Category Archives: Kebbi Diaries

DEAR NORTHERN OTONDOS

MY NYSC ARCHIVE, Kebbi Diaries, PERSONAL DIARIES, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I know it’s been a while since I posted here but first, yayyyy! Congratulations to the latest otondos in town. I know somebody is probably feeling like why otondo but well, I’m sure otondo sounds better than hearing a Northern Soldier call you a white fowl believe me and moreover, you guys haven’t been sworn in yet, so, you are unofficially a corp member.

Second, a little diversion. . .

I know I said something about bringing back a series, I didn’t forget and also, it feels so unbearable having to stay this long to post another blog post but mehn, I have been quite engaged. A lot has been happening in this sphere but above all, we know God is good.

Back to today’s blogpost.

My desire to write this post came from a tag I got on Facebook by a friend who needed an insight for another friend that has been posted to Kebbi State and after some conversations with the person, I felt the need to do a post on that. Then again, I didn’t want to write this post again since I couldn’t make it on Wednesday (cos I had to travel) and I felt like it’s already too late, otondos are already in camp and all but yesterday, I spent almost four hours in a bus with some female otondos who will be going to camp the next day and mehn, yesterday was one of those days I was grateful I don’t watch BB Naija cos these ladies spent the whole of the journey analyzing the housemates – the ugly one, the dumb one, the forming one; I can’t even begin to go into details but that’s not the focus today sha.

Then, at a point, the driver was too fast and someone was like e rora o, corper le gbe o (gently o, you have corp members as passengers o).  In my mind, I laughed, I was like see these white fowls o. So, what caught my attention more was the fact that they were saying a lot of things that weren’t true about being a Northern Corp Member. I heard so many things and I felt like where did they hear this from?

Consequently, I’ll be bringing memoirs from my NYSC archives here but for now, let me just address some things that are true and not true about being a Corp member in the North and yes, my emphasis will definitely be more on Kebbi cos that’s where I served.

Are you a Batch A 2018 Corp Member deployed to a Northern State and currently travelling down? You should read this! Click To Tweet
Kebbi NYSC Camp, Dakingari in 2016.

Dear Northern Otondos;

1. The journey to North from Western and Eastern Nigeria is always far, but you’ll be alright.

2. The weather in the North is always extreme; raining season comes with sandstorm and all; the sun in the North is not for the fainthearted. Your water bottles are not useful on camp ground cos Soldiers won’t allow you hold it and when you place them on the ground to pick them up later for drinking, you better be planning a hot tea. You’ll spend money on cold water a lot and you might as well get addicted to soft drinks ‘cos the weather makes you crave sugar; I guess that’s why Northerners eat sugar a lot. Get a sunshade too (at least, to survive the sun when you are not on parade ground cos Soldiers won’t let you be blacked up on parade ground).

Parade ground after rehearsals (Dakingari, 2016).

3. You might need a new line like Airtel (This is for the Dakingari otondos). If you must surf the net, Airtel is the best network there. MTN is merely surviving and GLO is barely surviving.

4. Corp members don’t cook in the kitchen and when I say that, I speak for the North. I heard that in the bus yesterday and I was dazed. See the essence of platoons is basically for the social nights and other activities that’s going to be happening in camp and not for cooking. Yes, platoons are assigned to kitchen and these platoons in turn choose representatives from each to go to the kitchen on days they are supposed to and what they do there is not cook, but assist! The only time corp members cook is during their social night days.

5. No Hausa food! This one particularly led to that person saying after all, they will be cooking their own food. Well, no you won’t! and also, No! They won’t feed you Northern meals. They cook normal meals you’re familiar with. Not once did they make Tuwo during my camp moments; they can only provide weird combinations (at least, they are weird to me) like Bread and boiled egg! But every meal that comes from the kitchen is familiar to everyone. No Tuwo Shinkafa, no kunun, no garogaro; etc.

