WHAT'S NEW

1. ABRESTS AWARDS / DINNER NIGHT was held on 3rd September, 2004 where i presented with an AWARD OF EXCELLENCE in STUDENTS LEADERSHIP.
2. I sat for my Final Degree Examination on 24th September, 2004.
3. My Seminar Presentation on "The Role of Oxygen in Brewing" took place in November, 2004 in Brewing Science and Technology Lecture Hall / Laboratory, University of Uyo.
4. I started my Research Project on the "Comparative Study of the Effects of Temperatures of Extraction and Fermentation Profile of Coconut Milk" late November and 'panelly' Defended it December 19, 2004.
5. Anietie Essiet's (my elder sister's) wedding took place on the 12th of March, 2005. She is now married to Mr Bamidele Olaranti in Alasia Congregation, Agbara, Lagos State, Nigeria.
6. I attended the just-concluded Circuit Assembly which held 2nd and 3rd April, 2005 there in Uyo City, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria.
7. The 6th Convocation Ceremony of University of Uyo where I obtained my B.sc (Hon.) in Brewing Science and Technology held on 16th April, 2005 at the University's Mini Sports Complex in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria.
8. I have just rounded off with the Enumeration job of the Akwa Ibom State's Ministry of Economic Development tagged Socio-Economic Study of Akwa Ibom State.
9. I am working on resuming on another job at Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria in May, 2005.
10. I shall proceed on compulsory one-year National Youth Service Corp (National Service) from September 2005 to September 2006 and to a State in the Federation I do not yet Know.
11. I am presently doing my NYSC in Kwara State. My area of primary assignment is at Iwo Comprehensive High School where I am teaching Chemistry and Mathematics.
12. I am also, presently, waiting for my approval to travel from the immigrations office at Hong Kong. When approved I am hoping to get to the High Commission in Lagos for Visa from where I would travel out of the country for work and my masters degree programme. Approval might come on November or December, 2005.
13. The District Convention for my Local Congregation here in Uyo City comes up from 16th to 18th December, 2005.
14. I have the privilege of enrolling for the 6 months Course of the Nigeria Institute of Management (Chartered) and Corpers Programme which will lead to the conferment of Graduate Membership (MNIM) of the Chartered Institute. The 8 Courses would begin February 2006 at offa Polytechnic, Kwara State, Nigeria.
15. I will participate in the forthcoming Nigerian Census as a Supervisor in March 2006.
16. I shall be in Lagos for the forthcoming Memorial of Christ Death done by Jehovah's Witnesses in April 2006.
17. I wrote the qualifyig examinations of NIM-Chartered late June/July, 2006
18. I am rounding up my National Service (NYSC) on the 17th of August, 2006.
19. I enrolled for Post Graduate Diploma (PGD) in Strategic Management at the Institute of Strategic Management Nigeria (ISMN) on the 12th of August, 2006
20. I am awaiting Conferment of Certificate of Proficiency in Management and Graduate Membership Certificate of the Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM)-Chartered in October, 2006, having passed the qualifying examiations.
21. The district convention of my Lagos Congregation holds between 5th-7th of October, 2006 at Otta, Ogun State.
22. My induction into full Professional Membership of the Nigerian Institute of Food Science and Technology (NIFST) holds at Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON) Badagry, Lagos State on the 10th of October, 2006.
23. My induction into Associate Membership of the Institute of Strategic Management Nigeria (ISMN) holds at Center for Management Development (CMD), Lagos State on the 16th of December, 2006.
24. My induction into Graduate Membership of the Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM) - Chartered holds in Lagos State this December: Date and Venue soon on this page.
25. My Intensive Comprehensive Banking Training holds in January 2007: Date and Venue soon on this page.
26. I got a job offer with FIRST CALL GROUP on 25 June 2007 as a FINANCIAL CONSULTANT.
27. I got admission on 26 July 2007 to study for a course leading to the award of MASTERS IN STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT (MSM) - a distance learning programme of NATIONAL OPEN UNIVERSITY OF BENIN REPUBLIC (West Africa) at STRATEGIC BUSINESS SCHOOL, Lekki, Lagos State, Nigeria.
28. ???

My National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Experience - Sept. 2005

MY NYSC ORIENTATION CAMP DIARY !

