Boulevard of Reminiscence

Year 2011 under review

2012-01-03T12:24:00.003+01:00

It is a new year, I never knew the year 2011 would come to an end so soon, but lo and behold, the year has ended and so has a new year begun.2011 was the best and most adventurous year I have ever experienced. It began with the INEC's Voters registration programme which took place from the 15th of January to the 5th of February. I was posted to a very remote community for three weeks with a very annoying partner. That experience is one I don't want to ever remember.April was also very unique because I took part in the General Elections as a presiding officer. The election was just for a month or thereabout, that is every Saturday. I assumed it would be a work over, bearing in mind that I spent three weeks in a jungle and I survived, the election, I was posted to my place of primary assignment, that meant a very familiar turf, but I was so wrong, the people that were entrusted with our allowances cut some part of it, our students became the boss and they used use like hell. I remember my birthday which was on the 26th of April, I thought I was going to be killed but thank God.Although, I cannot go into details here, but if you go through my previous posts you would get to understand why I considered last year a very wonderful year.It would be safe to say that the adventure of last year ended in June when I passed out from NYSC, an I moved from being a cool dude to a weird one. I did not have a job and I had to depend on my father for all the money I needed, which was really annoying. I hope this year would be a very wonderful year and that It would be far better and adventurous that last year. DId I tell you that I drank a whole lot of beer last year, and I really rocked life, infact I became a totally different person.I am not really regular online because I am really broke and I don't have money to subscribe for internet access, but very soon, levels go change.

MY FIRST DAY IN OFONI

2011-09-06T23:47:00.000+01:00

It was Wednesday, 28th of July 2010, A day after the passing out parade from the N.Y.S.C Kaiama camp where we were given our posting letters and I found out that i was posted to a senior secondary school called Community Secondary School, Ofoni Town. When I saw 'Ofoni Town', I assumed that that was the capital of the local government, Sagbama. That day, I met four other corps members that were posted to the same school and we went to the house of the principal in the capital city of Yenegoa, on a normal note, the principal was meant to be there to sign our letters of posting, but we had to go to his house with a teacher he sent along, When we got to his house, he entertained us and he accepted us as corps members posted to his school, this is bearing in mind that it was already a few minutes to four in the evening and we did not know where we were and we had not gone to the local government area for documentation.After leaving the principal house, we headed for Sagbama, the principal did not bother to provide for our transport fare, instead we used part of the allowee we got from the camp. When we got to Sagbama, it was already six in the evening, so, we were given a place to stay in for the nite. The next day, 28th, we began out documentation in earnest and we finished by around one in the afternoon, that is a story for another day.After the documentation, we began our journey to the place called Ofoni, we were not worried about the organization we were posted to, we were more worried about the place. We already knew that it was a riverine community because we were given life jackets to go along with.We were only four that took the journey to ofoni on that fateful day because Ernest (one of us), decided to go home, he stays in Port Harcourt, which is not far from Yenegoa.We began the journey with the little money we had, we did not know that transport fare would cut a large chunk of the money we received from camp.I had the misconception that since we were posted to a place in Bayelsa state, that there would be access points from the local government to the community, but I was wrong. From the Local Government headquarters of Sagbama, we boarded a bus heading for Ughelli in Delta state, we alighted at Ohoror junction in the same Delta, after parting with some money, from Ohoror Junction, we boarded another vehicle heading to Bomadi in the same Delta state, we alighted at Odurubu market in the same Delta state, from Odurubu, we boarded a commercial motorcycle popularly called Okada to waterside, when we got to odurubu, we were already cursing N.Y.S.C for posting us to such a place that takes a long time to to get to and without access to modern infrastructure, we thought that we had already seen the worse on our way to Ofoni, but what greeted us when we got there was something we did not bargain for. The bike ride from Odurubu to Ofoni waterside, took about 15 minutes through a bumpy road in a jungle. When we got to the waterside, the first thing that came out of my mouth was 'do people actually live here'. I asked that question because from the waterside, we could not see anything except greenery. I wondered how N.Y.S.C be so cruel. I began to regret why I did not 'runs' my posting to a better place when i had the opportunity, i remembered the way i was very serious in school and how I served God in different capacities in the University and worked hard in my academics and it all came to that.While I was in a deep thought, I saw lola, one of the outspoken corps member that was posted to the same place with me burst into tears. I did not know when I burst out laughing because it was really funny, the other corps members were wondering why i could be laughing at her. The reason that led to her outburst was due to the fact that the principal told us when we went to his house that we were only going to cross a small river. That river was not close to being small, it was majestic.After wasting about 10 minutes at the waterside, we decided to board the available boat after agreeing on a price, Lola refused to board the boat, she claimed that her spirit was not in agreement with the water, Corper Tunde (Didiguy), had to console her and some students that were there actually pushed her into the boat. Before I go on, in order to appreciate the situation, Lola is on the plus side and she is very outspoken, she was like our mouth piece throughout the journey, always ready to argue with anybody that tried to cheat us to pay a higher than normal fare, which we did in most of the journey; back to where i was, when we entered the boat, everyone sat on the seat, even the other female, Ijeoma, lola sat on the decking of the boat i.e the floor and she held firmly to the railing, it is pertinent to know that the boat is more like a canoe but much more bigger with an engine attached to it, The bottom of the boat was filled with water, Lola did not mind, she entered it without much ado.Finally, we reached the ofoni waterside, we met some people there, we were all exhausted and very annoyed when we got there, I was the only that asked the young guys we met in the waterside questions about the place and the corpers there. Then something strange happened, Lola did not bother to enter the town, she decided to leave, she gave us some of her belongings and she left, she left the same way she came, on the floor of the boat. It was really funny. Thank God for myself, in that situation, i found it very funny.When we got there, we got to discover that there was no electricity supply, portable water, G.S.M network, corpers lodge, infact there was nothing that could make anyone want to stay there. But I kinda looked forward to it, after living all my life in Lagos and Abuja, I have not been to a village in a very long time, over 16 years, so, ofoni was like a village to me. i was also enthusiastic because my final project was about Niger Delta, Militancy and Underdevelopment.We were taken to the place we thought was 'corpers lodge', while on our way, we saw a lot of contradictions, the place did not have any form of public electricity, but there were electric poles with cables on it, and they did not have portable water but everywhere we went there were taps in the village, all I could do was laugh.As we were on our way, the villagers stopped all the were doing and they began to look at all, i felt to cool, infact, I felt like a superstar in a weird way.When we got to the 'corpers lodge', we met some cool corpers, infact, i thought that if those guys could stay in such a place, that i would more than feel comfortable in the village. We also got to know that there was no corpers lodge in Ofoni and that all the corps members usually pay house rent. We were dumbfounded, the corpers we met in the house that we later found out was called "Aso Rock", the administrative headquarters of all the corps members in ofoni. The residents in Aso Rock then were Tochukwu idigo, Seun, Tosin and ifeanyi the neighbour. The corpers really welcomed us and they fed and gave us drinks.After eating, Tunde and I decided to take a stroll round the village, while we were going round, I encouraged myself that it was not that bad, the village looked more like a small town that had been abandoned and it was built by the villagers themselves. I asked Tunde 'is this the place we are going to live for a year'.?When we got back we were told that we are going for 'Fellowship' in the night. Infact it was the fellowship that gave me hope. it was more like a parliament where we had a chairman, speaker, chairlady, chief whip and my favourite, Minister of Women and Kokolet affairs. Fellowship was really fun, we drank and danced there, infact when they said we were going for Fellowship i thought it was more like a christain programme, but I was wrong, it was all fun.I discovered that even if Ofoni was highly underdeveloped, the corps members, made it fun.I left for Abuja the next day to prepare for a year's stay in that place. In subsequent updates, I will give account of some of the things that happened there in Ofoni.