Are you a Batch A 2018 Otondo posted to the North and you are worried about eating Northern Meals? Well, here are some coping mechanisms for you! Click To Tweet

6. Mami is your friend! Personally, I used mami a lot and when I said a lot, I meant I marked my meal ticket thrice and I gave it out to someone who definitely wanted it and probably not needed it. Reasons being that, some of those meals were weird combinations; the tea don’t look like tea and personally, I’m not a comfortable eat-out-anyhow person; I’m easily irritated especially when it comes to meal and how it is made. So, I ate rice, beans and stew almost daily from one Madam tomorrow sth sth at Dakingari and when I wasn’t eating that, I was buying fried yam alone; I don’t think I ever survived on anything else than that in camp. I was wary of akara cos I didn’t want to purge and I bought a couple of gala sha. And there’s a lady called Timaya at Dakingari camp; she’s amazing! We met at camp and we finally found her again at Birnin Kebbi; she is very nice and friendly. She sells female stuff (you should check her out if you’re a Dakingari-camp otondo. You can even get some very cool sunshade there). That sounded like ipolowo (advert) for a moment.

Oh! Look at that! I mounted a Camel (Dakingari, 2016)

7. You can wear a wristwatch. Okay, I don’t know who people think Northerners are but it’s bizarre to actually think you won’t be allowed to wear a wristwatch because what now? These guys are the popular mei-wristwatch (wristwatch sellers). If it’s not working, an aboki to your rescue so I don’t understand why someone would think they won’t allow you wear your wristwatch.

8. You don’t have to cover your hair. See, Kebbi is one of the religion-friendly states and I know it’s still a 85% Muslim community but I lived there for almost 2 years, so I think I know what I’m saying. No one in camp is going to enforce hijab on you! And you don’t have to wear your NYSC cap 24/7 because it’s North. The only reason you have to probably wear it 24/7 it’s because it’s NYSC rules so it won’t get lost cos when you lose it, no one will replace it and you can’t be on parade ground without your cap! And it’s sort of some protective wear against the scorching Northern sun. The thing is NYSC expects you to be fully kitted always and all the time.

Dear Northern Otondos, no one in camp is going to enforce hijab on you! And you don’t have to wear your NYSC cap 24/7 because it’s North! Click To Tweet

9. Do not give any NYSC Official in the North 60k, more or less to redeploy – See, if anyone promises to help you with your redeployment by bringing a certain amount of money, my brother/sister, you are on your own! No one in that camp can pull a string for you putting a cash clause on it. I know this woman, fair and tall that helps with redeployment in Kebbi cos that’s her office and maybe you know the State Coordinator again; he probably wouldn’t even ask you for money if you really do know him that much. Anyways, shine your eyes and also, I’ll do a proper post about redeployment before the end of camp.

The Executive Governor of Kebbi State, Governor Atiku Abubakar Bagudu during the camp closing programme (Dakingari, 2016).

10. There are no ATMs in Dakingari unless there is now. So if you must use the ATM, it’s advisable that you use it at once. There are people who make money off ATM users at maami! They bring their POS and then you transfer the money to their account; they give you cash and deduct it. This is what I mean, there is a charge for every 1000 withdrawn. Take for instance, if you need 5k, you either transfer to the man’s account with 737 (to my gtb users) or use his POS with your card. Then he’d give you 4,500 cash. It means for every thousand, he’s taking a hundred naira. Some charge higher and it definitely would have increased now. So just try not to use it every now and then. They’ll still pay you your 1,500 bicycle allowance and one other palasa allowance like that on camp; I think it’s like 2,500 cash you collect during camp except now that they are using bank to pay the first allowee cos I collected mine in camp; my first 19,800.

Dear Northern Otondos, do not give any NYSC Official in the North 60k, more or less to redeploy. If anyone promises to help you with your redeployment by bringing a certain amount of money, my brother/sister, you are on your own! Click To Tweet

That’s it for today. I hope someone has found this very useful.

PS: I didn’t see reasons to talk about certain things because people are already on their way. So, it would be pretty useless to talk about what to bring and not to take to camp.

Above all, dear Northern otondos, try not to think about Fulani Herdsmen; nothing will happen to you! You left your parents’ home in peace, you shall definitely return home in peace and please, do have maximum fun in camp! There’s a lot of fun too in the Northern State, and to my Kebbi Kopas (that’s how we like to call it), look beyond the distance and try not to come up with fabricated ailments as reasons to leave. Kebbi is one of the peaceful Northern States in Nigeria and that’s not just to make you stay, it’s actually true.

