My name is Sanya Timileyin. A batch A 2016/2017 Corper currently serving in mfom1,ogoja, crossriver state, Nigeria.
So in few weeks, you batch B's would be done in camp and turned out to face the "real world". Some of you would cry, some of you would be happy and some would remain calm like me when you get the posting letter to your place of primary assignment(PPA). Have this at the back of your mind tho, ITS JUST ONE YEAR. I remember getting fed up at a point, but as of today, I have 3/4 months to go. And I'm out
So I will be giving out some NYSC LIFE HACKS that has worked for me and others over the months, some I knew from scratch, some I got to know as time went by and maybe I'm still yet to discover some. 😉😉 let me point out that while some of the hacks would work for you irrespective of the state you are,some might not apply to you because I'm writing this piece based on the part of crossriver that I am serving in. I hope you do find most of these hacks useful tho.
I will write on each in no particular order but as they come to my head. On the day that you get your posting letter, you are expected to leave the camp latest the next day, unfortunately for us, we live in a system that has little or no plan for its youths, now the question most of you would ask is "where am I supposed to go in a state where I know no one? "
Fortunately for me I had a family friend in calabar, but then camp was 4hours away from calabar and like 6hours away from my place of primary assignment. That was where NCCF(Nigerian Christian corpers fellowship) came in. They have already made arrangements to convey corpers to NCCF family houses in different zones, you go to the one close to your place of primary assignment, for free? Of course you get to pay, but trust me it's way more reliable than the private cab men who are out to milk you, but if you think the 19800 you got from camp is big money, you can gladly patronise them. Well the NCCF BUSES can't carry everybody so eventually some of you would have to go privately or charter a vehicle in group. Oh, did I mention they get to feed you free for a week!!! 😀 so in summary, hack 1 is pre register to follow the NCCF buses.
Hack 2 is on transportation
it's called "help corpo" let me inform you at this point that this hack is less likely to work for you guys in big cities like Lagos, abuja, calabar and the likes. You can try it tho, you might just be lucky, so what's "help copo" about? This is the term given to instances where corpers get free rides. It works most times for females tho, let me say this is one hack I don't use because it requires a lot of stress and patience. You have to leave your house earlier than normal so you can wave down cars of people going to work, you could stay an hour plus doing that... I don't have that time 😐 but really the feedbacks have been impressive. I have heard some friends recount how they entered cars with air conditioning and how they were even given tips.
Hack 3. Find an extra ppa/ or let me just put it as find extra sources of income.
That's if your original place of primary assignment allows you the time tho. Its another source of income but it can be so stressful. I have a close friend who has like 3 extra😀, it necessarily doesn't have to be a school tho. It could be home lessons. Im serving in a village where they value farming more than education, is it people that don't come to school you want to do home lessons for? You are on your own o. If you have an existing business before NYSC, please try and continue it no matter what, who nysc epp? Mine looked almost impossible to continue but i didn't stop anyways. Look around your vicinity and provide what they need, I have people who make cake, who usher events, sell soya beans, list is endless..
Hack 4: learn an handwork
My self designed motto is "Ise Owo is the new oil and gas" which translates to hand work is the new oil and gas. I personally believe that those ASUU strikes that happened when we were in school (if you schooled abroad or in a private school,you might not understand this) are part of the educational system, I believe they were put in place for us to develop ourselves, I feel same about this one year service period too, the government knows there are little or no jobs out there, so they kill time with the strikes and service year. So don't let one year Just fly by without you learning a skill or two. Can I also remind you to plan on starting your own business, even if it's selling sand, it sounds funny yeah? But trust me, what is yours is yours.
Hack 5: Go for tours.
Most of you were posted far(10 hours plus by road) away from home. So I'll say take the opportunity to go to tourism sites that are close to you, I'm in crossriver, so I'm planning on visiting obudu cattle ranch, Tinapa, attend calabar carnival, go to abuja and maybe Kaduna. Because on a normal day, I don't think anything would bring me to crossriver, so this might be one thing I'm thankful to nysc for.
Hack 6: Be friendly with senior corpers
Not much of a big deal here, but it just might give you someone to fall back on when you are broke, and you just might get extra khakis and boots when they are leaving. You can meet your future partner too o😉😉😉
Hack 7: Be friendly with people in your host community
Yeah. Greet them, put them through things they know next to nothing about, don't be surprised some could start treating you like their own children. Giving you money and foodstuff once in a while.
Hack 8: Don't mess with your boss
Some of them can be really pissing and annoying. Yeah, mine is. But then, he is my boss and my next one year lies in his hands. If I misbehave and he doesn't sign my clearance, that might be trouble. So no matter how annoying your boss is, he is still your boss.
Hack 9: Don't look down on nobody
This doesn't apply to NYSC only, it's a general life hack. Okay, you went to Bowen, studied accounting, finished with a First Class. Okay, but that doesn't give you the pass to look down on that kid in ss1, or that woman who sells fish every market day to make ends meet. You never know who is who. I sat down to talk with a boy in Ss1 one evening. The conversation was IMPACTFUL AND LIFE CHANGING. I have learnt few agricultural techniques that I can't wait to put into practice when I get back home. There is money in agriculture o.
Hack 10 : I think this is the hack that wraps it all up... This hack needs quite a sum of money tho. If you happen to be posted to a village like me, a village that has no electricity 😢😢 you might want to buy a generator as soon as you resume. A bicycle too might come in handy, because the lodge the school would give might be far from the road. You could get a bicycle even in town, prices of everything has gone up, a bike drop is now 100 naira here, with a bicycle, you won't be bothered about bike prices .
Thanks for reading. I hope this hacks were helpful.
Sanya timi
Instagram: @timitibility
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