Eko Corper Pt 2 (Surviving NYSC CAMP) posted July 17, 2007

Arrival at the camp was a shock to the system, not least because of the queues (and I use the multiple term here on purpose) stretched out in front. The reason was plain to see, it was the lack of manpower and organisation, this lack of anything, organisation and otherwise was to prove unimaginable as time went by. No food was provided for the corpers while we were waiting because we had not been registered, there was no shade where we sat, stood or otherwise fainted in the burning March sun while the NYSC took its happy time registering us. As such, we had to get the only food available which was from the Mami (camp) Market, and the marketers obviously used to this little game saw the arrival of the corpers as a financial boon, and did their ample best to make sure we felt the pinch from the beginning.

Photocopying cost N10 for one copy (it is N5 outside camp), glue, stapler, tippex and other essentials that the NYSC did not tell us to bring, or provide for us ranged in price from N5 – N20 depending on who you spoke to and at what time you spoke to them. Things went from bad to worse when at about 10 pm some market sellers started selling big bottles of eva water for N200 (N100 outside). Due to the lack of any provisions being laid down for us, we were forced to part with money we did not have, and as no other options were available we were forced to spend the money just to get some water, and food.

The indignities visited on us did not end there, after a full day of sun, cramps and money haemorrhaging; (and believe me I was bleeding badly), I was informed after finally getting to the registration desk that the NYSC were unable to register me, you ask yourself why, well let me enlighten you. As a foreign student, I needed my passport to proceed, not just my NIGERIAN PASSPORT, but also my BRITISH PASSPORT, and I would have to keep hold of it in CAMP for ID (Lagos camp I was told is not known for its honest corpers or staff, so you can imagine my fear). The pity of this was that they did not tell me this when I was applying to join the Service, neither did they mention it in the many announcements made on the PA system and they definitely did not put up any signs indicating this. So at 10.30pm, I had to get on the phone with my parents asking them to bring my passports, to the camp, and I am sorry to say that as the night wore on, I got a better idea of what the NYSC would turn out to be.

Still unregistered, I was unable to get a bed or a mattress, so I had to spend the night sleeping on 2 plastic chairs pushed together outside, (trust me when I say that, that was the best 2 night sleep I would get for the next 3 weeks). The NYSC, managed to squeeze 32 people, 16 bunks into rooms better able to accommodate 24 at the most. The rooms, bathrooms and toilets were filthy and we had to pay the NYSC cleaners to clean it to useable condition, something which it turns out is impossible to achieve. The fire safety of the hostels were non existent, to leave the room you had to squeeze )( out of your bunk corner, then try to make your way past the bunks put in the middle of the room. Finally if you survive the obstacle course prayfully make your way to the door and hope that in the dark someone had not poured water or something else on the floor. Stumble down the unlit passage way tripping over, poo baskets, wet floors from drying clothes, people sleeping in the corridor because they could not get a room, then you arrive downstairs. At that point you start to understand how people could die in the stampede that occurred during the sinking of the Titanic, because at the exiting gates when not lock to keep we poor girls virginity (most of us had lost it yonks ago thank you v much), you are caught in a crush of epic proportions which makes a football game in the middle of a riot seem like a little disturbance.

The crush of people is something that I will never forget, I wake up with nightmares thinking of the crush. Every occasion brought about the crush and the queues which lasted for hours in the sun. Meal times were always late, and was badly cooked (this makes sense because of the N2500 assigned for each corpers meal for the day I am willing to bet only about N50 was actually spent to feed each person, I can never eat beans again in my life because of the NYSC). Filling out the book of life made you feel you were spending your whole life trying to get this done, getting the transport allowance, through all of this, the lack of organisation was glaringly obvious.

The indignity of the NYSC to this point was only surpassed by the kit which was given to us. The best way to described it is a crotch itching, badly made, to big or too small uniform which you as a youth corper had to repair at the grand price cost of ******N400 to take the sides in or N1200 to add a bit of fabric to it*****. Clothes that fell apart when you washed them and split when you wear them once, shoes that stared to break apart the first time you wore them. The inadequate amount of the clothing provided meant another business opportunity to the marketers who started selling white shirts at N1000 and shorts at N1200.

Life in the camp did not improve, from the lack of adequate water, both for drinking, bathing and washing, life in the camp could be best described as hell. The conditions in the camp were so bad that members of staff and army officers likened it to nothing they had ever seen or experienced……. I’m guessing hell!!!