Read this: Half Day at Camp (Dakingari 2016)

Have a lovely camp experience!

Have you been posted to North? What part of the North? Has this post helped you in any way? Do you still think you will redeploy or stay? Have you been enjoying your stay so far? Any Camp Experience? Do share with me by leaving a comment in the comment box. I want to read from you and respond to you!

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Hugs and Light,

Ibukunwrites.

 

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Only In The North

Kebbi Diaries, , , , , , , ,

Halloz guys! Inawuni! it’s been days I know but the harmattan hasn’t been so friendly; had some breakdowns and all.
That being said, expect the next episode of the series on Friday morning.
Moving on,
I’ve been keeping this post in my archive for a while now. . .so, why not share!
Below are the things you find mostly in the North.
1. A typical hausa boy can ride kabu(okada/bike).
2. It’s a harvest of fruits in the North ~ from Pineapple to Watermelon, Apple, Lemon, Coconut, Carrots, Banana etc. I can go on. . . . my favourite right now has been sugarcane! Can’t stop!!!. . .there’s even an abundance of Lettuce and Irish potatoes here!

Me buying carrots

By yours truly

4. There are giant garden eggs like I’ve never seen them before anywhere except in the North.
5. A random man waves at you, smiling anyhow.
6. Buy suya with consciousness lest you buy suya made from dog and goat.
7. You have to state what type of oil you’re buying if it’s vegetable or groundnut oil or else you automatically get groundnut oil. Hausa people use groundnut oil.
8. In the North, they watch more GOtv than DSTV. It’s like epidemic.
9. Even the ‘ugliest’ house has an AC! blame it on the weather.
10.  People confidently tell you they can’t speak English! Like wtf! You hear stuffs like ‘ba Turenchi’
11. Buy 200 worth of tomatoes, pepper and tatshe and you’d use it to cook at least thrice.yes!
Moi at the market

12. There are more mosquitoes than houseflies. It’s more like a competition.
13. People sleep with more mosquito coils than they use spray.
14.You gotta to be careful about meats or else you’ll eat camel, goat, dog even alligator.
15. Module is more expensive than a Congo equivalent.
16. Fences are higher than the building. . . they don’t want random men peeping at their wives.
17. There’s ba shiga. It means houses men cannot enter . . . shiga is enter.
18. There are numerous words for one thing in Hausa language.
19. There’s extreme weather condition from sun to cold.
20. There are more floored toilets than water closets.

21. Meat is cheaper than fish.
22. They sing songs they don’t understand especially all these Olamide songs etc. 
23. Noodles sells more in the North than anywhere.
24. Sometimes Teachers use Hausa to teach.
25. All Churches are in one area (yes). The area is called Badariya. I heard it means no joy. Ba a da riya. But people don’t pronounce it like that. You see Redeem beside Winners and then Solomon’s City and then Foursquare, CAC, ECWA, etc. 
26. Men wear more babarigas than shirts.
27. Market opens by 10.00am and closes by 6.00pm.
28. There are no cold/soft drinks joint in the market. Like warrisdt? You can’t even try it in Kuto or Lafenwa market.
29.  People receive calls inside bankkkkkk. Like iz not ‘tryable’ in the West.
30. Hausa people withdraw more than 500k at the counter. As in dem no send.
31. They don’t reject torn money in the North. As in no matter how bad the money is, you get to spend it. That’s a brain buster . . . lol! It’s cool.
32. Men bend down to pee. Like almost kneeling self. Very weird to see. . . the worst part is they are not shy about it, they do it in the open,beside gutters etc.
33. Students collapse anyhow when you beat them. It’s popular in public schools. Many students are possessed and before you know it, it has spread through the class. . . and there’s a standby deliverer (it could be the Islamic teacher etc.) Sometimes a whole family can have the spirit.
34. Finally, there’s 24/7 light!!!!!!! Like this is the best of em all. . . that’s one thing I’d miss about the North very well.
I hope you enjoyed this! I’d try to bring more pictures. . . still need like Gionee Marathon M5/Infinix Hot S/Note 3 Pro as my Christmas/New Year gifts o!
Mwah!
Till Friday???
~ ©Ibukunwrites

Welcome to Overflow!

