Dr Freaks Journal - NYSC Vibes

"When you're young everything feels like the end of the world, but its not; its just the beginning." -Zac Efron.

Let's just say this is the story of my good friend -Ade whose full permission i have to share his story. However, they say that a tale retold, is a tale altered.

Ade had just graduated from the university and had looked forward to the mandatory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme and Having given his name to a high ranking officer at the NYSC Directorate, Ade was rest assured that he was going to get posted to his State of choice but like they say, man proposes, God disposes. 

By the time my friend got his posting letter, should I say that he was excited or scared? He managed to remove the staple pin that was holding/"sealing" the paper and straightened it. Lo and behold, he received the greatest shock of his life. He got posted to Borno!

 This was on a Friday and he had to resume in camp on the following Monday. The longest he had ever travelled prior to that period was Abia in the East and Lagos in the West and had never gone near any part of the North, not even Kogi or Kwara. 

First thing first, he checked in at his friends' place somewhere in Benin City and met a lad, who was God-sent. He had an atlas (mind you, this happened in pre-Google Age) and he was in luck as he saw a map of Nigeria. He got down to business and tried to plot his route. 

Having dropped Geography in SS1, you could tell that his knowledge of the subject must have been as green as the colour itself. Anyway, he couldn't be deterred, he forged ahead and was able to pen down his discoveries. Move from Benin to Abuja then to Jos and from Jos to Gombe through Bauchi and the likes before Maiduguri. 

He set out on Monday morning from Benin City. The journey started as early as 5.30am. It was a smooth one. It wasn't so eventful from Benin to Abuja and later to Jos anyway. Whatever took him to Abuja was a grave mistake. In any event, he found his way to Jos from Abuja. He arrived Jos at about 6.00pm and he was advised to board another vehicle to Gombe that night.

 It was late but who cares since most of the journeys around the North at the time were done at night. There must have been isolated cases of robbery just as we had in other parts of the country at the time but it wasn't at such an alarming rate as we have it today.

The journey from Jos to Gombe lasted almost 6 hours or more but it seemed endless! He must have been in his very early 20s at the time. Fresh from school, averagely streetwise in several other aspects of life but not in the affairs of the opposite sex. He had only straddled the fence with just a particular female (mind you, he's always been straight just that he was not into relationships or flings) throughout his university days.

Let me take my reader to the meat of my write-up without further delay. The vehicle was a Peugeot 504 Station Wagon. Three passengers on the last seat, four in the middle and three in the front seat. Don't ask me how and why, that was the practice at the time. He had the "rare" privilege of sitting on the passenger's seat.

 There was an elderly man sitting next to the door while he sat next to him and there was this lady in her what he estimated to be early 30s, seated next to the driver. Due to the nature of the sitting arrangement, the driver had earlier advised the young man to take a permanent position since he was the second passenger to board and he did just that. My friend and his female "neighbour" exchanged warm pleasantries and he said that was just it. 

The journey commenced and one thing led to another. The lady placed her hands on the lad's lap, stroked it and that was it. They both got "lost and wild" for the rest of the journey. My friend, in the heat of passion did not forget to intimate his newfound friend that he was bound for Maiduguri and that chances were high that they might be arriving Gombe at about 2.00am and that he would be glad if the lady could accommodate him for the night. His friend gave a positive response and gave him assurances that he was covered for the night. Having settled the issue of shelter, Ade was relaxed and continued with his great exploit. 

"It was a smooth journey," Ade said. 

They arrived at Gombe at past 2.00am and when it was time for all the passengers to alight at their various destinations, my friend tapped his new babe. Guess what? She had suddenly turned deaf and dumb. 

On a very serious note, she refused to interact with him any further until they got to the last bus stop in Gombe, a roundabout where they met other stranded youth corps members and he had to join them and they all passed the night around that open space without any iota of fear in this same Nigeria!


Later, my friend learnt from a co-passenger who was familiar with that part of the country and who spoke the language that the lady under reference was a woman of easy virtue who actually offered to pay the driver the fare in kind and who probably wanted the lad to keep her company throughout the journey. Each of the them had a task to complete in her life at different stages and times of the journey.


Well, the young man had fun for the number of hours they spent together and he eventually found a place to lay his head.


What happened between the driver and the lady? Ade wouldn't know. The following morning as early as 5.00am the young man found his way to the motor park and boom he found his way to NYSC Camp, Maiduguri, Borno State.

Stay safe.

Its Kunle.