Decades: Chunks of Time

I was so weak today. Everyone’s fingers were ice – cold, like ice chips touching my hands every time I shake them. Mr. Ibrahim (who asked me formally for a dance last Saturday) began singing “You are my sunshine” to me during the morning drill. It was comical to everyone but they were not the ones feeling his icy fingers as he grabbed my arm each time he caught up with me. I couldn’t jog. I could barely walk. I have almost finished my Artesunat. I saw Uncle Wasiu and he promised to get me an exemption letter (defn: a little form that exempts a corper from all the activities). Wouldn’t it be a relief to be left alone to sleep and rest! Eventually I was left alone. Everyone could even see it in my face that I wasn’t strong, plus my voice cracked so it was very clear that I could not participate. After the morning jogging, we were released to go an eat breakfast, and it was all I could do to crawl to my room, with the aid of my friends, Lola and Hippy. I got to my room, removed my white

There’s this guy in my platoon I call Dangote. He hardly participates in any of the activities, and is on the phone most of the time. He even walks like a big man, is tall and quite cute, but if he ever claims to be younger than 30, I already know that he’s lying. My platoon has so many interesting people. There’s Naje, the Platoon leader, who’s from Delta state but is a Lagos Corper. He’s of average height, quite stocky and very black. Over the days, his leadership qualities have shown through and I’m happy to a driving force to making him take the position. Then there are so many married women in my platoon, that on the eve of the Welcome party, one Osun state male corper (ibo origins) had to confide in me that the guys in the platoon are thoroughly and extremely disadvantaged, because of this fact. There’s this babe that has made herself (almost) a nuisance in the platoon. She was elected as the Social Committee Leader but so far working with her has been really tasking. For one, s

Almost all the guys from the North have thin skinny legs. It’s a marvel how the sticks support their weight. Well, maybe not. They are usually skinny all round (oxymoron – lol). And their accent is so cute! Like “Egskuz me Madam. Vhat are ve haping por lanch?” One guy was so excited to be eating fufu, that he collected extra. When he tasted it he shouted, “I no like pupu!” There’s one guy in my platoon who’s tall, dark, lanky and handsome, from Borno state. The same lovely accent. His bride has already been chosen for him, he saw her for the first time just before he came to camp, but that didn’t stop him from wanting to have “fun” while in camp. Guys are so…….

25 – 10 - 2007 21 st October, was the last daily entry I made. Today’s Thursday and I am not on the parade grounds. Why? Because I have malaria, I’m weak, tired and my whole body, including my hair roots, aches. Today there’s another drill competition and I’m praying for platoon 17 not to fail. We practiced this morning and we did rather well. We did so well yesterday that when the Commandant sneaked up on us, he asked if we had imported expatriates with excellent matching skills. I just had to buy Artesunat (Malaria treatment medication). I ate, took the medication and went to sleep in the clinic. I was supposed to participate in a meeting with the Camp Director and other Computer IT professionals again today but I could hardly get up to ease myself, not to talk of walking to the Pavilion to be part of the meeting. Since Monday I’ve been tired and weak and eating 3 square meals a day. After the second dream about Uncle T, I called him to ask how he was doing. Aunt Bunmi sent me a

21 – 10 – 2007 I slept and slept and slept. Ben woke me up with a call, that Kanny had been brought to the camp and he was almost through with arrangements to go home. We three girls practically ran to the clinic to see him. His Mum had picked them up at the General Hospital , brought them to camp, taken them to the hall to get Kanny’s things and the to the clinic to get his exeat. We girls were introduced to his mum and sister as the 3 Ds. I don’t think I had my bath all day. I’m not really sure. Others went to church but I didn’t. I just figured – we have two more Sundays and not one, in this camp. Imagine that. I head the State Coordinator and the Camp Commandant (Military) re at loggerheads and that the soldiers are on strike. Nice, if it means they wont be stressing us like they have been doing all last week. Tomorrow is Monday again *moan*…

The Commandant made people cry in the afternoon, and made people extremely angry in the night that day. At the welcome party, he refused to follow normal procedures. He made sure that the party was very dry. There was no welcome address, the MC was a joke, the DJ tried, but he was not coordinated. The jokes were very very dry. Imagine Warri jokes not making people laugh. The Commandant ordered each platoon to send a girl to dance with him, which means 18 girls from 18 platoons were to show up. When the MC got tired of calling and no one answering, he called out 18 girls. We all watched in disgust as the pot – bellied old man danced to P – Square’s “Temptation”, with the 18 girls rubbing his body. Eventually he got tired and left the stage. At least I can say I danced before the program commenced, with Alcatraz (there was a brief period of dancing before the program started officially). Earlier, after the evening drills, one Hausa guy came to ask for a dance – as in, formally. He was l

20 – 10 – 2007 21 – 6 = 15 more days to go. Sabbath Day. Platoon 17 assembled like all others, for drills this morning, but we were not happy. We jogged out of camp as usual, but in the other direction this time. A diesel tanker was inching along by our small clusters of platoons, on our way back, when the soldiers stopped him, an almost flogged him to death. It was a serious case of brutality. It brought back to my mind, a question I have been asking, “Who incorporated the Military Training into the NYSC programme? Why? Why weren’t other disciplinary organizations utilized, like Man – O – War?” Hopefully these questions will be answered someday. After the jogging was drills, after drills was breakfast and after breakfast was environmental sanitation. I was standing in the sun like the others, when I got a mysterious phone call. “Come to the State Director’s Lodge immediately”. I ran, really scared, towards the general direction of where the signs said it was located. When I go