Kebbi Diaries, , , , , , , ,

Okay, hold up! This heading actually made me chuckle a little bit but I kinda liked it!
I think the raining season is approaching here in Kebbi! It has been raining for quite a while. I mean this should probably be the 5th to 6th time and trust me, this ain’t no small rains. . . and whenever it’s about to rain, a sandstorm always come handy!. You can’t afford to spread your clothes outside or else it’s a gunner!
Like twice, I’ve had to wake up in the middle of the night, unlock the mini gate to pack my clothes inside say 2am, 3am etc. cos the sandstorm is always heavy and you’d just feel it!
So on Tuesday just like it used to, the sandstorm started heavily say around 3am till 5am! Thank God I didn’t spread no clothes outside! Then it started raining from 5am till past 9am that I could walk out to the saloon where I want to make my hair.
By the time I stepped out, these were the outcomes of the rain! Broken roofs, roofs blown away including overflows!!!!
That’s why, here in Kebbi, they unpack their gutters, make deep gutters so water won’t flow into their houses!
Below are the pictures from the Tuesday rain that made me realise how serious rain is in this part of Nigeria!!!
I’d definitely be bringing more stories from BK for y’all ????

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Badariya Area, Birnin Kebbi

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©2016. Ibukunwrites.

Last Week in Retrospect

Kebbi Diaries, , , , , , , , , , , ,

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When it’s dark and gloomy, Your light still shines so bright. ~ Ibukunwrites.

Wow! I missed real blogging. I mean picking my pen to write something more meaningful, radical and spontaneous. . . not that I haven’t been doing much of that lately but not as frequent as I want. Yes, everyday, I walk not without a pen and a notepad having things to write in forms of quotes, poems, ideas and much more but I missed typing them on my laptop and sharing them with y’all. I haven’t opened my laptop for the past 30 something days since I settled down in Birnin Kebbi cos everyday there’s a lot to do, enough time to sleep and definitely some time to feed the bowels. I promised myself that I was going to be gentle on me throughout my service year, yes, I’m gonna ride myself hard not to lose who I am or be spiritually bankrupt but I am definitely not gonna ride myself rough. I just hope that with so much eating I planned to do this year, I can at least add flesh. . . but somehow, I think this body has come to stay, not that I am giving up on the probability that I can break the jinx of staying in the smaller kgs but I trust God that whatever I am and I look like, that’s what I am gonna be comfortable in. . . it’s been a long homecoming and I’m not ready to go back to that girl who used to be insecure about everything including her own body. Let’s pause for a moment and say Happy New Month! It’s still the 3rd day, so I’m still in the clear! I really don’t have a favourite month or months of the year but July is my sisters’ month. . . I hope I get to give birth to twins someday! I love them and I’d love them identical too.  . . May your new month be everything you innately desire in Jesus name. So last week, I went through the stress of having to type this particular post on my phone hoping to post it on Thursday and I added pictures and then uploading became a terror and all of a sudden, while I was trying to copy and paste as a new blogpost so I can re-add the pictures, it disappeared and bam! That was it! That was kinda my second time experiencing such. Nonetheless, after I settled down in Birnin Kebbi, my school handed me JSS1 and 2, SS1 and 2 to teach Literature-in-English and English Language respectively and then Nursery 2 Blue as Assistant Class Teacher well shey na only me waka come? But wetin man go do? From the screaming keep quiet, your heads on the table, silence, muje baya, tafi etc. Anyways, I haven’t started teaching the junior class until the next session cos this session is already winding up.

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There was no accommodation provided but they promised to pay us a stipend to make up for that and yes, I got an accommodation and I don’t know if to paint the room or not judging by the fact that it’s just for some months, well, you never can tell what God has in store but nonetheless, I like a neat room, even if it has nothing in it, with or without visitors; so, I’m kinda stuck, donno what to do! Dedoyin also got an apartment opposite her ppa and mine too is close to my ppa, I only walk 10 minutes down there at most!. So, one of the perks we enjoy around my house is that there are two bakeries there! I love hot bread. . . As in, the bread is dope so tey, dem don even sabi us sef! Even doyin would come all the way from her area to mine just to get the bread hehehehehehe. . . in one word, we are addicted! But our weapon is not carnal *hehehehe* Last week was sort of our Test week and I literally had to go home with the test notebook of my Nursery 2 pupils cos the school doesn’t type their questions unless it is exam. They were like 30 students and I had to write out their questions on five different subjects ranging from rhyme to social norms etc. I did it almost through the night and I was worked out! The real teacher in Nursery 2 was riding on my assisting ability abi! But there’s God na! but the principal said she isn’t suppose to work me hard cos I’ve got my own twelve periods in a week with SS1 and 2. ? yes! Twelve good periods.

