Stella Dimoko Korkus.com: Service Year Boulevard 112

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Thursday, June 20, 2019

Service Year Boulevard 112

A Service year Boulevard details and summarizes what happened from when you get your call up letter to when you are lvining your place of primary assignment.






PSA: This is a long read.

When I went to school to get my call up letter with the hope of getting Lagos as I had worked it, imagine the utter shock of seeing Brono on my letter. I was devastated as I was currently doing a holiday job with one of the Big 4 audit firm and hoped to continue there as a corper.


 I cried for days, my family kept telling me ‘mind over matter’, ‘brace up and face the world’. I couldn’t wrap my head around the positivity, what is there to have mind over matter *roll eyes*.


Before leaving Lagos, I met up with school mates (3 other ladies) going to Brono as well and we all flew down together, it was a long flight, 4hrs in total as there were stop overs in Abuja and Yobe. On getting to the camp, it was late, and we were exhausted. We did the whole shenanigans of getting settled in and we all stuck together throughout camp.

I was a very LAZY copper to the point I was known by all, both corpers and soldiers. There was an incident that happened, on a sunny afternoon (God forbid you catch lazy me in the sun), the camp commandant himself was the one that did rounds of chasing and punishing people that stayed back in the dorms. 


Everybody thought, finally she will be punished today as the commandment was not looking at any doctor’s report except for the one issued by the camp’s CMD. I had a doctor’s report from Lagos which was to serve as my basis for redeployment back to Lagos and I used to show the soldiers why I couldn’t stay in the sun, luckily for me on this day I had a letter from the CMD to allow me stay in the dorm as I was purging and I needed easy access to the toilet. 


The CMD’s letter saved me from punishment and the commandant ordered me to go stay in the clinic, so you can imagine the shock on people’s faces when I came out of the dorm and swayed to the clinic in front of the parade rather than kneeling down like the other offenders.

Fast forward to the day of posting, I checked through the redeployment list and my name was absent, oh boy I cried and cried and remembered all the days of faffing and the soldiers threatening that I would be posted to Mallam Fatori – (a PPA where you have to get on a camel to complete your journey there, it was that far, part of the gist then was that a particular street there had Cameroon on a side and Nigeria on another side). One of us got her redeployment, the other 2 had already worked their posting to the capital city – MMC. 

Foolish me, I didn’t work anything as I was super sure I was getting redeployed. Finally, I summoned up courage and went to get my letter, I was posted to a local government, 30mins away from the capital city – Damboa (God bless this place, it has been destroyed by the insurgent circa 2012/2013).



I got to the PPA with the other corpers and I knew I was in trouble, it was a proper village with mud huts, thankfully there was electricity and it was constant. I settled into my new home for next few weeks (I still believed my redeployment will sail through) and made up my mind to try not to be miserable. My mum called from her place of sojourn (she was not in the country then) and told me to open my eyes to opportunities, I was like; “Mum! Have you been here before, this is a desert what work opportunity would I get in a village apart from teaching students that would tell you “Ba turanchi” meaning I do not understand English”. 


She said “no, you can meet a nice boyfriend there”. “Huh! Mummy! This is the least of my concern I beg, my focus in on my career and how I can get it back on track by redeploying and going to my former place of work. Boyfriend business is far from my head now” (I had just broken up with my boyfriend of 4years about 6months to camp). Anyways, it seems the universe was in alignment with my mum.


Back then, I used to play a game in my head whenever I met a new guy, I always wondered if this will be my future husband, don’t blame me, blame it on the breakup trauma I was suffering from, lol! The call from my mum brought this game back to my subconscious on a night when I met Odafe, his gist had preceded him in the female corper’s lodge as he was a fresh fish from Lagos. Going by the girls’ taste in men (they were dating corporals, nothing wrong but not my preference), I didn’t pay attention to the hype of the ‘new guy’ – Odafe, I felt here goes exaggerations again. 


Few days later I was at the boy’s lodge playing scrabble when a tall, dark and handsome guy towered in the doorway of the room I was in, my little game in my head came to mind and I hurriedly brushed it away as the first thing he said pissed me off. I was like a local champion of sort regarding scrabble matters as nobody used to challenge words I played, imagine the horror that night when Odafe opened his mouth and challenged a word I had play before he came in, “who played this word”, I rolled my eyes and replied, “I did, why?”, let’s just say that ended my reign as local champion, we exchanged banters and I later found out he was the “Odafe, the Lagos boy”. Long story short, we had several mild run ins over the next few days, little did I know it was the mutual chemistry we both felt that we were fighting. Eventually, we gave up and allowed fate take over. We bonded, had similar interests in topics, he was different from others, we could both relate to things, gist, situation and basically saw things from same perspective, he was very intelligent, still is (I find that very sexy in a man).

