By: Moses Adeosun

Just a few days after the end of the session, the University of Ibadan’s recent graduates were called up for NYSC Batch B, Stream 2 to different states. As expected with every new journey, the NYSC program introduced these graduates to different experiences and this article tells of their varied experiences.

Reaction to Early Mobilization
Ìbùkúnolúwa Dàda, the erstwhile UCJ UI president and a graduate of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development who was mobilized to Imo State stated that he was happy to be mobilized early because he has spent considerably more time than planned in school and he desires to have everything done with early.

On the other hand, Goodness Okusanya a graduate of Communication and Language Arts camping at Edo said it was not easy to prepare himself for the immediate mobilization. However, the timing of his future goals pushed him to go early.
Ademola Niyi from the Philosophy Department and an assignee to Anambra State said he was excited when he got to know about the possibility of being mobilized for NYSC immediately after the session.

Joshua Oladoye, a graduate of the Communication and Language Arts, University of Ibadan posted to Akwa Ibom said his initial reaction could be likened to haste. Although he felt he needed time to rest he also wanted to start the whole NYSC on time and finish on time.

On the Most Difficult Camp Activities

Ìbùkúnolúwa found the parade to be difficult though he didn’t join. To Goodness, the long lectures were stressful. Niyi complained about the duration of SAED lectures as they spanned about 5 hours at a stretch.

On the most difficult activity, Joshua said “I found everything difficult, especially the parade. Though I didn’t make it to the parade team, having to see them rehearse while we did nothing was different. We didn’t like it.”

The Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development Project (SAED)

Ìbùkúnolúwa chose the Creative Arts and Education. Goodness chose the Film and photography class. Niyi participated in the ICT aspect of SAED.

Joshua opted for Human Resource Management because the class was smaller in size compared to the overcrowded ICT. He did, however, find the class was boring.

Experiences with Camp Food
Ìbùkúnolúwa stated, “The food is fair. It’s the typical boarding school food. Sunday afternoon was the most anticipated for most corps members because it’s jollof rice and chicken.”

Goodness said the food was very good and that it exceeded his expectations.
Joshua on the other hand, complained about tastelessness though he submits that it was slightly manageable.

Favourite Activity

While the parades were fun to watch, Ìbùkúnolúwa’s favourite activity was between his work at the Orientation Broadcasting (OBS) and his Skill Acquisition class. To Goodness, the best part was the debate contest followed by the Man o’ War drills. For Niyi, queueing for food was a fun activity.

On the most interesting camp activity, Joshua would go to either the carnival or social nights, although many other corp members were not satisfied.

Making New Friends
Meeting new people to Ìbùkúnolúwa was cool and inevitable. Although the three weeks was a short time to make a friend for him it was still quite easy to meet strong potentials. I met a couple in OBS, SAED class, and his room.

Goodness on the other hand said “I have a knack for meeting new people and expanding my network so, yes, it was a beautiful experience for me. I had the opportunity to connect with people from different walks of life. It was an exciting one for me.”

Joshua started making friends about a week before the end of camp and he wished he had met those friends earlier.

Areas of Improvement
Ìbùkúnolúwa opined “I think the OBS can be way better. Coming from the UCJ, there is a level of energy I had but that was nowhere to be found when I got there. Plus the structure was there but wasn’t functioning. So I’d like to put in an efficient structure that allows for the smooth running of things. Also, the information does not get to corps members on time from the management. I also feel that OBS was at fault because I found out the station heads often knew about things but we under them weren’t aware.”

Niyi would want to change the long hours of SAED lectures as most Corp members sleep off during the lecture.
Joshua said e would wish there was a stable power supply, the presence of sockets in the room, improved quality of food, and adequate power supply.
Generally…
Niyi said at first, he found blending with the orientation camp’s lifestyle seemingly difficult but along the line, he had to learn to adjust.
Goodness said the camping was an awesome experience and aside from the stress of waking up early and sleeping late, the camp experience is something he would love to repeat.
To Joshua, it’s a mixed experience. The first few days were so hectic that he almost couldn’t cope. He had no time for himself. He was feeling ill and purging. He felt discomfort. The bathroom and toilet weren’t good. He finally found his feet late into his time there.