I left home 8th September to Kwara State holding the view that the journey would be as short as I was made to believe it is only to peep almost endlessly through the windows of the vehicle I boarded to view any post that reads Welcome to Kwara State but there was non until 6 hours later, having journeyed through Ogun, Ondo, Ekiti, Oyo, and Osun States. I liked what I saw through the window when I arrived the state. The vehicle eventually halted with passengers including me alighting. Thinking the NYSC camp was around in the capital I was greeted to another journey of about 2 hours by a Batch A Corper (I am a Batch B). He spoilt my day only saving me from extortion from taxi operators. Arriving at where he directed me to board a bus to the camp, I met several Corpers telling us (new corps members) to make our last calls with our phones or with pay-phone operators (as if we were going to a concentration camp to be executed) as there is no service by any of the 4 GSM service providers in camp. I struggled with calling my family, friends, and sending a reply sms to my aunt in HK cos she was aware of my journey and even sent me an sms in the course of it. I thought of calling you but later shelved it cos I felt at that hour you may have gone out to work and perhaps nobody would be at home; that was 6pm Nigerian time.

I arrived the NYSC Citizenship and Leadership Training Camp (Yikpata) late in the evening and found myself in the bush as the driver of the vehicle diverted into it. I only knew in the dark that I was there cos of the police post at the entrance. I heard music everywhere and saw corps members moving around with mattresses, buckets and other luggage they came to camp with. I got a bucket too, did registration headed for Hostel 4 where I got one mattress and headed straight to Cubicle L where I secured the lower bunk of one of the double bunk beds. Hostel life was to begin (you know I’ve never lived in a hostel before let alone sharing things with people); how would I cope now?

Thinking I would wake up 9am, as usual when I thought I had nothing to do the following day, having gone to bed late and tired, I ended up waking up 3am as I was disturbed by those Corpers who woke up to get prepared for early morning Physical Training (PT) at the Parade Ground. I didn’t know what that meant and went back to bed again only to be woken up by the alarm that went. A soldier was in charge and before I knew it I only was able to wash my mouth, get dressed in my jeans and white T-shirt (we use white short, shirt and white sneakers and socks for morning and evening PTs). With my leather slippers I joined others running to the parade ground to avoid being punished by the soldiers and man-o-war officials in charge of camp paramilitary training. Funny isn’t it! But it didn’t just end there!

On completion of my Camp Registration I was given kits which I used for morning and evening PTs (all whites); to lectures we wore orange jungle boots, denim trouser, white shirt and cap; to man-o-war drills, denim trouser and shirt with jungle boots and cap; occasionally, we wore our crested vests on our trousers and jungle boots and cap to fit. To all activity involving the use of our trousers and jungle boots the trousers have to be tucked into the socks. Whether on parade ground or at the hostels or washing or queuing up at the kitchen for meals we must appear in all whites. Muftis were only allowed on Sundays.

At the Parade Ground we were ordered to always cover up in ‘threes’ per row before their usual anthems (National and NYSC’s ), then the day’s meditation (reflection) is read to give focus daily to all in camp. At 6am the flags (National and NYSC’s) were raised before morning exercises and paramilitary drills and lowered at 6pm in the evenings to mark the end of the day’s activities. The exercises were strenuous but since I am used to doing exercises it didn’t quite affect me much. Other Corpers were always using health matters as excuses for not engaging in the PTs while others, especially the asthmatic Corpers slumped regularly needing medical attention; none died but we had near-death situations. The first day was ok cos we were allowed in mufti (there is a dress code for every activity). We were taught marching and you can’t beat how many times I made mistakes; left-right and I was doing right-left with wrong hand and leg movements. When commands were made many times, I was thinking of something, especially about you, and would miss steps (funny isn’t it). Eventually I was removed from a select few who were to compete with other groups - platoons.

Some days later we were divided into 12 Platoons and I was in the 12th platoon. Every platoon engaged in competitions with the others; I had friends in all the platoons. These competitions were: marching, football, volleyball, writing and reading of daily meditations, kitchen decorations and cooking, dance, drama, and at the varieties night – Miss NYSC, Miss Hot Legs, Mr. Macho, Mr. Pot Belly, the Fattest Lady in camp, and platoon attendance at these occasions. My platoon, Platoon 12 came overall first position winning convincingly (not cos I belonged there) marching, dance, drama, and Mr. Pot belly. We would have won the cooking competition but for poor attendance of my platoon members at the kitchen and tasting competition. As usual I was actively involved (I can say that again) in all except in the pot belly competition. My platoon commandant wanted me back into the marching (parade) competition but as you know that Christians don’t participate in paying unnecessary salute to those in authority be they be represented in person or in images such as the national flag. But they worked really hard at it and won to the admiration of all. I captained my team (platoon) in the male football tournament and lost out in our very first match; we lost 1-4 to platoon 8. Those guys were better though. Our female volleyball team lost out too in their very first match but the female football team progressed to the semi-final where they lost to the eventual winner, platoon 9.