The Depressed life

2011-08-29T22:29:00.002+01:00

I know I am not suppose to feel this way, but I am totally angry at the world. Everywhere I go, I feel angered.
The last time I felt this way was in thee year 2005 when I graduated from Secondary and I did not gain admission into the university after 5 months, I became really depressed and totally angered with the world. All my sisters and friends became my enemies.
When I got admission into the university, I became a changed person, a very happy person that could not get angry with anyone or anything, I was everyone friend and could not step on anyone's toes. I wished it would never end.

After my university education, I looked forward to the one year mandatory NYSC, and when I was called up for service I became really happy, the one year I served my fatherland was the best I ever had, the experience I had was one that I would never forget.

Three months after service, I am again the same person that I was 6 years ago, a totally depressed person, angry with the world and everyone and anything. I don;t have a plan, I don't know what to do, I am a totally confused person that does not have an idea what is going to happen to me.

The latest person that has fallen to the effect of my depression is my bed ridden father. My father was involved in a commercial motorcycle (popularly known as okada in the local pallance) that affected the bone of his right leg, his bone has a crack and he has not been able to do anything for the past three month, so, after service I came back to start doing work, I had the impression that after service I would come back home and rest for a little while and start to work, but all did not come to manisfestation, instead, I was made to do chores that I have never done at home, and i went on errands that I had never done at home, infact, I was always going out on one errand or the other.