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I didn’t set my senior class test questions which was expected cos the principal, whom I took over from has been the one taking them before I came but he made me come up with the marking guides which he then vet and then instructed me to mark. But seriously sef, one thing I found distressing in the North is the use of blala as cane in schools. I learnt that’s what they use predominantly here but even if I have not sample many schools, I’ve seen that of my school. The Aunty in my class use it on those small small children and I be like isn’t this too much kinda? Me I can’t beat them sha o cos at times, I can’t even stand the lashing on their body.   Moving on to the weekend, I baked! Yes! Baking and cooking has always been a part of me and it’s one other thing I enjoy most after writing; oh! I love to sing too. I baked meat pie and trust me, it didn’t come out the way I wanted in shape and neatness because even though your girl didn’t forget to carry her oven and toaster all the way from Ogun State, I forgot quite a lot of things too like my meat pie cutter, pastry brush and much more. I’m hoping I get them here in Kebbi. image I heard there are two big supermarkets here called SHEABAN and HEROES LAND! I’ve seen the SHEABAN from afar and yesterday, I tried going but they’ve closed early because of the Sallah in the air! So when I do, I’d definitely bring pictures and tales but it’s quite big from the exterior seen. Back to my meat pie, it was super rich and tasty! You know I always deliver na. My neighbours were literally making me feel like a million bucks and yea, I don even get apprentice sef *hahahaha* and you can’t believe that I bought five irish potatoes for #50 naira! Unbelievable! You can’t get it for that amount in the South-West! img_20160624_071549.jpg image   And yes, things are reasonably high in the market now cos of the Sallah period so if you want to buy something, you gonna have to wait till Saturday upwards to shop at a cheaper price. . . But for now, I can’t decide the fate of my toaster cos there is no slice bread in Birnin Kebbi weird right? I know. I tried using the agege bread to toast but it didn’t really come out with a good shape that the slice bread would have given. image I toasted this one using peanut butter, lettuce there’s abundant lettuce here like I’ve never seen before. . . made me remember the first time I went to Kasuwa (market) to get vegetable and I bought that of #100 because I had thought it was gonna be small only to wish I had just stayed at #50. In the North, they don’t tie their vegetables like we do in the West. Everything would be in heap and then they would start dishing the amount you want to buy by measuring with their hands until they’ve decided it’s enough for that amount. After lettuce, I put sardine (canned titus), baked beans and raw egg and it came out like that in the picture above. image I also extracted coconut last week. I bought one coconut for #150; very big! The aboki skinned it for me and then I went ahead to blend it, squeeze out the milk with a chiffon look I didn’t have that pap/cloth sieve and then I poured the milk in a transparent bowl, I allowed it settle like I was seeing water below and milk floating above, I refrigerated it and the evening of the next day, I lifted the iced milk above into the pan, started stirring till it was brown and then you can see the oil. . . Maybe I’d do a proper tutorial on this! Back to the just concluded week, I went to class on Wednesday to take my SS2 English only to discover that only one person came to class! Kai! I didn’t know what to do? I was like am I supposed to teach one student out of 10? And the funniest part is we close by 12pm because of the fasting and when it’s over, the school closes by 1pm; no extra lesson! While I was still at my thought, I lifted up my head to discover that the boy don dey sleep sef. Lobatan! image Forty five minutes later, I discovered that my fever from the previous week had taken a turn. I took permission from the principal, mount a bike and I was at FMC. I got a card for #300, did blood and urine tests only to discover that I have typhoid but I’m on treatment sha. image I got lots of fruit from Dedoyin and Ibukun as per get well soon na! but to the glory of God, I’m better now and yea! Sallah is in the air! All the rams are bleating, the cows, tied down, Invites are all over like three now to come chop. . . Even though our school no dey give us rice and meat; they said it is until the Big Sallah; which is October, that’s when they kill cows and rams and give us rice. . . so, yes, I can’t wait for the Big Sallah to come o! Rice is the koko now o! cos I hear a bag is like 14,500! I missed y’all and I am so back like I never left! I can’t wait to share with you my first experience with getting vegetable oil at Kasuwa and I know I probably should add more pictures from my Kebbi runs but I’d improve on that as I’d gist you about why it is like that and yea, I’d soon respond to so many pending tags. Happy New Month once again! It’s a great feeling to be back!!! It was sweet having to type this particular post on my laptop; the feeling is irreplaceable. Look forward to more me and you time! Mwah! Much love.????? ©2016. Ibukunwrites Memory is the diary that we all carry with us. . . ~ Oscar Wilde.