The Lectures were always boring and many times I found myself enjoying sleep in the auditorium and would only wake up when I heard fellow Corpers shout “we need cow” whenever those local government officials come visiting. Lectures could be interesting sometimes whenever those guest lecturers would say something to excite Corpers and uninteresting whenever the State NYSC Coordinator would say there is no provision for any form of break after the orientation camp for Corpers in my batch. We would always show our displeasure. Once we refused attending language lecture cos we were over drilled and served too many punishments from the camp commandant and sang solidarity songs; they sapped the life of your boyfriend and got me angry too!

The Dance and Drama competitions held at the auditorium we equally used for lectures and workshops. I was always there for my platoon. During rehearsals I was always there drumming (in my growing up years till date I know just one drum-beat?) and offering suggestions on how to make the best use of our potentials. The I-know-too-much filled my platoon and there was much rancor in the system. It got to the point that one of our dance concepts was stolen by another platoon which was to present before we did. We had to change the concept and costume at the late minute with an Efik dance and costume. Others used three ethnic folksongs and dances while we used four including that of the Hausas, Igbos, Yoruba’s and the Efiks (my ethnic group); our Efik folksong and dance was what exactly broke the camels back and gave us the winning edge over what other platoons presented in four evenings and to the amazement of the panel of judges made up of camp officials and fellow Corpers in attendance. I was so glad we made the difference. Our drama was most unique and most enlivened as the crowd cheered and roared in appreciation of our efforts. We presented first then two other platoons followed I was present on other evenings when other platoons presented their dramas and only found just one platoon with good concepts although not entirely close to ours. There and then I knew we’d win both the dance and drama even though we quarreled and argued many times amongst ourselves and we did!!!

The Varieties Night was equally fantastic as ladies with different shapes and figures, men too, filed out to compete in their different categories. I laughed my heart out in the audience as we were presented many beautiful ladies without brains competing for awards that night. Many of them could not answer questions in their field of studies; what manner of graduates! At such times boo… rented the air as we in the crowd showed our displeasure. The following day, so many guys broke off with their girlfriends in camp who knew only how to catch fun but didn’t have brains as they (those girls who contested) got them embarrassed before their men folks. Guys who disappointed us, the men folk, did not sleep at their hostels and those who did received the embarrassments of a lifetime from their hostel or cubicle mates. My eyes almost got stubbornly out of their sockets (and had to push them in many times) cos of the beauty and gracefully elegant catwalks of many of the girls who contested (some catwalks were actually how we guys move, nothing to write home about!). My hostel mate and friend won Mr. Macho and he deserved it that I began wondering if he hid wraps of fufu or eba all over his body and glossed it with jelly. He was too rugged to behold. His presentation was more like a professional body builder; he is the shy type. I returned to the hostel around 4am, slept thinking we’d be woken up at 5am but I ended up waking up at 8am when breakfast was being served, rushed to be on the queue before somebody would tell me that they’ve finished serving breakfast! I’d not finished having breakfast than the alarm went signaling that we had to be at the parade ground for further drills and later to the auditorium for lectures. We never had time to rest on our own. The varieties night was sponsored by Coca cola. The games and cooking competition were sponsored by Limca and Nigerian Breweries plc.  

We were always serving one form of Punishment or the other for disobeying camp rules and regulations (still frog jumps, jagaam, which kids do in primary and secondary schools come rain or shine). My hostel was notorious for disobeying lights-out at 10pm cos we were always busy discussing men-talks. We had a market - mammy market - in camp where girls take their favorite guys (?) out to eat and drink only to return drunk to the hostels to discuss their escapades and in consequence flouting the lights-out rule and at times messing their cubicles up. The male hostels were frequently converted to chimneys as guys never obeyed the “no smoking” rule. In cold or hot weathers guys would always be seen using their cigarettes to disinfect the cubicles, walkways, toilets and bathroom. Asked why they choose to smoke many times in my cubicle we ended up laughing as they’ll give such excuse as “the mosquitoes are much, the smoke repels them.” There’s this guy in my cubicle who even smokes while he’s inside his mosquito net. Many times when the soldiers and man-o-war officials would pass by to enforce the lights-out rule my notorious hostel would always be visited cos of the smoke from cigarettes or attracted by noise from it. On one occasion everyone was dragged out that late evening to do 300 jagaam (250 for the officials and 50 for us) after forcing us to seat in the wet lawn around the hostel, while those at other hostels were busy sleeping or listening and laughing at us. On other occasions specific noisy cubicles or those with lights on were subjected to punishments and not a general thing anymore as they were tired of Hostel 4.  The hostels were regularly assessed for neatness but it still beats my imagination how my hostel didn’t come last in the rankings. The cubicles are regularly messed up, the walk way dirty and the bathroom and toilet something else. Hostel 1 and Flat 2 (female hostels) were notoriously competing with one another for the bottom position weekly.

