in two weeks. We were left @ the mercy of roadside phone chargers whenever we needed to charge out phones; #50 for every charge.


Asides the presence of corpers there was nothing much d village had to offer. We usually went to kano town(sabon gari) on our CDs days for sight seeing and to shop( we did major shopping like buying of fish, goat meat, ogbono, cosmetics etc as those things were non existent in that locality). We were addressed as 'kofas' and we enjoyed free rides and uncommon favours whenever we were fully kitted.

 The indigenes were friendly and Boko Haram (BH) had not started rearing its ugly head then so the place was relatively peaceful. Our corpers lodge was awesome- spacious kitchen, room, toilet/ bathroom.

I was the toast of many in my PPA including my LI and even corpers especially those who were ahead of us (batch b), I had more toasters compared to other female kofas;I always wondered what they saw in me then cos i was so petite, slim and the youngest in my set- maybe its my sweet, easy going charming attitude they fell for.

Eventually I later had a PPA boo(Batch B) and my PPA boo had a besty-a fellow batch B corper who also wanted me and was toasting me behind his friend. it eventually caused rift between both of them and it severed the robust relationship they once enjoyed before batch C came. I became the talk of many as I was regarded as the babe whom two guys were fighting over; hmmm they almost went physical the very day PPA boo confronted his so called besty. 

On the social level; We partied(there was always something to celebrate from birthdays to victories @ inter community football matches to valentine gigs etc) at least twice a month and that was what kept us going in Madobi village. Water was sufficient and the available food items were so cheap- with #200 one could make a tasty well granished soup like okro. #100 meat would comfortably be enough to prepare soup and stew. Every Sunday I and other catholic corp members would transport ourselves to Sabon gari to attend mass @ our lady of Fatima cathedral. I was a very strong catholic then; Spending two hours on the road before getting to church was no biggie to me. I did not associate with the NCCF family @ all. NACC was the place to be.

At the school where i taught, my students (boys only) and even the principal could not pronounce my name properly and so instead of Corper Vivien, I was addressed as 'Kofa Bibious'. Hahahaha. 

I enjoyed teaching there sha as I had less work to do; not all the topics in mathematics where they able to assimilate and so I chose the topics that were more real than abstract. I could teach one topic for 3 weeks and the students will still fail continous assessment test. Chai but education in some parts of the north is an apology. Sorry to say,,!!!

At the end of my service year in october 2009, the school gifted my fellow batch C colleague and I wall clocks, 6yards of Ankara and some cash. I made my way back to Abuja a day after PoP. if not for the BH crisis which started that same 2009 I wanted to remain there.

Kano town is such a beautiful place as cost of living, clothing, housing is relatively cheap. Kano is also synonymous for pure gold.... I wish to visit Kano town again if not for any other thing but to buy gold. Ohhhh it's a pity how the north has never been the same since the invasion of BH.

Lest i forget two people found love during that our service year and they are happily married today with kids. My PPA boo and I have not set eyes on each other since 2009(we fell apart) but I still keep in touch with few of the many friends I made there.

Forgive my typos.I hope I dint bore you wt my SYB
Thanks for reading
Its me ex kofa Bibious.

*Chai so the two men scattered because of you and you still dumped that one?chai....you strong oh...LOL

Kofa Bibious thanks for the story.