The Kebbi Life

Kebbi Diaries, , , , , , , , ,

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Pictures taken on the way

Returning to Kebbi wasn’t a child’s play. I was supposed to travel on the 30th of May but somehow I travelled on Tuesday, 31st May. It wasn’t easy getting to the Ojo Motorpark, Ibadan with the biggest ghana must go bag, a keg of palm oil palm oil in kebbi isn’t so much fun we were told and a small travelling bag.
We left the park at exactly 10am. It was a bus fully loaded with 95% corp members returning to serve. I met some of my friends and familiar faces from camp. Our driver liked detours a lot cos he made several stopovers on our way personal o! To imagine he wasn’t gonna stop for a small girl that wanted to weewee in the bus with tears all over face with the notion that pee is contagious and everyone will start catching the pee rhema. The father of the girl was Hausa and he was raining curses in Hausa. After a lot of begging, he stopped.
The journey continued with my headset keeping me serious company only for our driver to stop at Oyo to see a woman that everyone jokingly called his wife. After we’ve passed Ogbomoso, entering Kwara, he stopped to buy mangoes and then again to change break pads and he also stopped again to buy fish. . . people
joked that it was for his third wife cos the mangoes were for the second wife. Lol.
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And when we reached Mokwa, he stopped to eat and almost everyone seized the opportunity to do same. I didn’t though cos I don’t trust my tummy with road foods and I wouldn’t want a repetition of what happened when I was going to camp.
After that, there were quite no stopovers cos he already filled yellow kegs with petrol only when we entered Kebbi, a little bit after Yauri, in the middle of the night. Some Hausa guys were chasing us with machete. The driver said he has noticed them chasing us. He started racing very fast only to pull a stop at the next SARS checkpoint stopping the guys too who were on bike and he was shouting thieves in Hausa. Our driver is a Yoruba man but he speaks Hausa well.
The guys said the driver wanted to hit them and the officers were like it’s no justification to pull a machete on us. The officers sat the guys down and the officers were like they know the guys if not, it would have been serious than that (the way they would have been handled) like the guys are MTN Guards. So we were like they must not release them until we were far gone and this was around 2am in the morning. . . thank God nothing happened.
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We arrived Zuru at exactly 3:45am in the morning. That was where the buses were stopping don’t know why though but Zuru is a Local Government in Kebbi State. From there, I boarded a car plus five others 5 others going to Birnin Kebbi. . . 2 at the front, four at the back. . . thank God I was slim, I wouldn’t have been able to cope.
I arrived Muyiwa’s house at exactly 4.30am in the morning. . . he and doyin have been using calls to monitor me since the journey started. Doyin who arrived a day before me and Muyiwa came out to help me with my loads.
Mehn! I can’t believe I was planning to resume ppa the next day over efficient Corper. . . but I didn’t though cos after having a warm bath and brushing my teeth, I slept off only to wake up in the afternoon with excruciating body aches.
Trust me, Kebbi State is not a place you vex come and vex go! *winks*
©2016 Ibukunwrites

Home and Away!!!!!