Meal Times were always anticipated by everyone including me cos it was time when the alignments in the stomach walls were realigned upon return from tedious PTs or after serving some severe punishments under the sun (I don’t joke with good food). It is during meal times that we would have to keep our mouths shut (being tired of shouting regularly) and watch our more hungry colleagues break undisciplined into the queues with their food boxes and in front for that matter as we wouldn’t help but shrug them off! Worse yet was when many guys who were known to eat and drink at mammy market come struggling for space on queues for meal rations at the cafeteria cos they’ve ‘drank’ their monies to stupor, and out! At such times the queues are endless that guys deferred another means of beating those mammy guys in their own wits by queuing up before the bell went for meals to be served. Many times food gets finished before those latecomers got there! Whenever the bell goes for meals at such times, one could imagine the number of hidden talents Nigeria would have discovered in athletics! The stipends paid while in camp was many times ‘drank up’ by mammy guys only to wait endlessly for others to be paid to get soft loans to satisfy their habits. There was real fun in camp!

We embarked on Endurance Trek towards the end of the camp and it was exhausting and quite interesting too. We met first at the parade ground, prayed and began our journey through the forest singing, clapping and making as much noise as we could perhaps to scare animals and insects away from us and warding off the strain. We were warned the previous day that we mustn’t apply lotion, wear make-ups or body sprays as they had their own ways of attracting animals and insects at us as it happened in previous sets prior to ours. The frail and those with ailments were not permitted to embark on the trek on health reason. The soldiers at this time were well kitted and armed, the man-o-war too. Following behind us were officials of the Red Cross. The trek was interesting as we walked through the bush for over 2 hours until we got off at the tarred road. At the junction waiting for us to arrive were the traders from mammy market who got there with their wares before we did. We were really relieved as we embarked on the journey with just water jars. We remained at the junction for about one hour thirty minutes eating drinking, dancing and taking photographs. When done with relaxation we returned walking on the tarred road back to camp. We spent about 6 hours on endurance trek that day. Being the last platoon we were always following from the rear. My platoon is usually the noisiest, even during PTs and parades, and that made the journey more interesting as we talked, drummed and sang endlessly. I was always involved!

There were just Three Registered Religious Organizations in Camp and Witnesses were not included. But we had to hold our meetings! We tried to get the approval of the authorities but got none. Officials were all over the place to ensure that no other religious body convened anywhere in camp. We devised a means of changing our meeting venues to beat the attention of the authorities. With Jehovah’s approval we were able to hold our Book Study and Watchtower Studies and encouraged one another all the more so as camp life was alluring. I experienced firsthand what many of our brothers and sisters in lands where the work of kingdom preaching is restricted face up with: that of reading Christian publication(s) only in ones possession (not recent ones) and that of attending Christian meetings in continuously changing venues away from the sight of those in authority.

I left my popular Trademark in the minds of fellow corps members: smiles! They too always wanted to know why I always smiled and rarely get angry. Once at the university after convening and presiding over a tough congress with all manners of provocation, a lady walked up to me and yelled: “don’t you ever get angry?” That elicited more smiles and laughter. There in camp it was so easy seeing Corpers pointing at me and smiling too; my platoon mates and commanders were always there to appreciate my attitude and uniqueness. My popular friends were Haliru, Gaji, Bright (witness), Johnson (man-o-war official), Iffy, Bunmi (witness), Agape (witness), Chioma, Patricia and Toyin. I am missing them cos we are not in the same Area of Primary Assignment. I am posted to one Iwo Comprehensive Secondary School to teach mathematics and chemistry for senior classes in Isin Local Government Area of Kwara State and they somewhere else but only talk on phone and perhaps once in a while would go visiting. The teaching staff including the principal, his vice and non-teaching staff are already getting infected with my smiles as they accepted my posting and are seen laughing every time I spoke. He made a statement that his “school appreciates people who smile as they are happy people.” I felt flattered! I am given Leave of Absence for one working week and would resume duty 10th October. I reported to duty 30th September and traveled back to Lagos that same day.

My 2005 Batch B NYSC Orientation Camp was full of FUN!