NYSC DIARIES: CDS JITTERS

On a random day. I checked my portal just casually, not expecting anything and there it was “You have been scheduled for clearance on so so so date.” I told the corp members around me to check their portals. I even helped the ones battling network issues, hotspotting and refreshing like a network engineer on a mission. We took screenshots, thinking we had it all figured out(little did we know we were just wasting our data). Only for the previous batch corpers to say that they don't follow that schedule in our local government. Instead, we should prepare our minds because clearance can come any random day. It could even fall on a day when we are already seated at our PPA, deep in the complexity of office life(which would mean, leave work, go back home, change into white and green, and rush to the local government) remembering that there would be a time frame attached to it.

That is where my sadness started. We moved on. Sorry, I moved on. Until one random Tuesday evening, a message appeared that was E-signed by the Igi himself it read “Thursday of that week would be both our general CDS and general clearance.”( Instant craze) because if only you knew what crowd does to me. I can face crowd o, but there is literally no privacy in that kind of setting. And I love my space, my space loves me, we have an understanding.

I hate African time with a passion, that we might have issues if you don’t keep to time, so I got there early (at every stage of this NYSC, I have regretted keeping to time, but it is what it is)

#Irefusetobecomewhatidespise

Then, out of the blues, I saw a speaker and a DJ. I immediately said, "This is not why I am here o." Before I knew it, they started sharing shots, as if it was a blood booster to prevent invalid fingerprint. Music, hypeman, shots went on for like two hours(that was the general CDS)

Turns out, it was the outgoing corp members the ones finishing their service this month who had requested a mini party before the main internet breaking one. A pre party, a warm up for their final blowout. I was happy for them but I was also standing there in my white and green, clutching my file, wondering how I got here.

There were corp members selling goods like clothes, snacks, shoes and I realized that there is nothing you want to buy that they don't bring to the local government.

Time for clearance finally came. I picked my file. I was maybe the third person to do clearance and with speed faster than that of flash, I made sure I found myself in my palace immediately. I went home with zobo, though. That was our souvenir.(They take zobo a lot here. Like every shop is selling zobo.)

I love it for them sha sha.

The clearance happened. The crowd was survived. The shots were declined. The zobo was appreciated. And I returned to my palace tired, overstimulated, but intact.

One more milestone, One more story, One more day closer to the end I am not sure I am ready for but also very sure I am ready for.