MY NYSC EXPERIENCE

On the 24th of July, around 5 am in the morning, I found out that NYSC call-up letters were out. I spent the next hour and a half trying to log in to my portal dashboard. When i finally did, I clicked on the “print call-up letter” link and saw “Bayelsa”. I was confused initially because i was hoping to be posted close to home and i had never been to Bayelsa before. A couple of people consoled me that Bayelsa was better than a lot of other places and that helped me calm down.

 

Next thing on my mind was trying to figure out how to get to Bayelsa. Apparently, there is an airport in Bayelsa but it’s not open for commercial use. I had to fly down to Port-harcourt and then take a ride down to the Bayelsa orientation camp. The journey to the camp was less than two hours in all but there were a lot of security check points on the way. That made me a bit worried about the security situation in the south-south.

 

On getting to the camp, i was made to take a rapid covid test before being allowed into the camp. I tested negative and was directed on where to go for the next registration step. The main registration was at the registration hall, on getting there i was a bit overwhelmed by the crowd i saw. I ended up waiting for about eight hours before i could complete my registration. The next day, i got my camp kit and my NYSC journey began in earnest.

 

My first night in camp was not really nice, I slept for about three hours before having to wake up around 3 am to get ready for morning prayers and drills. It’s been quite a stressful experience so far but the interactions I have had with people from different backgrounds and cultures have made it worthwhile.