Kebbi Diaries, , , , , , , , , , ,

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Yipeee! Guess who’s back? Me!!!!!!!
It’s a month and some  weeks since I took a self-administered sabbatical leave from the blog but really all things work together for the good of those that trust Him. . . A lot of factors were against me, I had to address and map out strategies on some of my abandoned projects and God was also putting a lot of things to try on my mind and yeap, ama begin to show them when I’m done clearing the needful.
So, I remember starting my camp story from camp but I couldn’t continue because first my morale dampened when I finished typing on my phone overnight and then I tried posting and I couldn’t find the content anywhere. It was painful cos I’m someone who types from my head and edit on later and each time I tried picking it up afterwards, I end up sagged in morale so I decided to do it after camp. . . so in lieu of the stream II starting on Monday, I’d start posting where I stopped. . . camp story is never stale or late. . .better still, you guys should just imagine I’m still in camp.

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L – R ~ Sola, Me and Dedoyin

I got my posting letter and I discovered I was posted to the capital, Birnin Kebbi to teach at a private school. I was excited not for the capital or the ppa (place of primary assignment), I was just glad and yes, camp was over too. The drive from Dakingari (our camp site) was another 2 hours or more to the capital. There was nothing spectacular cos I had my hopes up only to have it crushed. . . it was nothing close to Abeokuta or Ibadan or Akure; not just a typical capital.
I came with RCCF and we arrived at the corpers lodge which was cool. We had jollof rice to eat, provided by the house and we were divided into rooms. Guys stay one wing and ladies another. I think it was a total of six rooms in one wing and in my own room, we were like 5 and the room was very small. So while I was staying, the host in my room kinda stepped on my phone, broke the screen only to put it all back like nothing happened. I tried using my phone and I was almost tearful at what I saw no kidding. I confronted her and she was like I didn’t see it, I didn’t break it only to admit later. I was going the next morning back home with another unplanned financial responsibility at my lap. . . so, my blogging was truncated.
I left Birnin Kebbi with the mindset of not staying at the family house not because of what happened but because of the rules which includes, no separate cooking oh boy, I like to cook for myself, bake, make and try recipes. You pay 5k monthly for feeding. No private business. No use of gadgets what’s gonna happen to my oven and toaster that I planned bringing. No visitors allowed. No trousers. . . OK wait! I am just passing the stage of eating well and I can be choosy when it comes to food so I pay 5k every month that covers only breakfast and dinner and no lunch and what if I don’t eat as frequent from the general cooking??? And there was a time in my life when I allowed people’s opinion about trousers to rub off on me and I feel like it’s a bad thing like I’m a rebel, condemned and I haven’t allowed Jesus to die for that aspect of me. . . people talk about covering of your head etc. But I got knowledge and I wasn’t gonna allow someone to make me feel like that again. . . so, I had no money and accommodation is like money in the belly of a fish in Birnin Kebbi but nonetheless I left my stuffs at one of our friends house (from OBS, Muyiwa – he’s batch B) trusting God to sort us out as he scouts for house for me and Doyin (Doyin is my newly-made friend from OBS too but we went to Ife together even the same faculty but it’s funny how we never met until camp).
We both reported at our ppa and we were accepted. She was given History Bureau; trust me, that office looked like it was abandoned for years when we went to check it out and my school was cool except I do not know how my workload was gonna be.
We went shopping a day to travelling for some fishes, kilishi etc only to be welcomed by the craziest sandstorm I ever seen. That was the second after camp’s. Everywhere practically turned dark in the afternoon. I have the video on my Instagram page. You can check it out.
After scouting for house unsuccessfully, we left the rest to Muyiwa. Doyin and I were both going to Abeokuta and we were both also from Abeokuta life can be funny right. So, four of us plus Ibukun who stays in Ife and Sola who studied Anthropology and Sociology from OAU too but stays in Lagos occupied the first seat of the Sienna car while three male corp members going to Ilorin/Ibadan occupied the back seat and one immigration man was sitting in front.
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We left Birnin Kebbi past 7 and we arrived Ibadan 7.32pm passing the terrible Jebba bridge made with wood.
©2016 Ibukunwrites

You may believe there’s nothing wrong with what you are doing, but keep it between yourself and God. Blessed are those who don’t feel guilty for doing something they have decided is right. . . Romans 14:22

Half Day at Camp: 27th April, 2016

Kebbi Diaries,

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Female Hostel 2 – Kebbi camp. . . pic credit: Google