To cut the already long story short, Odafe asked me out, even though I had fallen for him, I stalled and told him, “this place is like Big Brother House, let’s get back to Lagos where we both reside and see if we still feel the same way” (I wanted to be sure there was no girlfriend back in Lagos). About 6 weeks after meeting Odafe, my redeployment clicked and we both went back to Lagos, He had been waiting for me as his hustle was waiting for him in Lagos, (he shuttled between Lagos and Brono during the service year). After service year, we both got a job in the same place of work, a multinational company, we got married 3 years after service and have been happily married for 8years and counting.

Looking back, Brono was a blessing to me in all ramification, apart from meeting my husband and best friend, I needed to see life from a flip side, and I am thankful for that experience.



N.B: I didn’t get back my holiday job, I spent the reminder of my service year in my father’s house, nurturing our budding relationship whilst job hunting for both of us for jobs after service year.



This doesnt feel like a service year story..........

Please where is Brono?

39 comments:

  1. Never heard of Brono.
    Maybe it’s Borno.

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  2. It's Borno State she's trying to say




    *Larry was here*

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    Replies
    1. Starry it's been a while. Hope you are good?

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  3. Hahahaha I was also reading and got to the 'Brono' part...🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

    Hmm ajebutter Corper...my dear you didn't serve o😆

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  4. I like how it ended for you both.

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  5. Okay, I love this one!

    No puppy love/infuation. 😁

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  6. I follow you ask Stella, where is Brono??

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  7. This is sweet.
    I love LOVE.
    you served thy father's land during the period when boys are men and they were serious with their life prospects.

    but these days alot of kopa bobos are legbebe and street ti take over their head and some girls girl nko, na slayers of the universe.

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  8. I will give you my NYSC story when somethings fall through. It will come in phases because it connected one thing to another.

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  9. I love these NYSC stories. I served 31 years ago and I had a blast! Mine was a proper ajebutter service. Camp in Lagos, parties in VI and Ikoyi. Remember some of us doing morning parade in our party outfits once. The camp commandant will call us by the cities where we studied instead of our names. Served in an oil company in Lagos earning 4 times the government stipend (I had friends earning 6 times that amount in one of the top consultancy firms). Our weekly clean up was by Falomo round about and we had our family drivers bring food and drinks to us whilst we were working. The soldiers assigned to supervise the clean up gave up and we became life long friends. Memories.

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    Replies
    1. Wow! This is real ajebutter service year. 31 years ago!! Pls send in your story I'm sure it'll be a good read

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    2. Oh God give me money my daughter Na follow come butter but no money 💰

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    3. Wow, nice memories..

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  10. If you had stayed back cos of the job in the audit firm and refused to go to Borno, you might still be single today. Your version of the story is that you went to do NYSC in Borno; God's version is that you went to Borno to meet your husband. If you hadn't broken up with your ex six months before camp, you won't be married to your husband today. Not that being single is a disease but when God is trying to arrange our life, it's best for us not to chook our own hands inside to scatter it. Not everything we are uncomfortable with, is necessarily a bad thing.

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    Replies
    1. I wish I could like this comment a thousand times. I hope to share my testimony soon

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    2. True talk o,may we always allow God lead us

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    3. Prophet of doom, evil seer. Who told you she would have till be single if she didnt go to Borno

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  11. Brono? Graduate/Corp member...Do you really know your State and Capital?

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    Replies
    1. have you heard of auto correct?

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  12. I wish I have the energy to type mine. some day I will

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  13. I enjoyed reading your story, I had an interesting service year too, I'll send in my story soon.

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  14. This na is not service now,you just went for orientation and came back. I served 2012 in Ondo state ikare ekiti I thing. Did not go to the dining for one day,did not spend a dime and got redeployed after orientation back to phc. Others where teaching in schools,me that came late got a firm and was been paid 4x,my nysc allowance. Then it was 7k5. All through my service year,did not touch my allowance at all. My brother and uncle kept me on allowance, then i had admirers plenty. Was not even eating the food provided by the office,but was having free lunch every day. Also met my hubby during my seevice year.

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    Replies
    1. Ikare Ekiti indeed. It is ikare-Akoko! Ikare-Akoko is in Ondo State while Ekiti is the neighbouring state. You are welcome.

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    2. At least i sha still get the ikare. Any way thank you. Remember the years don plenty pass oh.

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    3. NYSC paid more than 7k5 in 2012

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    4. Charity exactly what I was thinking
      I served 2012/2013 and collected #19,800.

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    5. I served 2011/2012. And the allowance was 19800. So how come yours was 7k5

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  15. I'll be done with my service by first week of July. I'll definitely send in my SYB. I just hope I don't get decoded.

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  16. I was initially posted to the north but I redeployed to the south west. Love threw me out of the window and scattered my head. I'll send in my SYB after pop.

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  17. Nysc can do lots of wonders, met the love of my life during service year too.so unexpected

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  18. Madame Koinkoin20 June 2019 at 18:54

    Wow @ poster see me blushing on your behalf , what a happy ending

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  19. Such a sweet story.

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