Woke up at about 6.15am the next morning to get ready for my Bayelsa trip. My friend and I left his quarters like 7am and got to the park 15 minutes later. As we were walking to the Bayelsa bus stand a guy driving a 98 model Honda Civic asked me if I was going to the NYSC camp in Bayelsa and I was like yeah. He asked me to hop in and he also stated I would drop some cash for fuel. I agreed, fuel money was the least of my problems at that time. I wasn’t even thinking straight, all that I had in mind was to get access into the camp and get the orientation over and done with. We had been on the road for 45 minutes when it occurred to me I didn’t even know the fellow. Silent prayer mode got activated immediately I realized I could be riding with a kidnapper, hahahahahaha.
We got to the Kaiama Grammar school in the Kolokoma-Opokuman Local Government Area of Bayelsa State which was where the 3 weeks orientation camp was to hold. You should have seen how I was loudly thanking baba loke (GOD). It was like I was just saved from the hands of death. The guy I came with didn’t understand what was happening. On getting to the security men that would let us in we met a few other otondos standing in line to be searched before they were registered with their documents. When it got to my turn I was asked to stand aside because I didn’t have any original document. The only original document I had on me was me, myself and I (was even beginning to doubt that). After an hour, the man doing the registration exercise told me I had to see the State Coordinator as regards my issue. She had not arrived at the camp and it was 3.30pm. Time was ticking away. I met some of my friends from school and we were gisting though I wasn’t comfortable because I needed this issue resolved ASAP. While all these was happening, my darling and precious mum had volunteered to go to my school so she could help me get a new BSc statement of result and post it to me. She got the result with no stress though she paid for it. She sent it via DHL to my friend’s quarters and he agreed to bring it down to Bayelsa for me as soon as he received it. Fortunately for him he didn’t have to come after the State Coordinator blew my chances of joining the camp. She told me I had to go back to my school to remobilize against the next batch and as she said that I sat on the floor saying “o pa ri” (this is the end).
I walked up to one of the soldiers in camp asking him how I could see the camp Commandant. He took me to the Commandant’s room and after explaining my situation to the man, he told me there was nothing he could do and he kicked me out rudely. At this point I had almost given up but I disliked the way the Commandant spoke to me. I needed to show him I knew people and I called my uncle who was then a Brigadier-General. I told him about my situation and he asked if there was someone he could talk to. I told him the camp commandant was available and that I would call him back when I was with him. I went to the Commandant’s room (he was a Captain in the army) and called my uncle, I handed the phone to the Commandant who refused to collect it. He said he didn’t know who was on the phone and he wouldn’t talk to the person. My uncle heard and asked me to put the phone on speaker which I did. My uncle introduced himself and the next thing I saw was the Commandant standing up at attention like my uncle walked in or something. I laughed silently inside. The Commandant put the phone back to handset set mode and all I heard afterwards was yes sir, will work on it sir, okay sir, bye bye sir and he handed my phone back to me.
The Captain looked at me and told me to follow him. We went to the State Coordinator’s office to speak with her again.
To be continued………………..