After a long and crazily stressful journey of 30 hours exactly, we arrived the Dakingari Camp in Kebbi State at exactly 7pm since 11am Tuesday morning. . . did I forget to mention that after the driver turned to the road leading to the Dakingari camp, it took us like an extra 50 to 60 minutes to get to the camp. . . like where is the camp sef! The journey no dey end? Kebbi is a far place – like it’s the longest journey I ever made in my life not to talk of at a stretch. . . thank God I’m not one whose feet gets easily swollen. A lot of other otondos in the bus were a victim of that. . . the journey was no fun at the beginning but it got better along the way. . . It was my first time travelling Cross Country and trust me, I don’t have the best of experience; I probably might not be travelling with them anytime in the future. . . it was a story of sour, bitter and salty but I thank God even with the purging and the emergency visitor, I survived that journey. . . in a later post, I’d be sharing the journey to camp/my experience with cross country.
So, we got to camp and all these small boys Fulani/Hausa Ive never been one to really differentiate them durrrrhhhh. They offered to carry luggage and trust me, I wanted to prove I can carry it myself cos I was trying to save cost o cos I was so tired that I won’t even mind to be carried. . . how much would they charge sef? Na so I carry my bag give one aboki boy o. Did I forget to say I was super pressed for a second time?. . . the first time we were in Sokoto around the desert area and the Pilot at least that’s what cross country calls its drivers *funny to me sha; all na packaging*. So I asked driver if he was gonna stop anytime soon, he said no! Trust me, I no fit hold that shit any longer it was a different kind of shit cos it wasn’t just shit alone. So I asked him to pull over, I jump down ehn like I was being pursued, I saw some men and boys building mud house, I was asking them where I could ease myself; no English that was a deadpool. . . I waka go front, then those ones showed me a toilet in a mosque, I con do am for there, commot. . . I enter bus, took some drugs, tell driver say make e no vex and if e vex, make e tell him management to have a toilet in their coaster for such a long journey.
So, soldier screened my bag and call up letter, I waka reach gate collect one small number for small paper wey be like tally. Need I say Dakingari camp is beautiful; like the best I’ve seen after Ogun Camp if not better. Wunmi already gave me gist but it was just as she said. So I moved forward to write my name, get a room number, pick a bed.
I gave the aboki 50 naira. Sharpaly carried one bucket go fetch water even though I had to queue who cares if the shit wan dey drop like bazooka, it was useless trying to beg so I was praying for strength to still keep it together.
Finally, I made for toilet, almost all the toilet were messed up like wetin happen na – clean but messed up. I run go buy what looked like a potty, I Sha do am, brush my teeth since yesterday, had a good bath. . . Yetunde already said registration can wait till tomorrow so waiting it is. I headed for Mammy Market, bucket 300 naira, small plate 150, rubber sneakers 900 that was all I needed to buy Sha without choice. My bag was small, no time for nonsense.
I fetched water, made a few calls although my phone never rest since the journey started. I didn’t want to eat cos I didn’t trust my tummy but I had to Sha. The food na die . . . 300 for a plate wey be like shibi je size. The food  no come make sense, God punish camp o! I no chop am finish o!
Spiritual mama Chioma gave me bread to chop say e go help my tummy. . . we travelled together and she’s so amazing. She was there when my sth first started for bus.
I had to go back to Mammy to get Lucozade boost #250 and the normal table water for #100. Very cold though nonetheless all na extortion.
The sockets in our room weren’t working Sha. Plus the Porter showed us a shotput ground. She dey even tell us how to package am well. Lmho!
This camp promises to be fun! Sleep oh sleep after I talked for hours on fone. . . looking forward to avoiding parade tomorrow cos I never register na ???? and I’d register in the morning. . . I hope I find my cloth and shoe sizes. I can’t wait to see the million shades of makeup in the morning.
Oh! And I got the upper bunk. Just two fans in the room and I’m kinda closer to one. I also remembered to tattoo my name on my stuffs, and yes, thank you Wunmi, Airtel is the bomb ????. . . thank you Funso for putting me through the data stuff and allowing me to blow your phone not as much as I blew Yetunde’s sha!
Byer! I hope the hustle to charge no go hard sha. . . and hey Nectar, yes you, I hope I didn’t bail? ?;). . . we go soon snap when we don wear uniform.
#withlovefromKebbi. . . 7% battery.
© 2016. Ebukun Gbemisola Ogunyemi.