Just recently, he began to walk with the aid of crutches.
Today, I sent me to one of his numerous errands, this time, he sent me with my sister. i made a mistake in one of the errands he sent me, to be precise, I made a mistake in my younger sister Post UTME registration, I uploaded a different passport for her instead of hers and the passport cannot be changed after uploading, I tried as much as possible to upload the genuine picture but it all came to nullity.
When I got home and he founf out, he flared up (we are all scared of him), I was surprised at the way my anger swelled inside me and I also shouted at him, telling him that he should be appreciative and that he should not shout at him, that was just a defensive mechanism.

All can be linked to my depression due to the fact that I am still at home doing nothing and there is not sign that it would all be over.

I graduated as the best in my department, but I am really scared of the future, I don't know what will become of me, will my work that I did in school be in vain, I did not 'work' my posting to Abuja to Lagos, even when I had the money to pay for the 'working'. Most of my friends were posted to prestigious institution in Abuja and Lagos, and me a very good student that did not get involved in any form of vice, was posted to a very rural secondary school in a more rural community in the Niger Delta state of Bayelsa state, I am now wondering, did I make a mistake by not getting involved. My friends consider me as a fool and they claim that they are going to have the last laugh in all that partains to me.
Now, I'd say, it all stays in the hands of the Lord because with each passing day, I get much more depressed. HELP ME GOD.

One bomb-blast too many!

2011-08-28T23:51:00.001+01:00

It all happened on Friday, 26th August 2011; I was in a bank in Yaba, lagos, about to deposit some money into the account of my immediate elder sister and the television in the bank was tuned in to an international news channel, C.N.N, immediately I entered the bank, my eyes riveted to the Plasma television set on the wall and there was a breaking news talking about a bomb blast in the United Nations Nigeria office located in the Nigerian capital city of Abuja.

When I saw that news, I was transfixed to the spot, I was overcome with anger, anger that I have never felt before toward anything or anyone; anger toward Boko Haram.

The first thing that came to my mind was, 'what do these people really want', i have read all their demands but none of them makes any sense. It is not as if they are the only ones that are suffering from incessant corrupt acts by the Nigerian government, it is not as if they are the only ones that do have access to infrastructural develop, and to make matters worse, they want to get rid of the Western styled education, first of all, all the things they use are made by the whites who attended Western styled education, the cars the drive, their email, website, mobile phones etc.

The notion that they want Sharia law to be made applicable in the whole of the Nigerian state is totally impossible, I, for one, would not sit down and let anybody impose a strange legal system on me.

If the terrorists that call themselves 'Boko Haram' or whatever are really sincere, they would not go around and start bombing public places, they know where the public officials do live, why can't they go and bomb such places, why would they be bombing places where the poor populace of the Nigerian state are.

Who are even the sponsors of this terrorist organization, it is obvious that most of the members of this sect are illiterates that were recruited with a little sum of money with a promise of a better future by the Nigerian elites, it would be no surprise if the sponsors are politicians and and Nigerian military personnel.

Why can't the Nigerian defense force tackle the menace of Boko Haram, despite the fact that they succeeded in curbing the tide of militancy in the Niger Delta withour prior knowledge of the terrain-I have been to that part of the country and I know that it is really difficult to navigate.

The Nigerian defense apparatus are involved one way or the other, for goodness sake, most members of the Nigerian military are from the Northern part of the country, they know the people very well and they know the terrain, but they cannot stem the tide of terrorism in the Northern part of Nigeria, the only reason is that they don't want to stop them because most of them are related and the gain, one way or the other from the acts of terrorism.

Back to base, why U.N house in Abuja, what did the United nations do to warrant such brutal attack in it. The first time I saw that building, I was amazed by the infrastructural masterpiece and I did not even know it was the U.N. House until I asked someone and they told me. I always had the dream of working in the U.N.

The attack on the United nations is an attack on all the members of the world body and it has gotten an international dimension, and it is time the leaders of the world come together to defeat the parasite called Boko Haram.

Eagle Square, police headquarters, U.N house; all very important institutions and infrastructure in the Federal capital, I wonder where next, if the Federal government does not rise up to action and stop waiting for 'Goodluck' in solving the problem, then Nigeria is going to be more like Somalia, because it seems like the Boko Haram sect want to create a state of anarchy where the Federal Government would be extremely weak and the militants would be in charge of the country.

My advise to is government is for her not to in any disguise dialogue or even grant them amnesty, they are nothing more than criminals and they should be treated as such. Boko Haram does not have any ideology and they don't have any reason for being formed and their modus operandi is totally against the constitutional provision.

GOD BLESS NIGERIA.

A day at the Ikoyi Passport office

2011-07-15T22:40:00.003+01:00

It was friday the 15th of July 2011 that I went to the Ikoyi passport office to go and apply for a Nigerian passport. What I wanted to do with the passport is unknown, all I know was that I just wanted the passport and I had the money to apply for it, so, I decided to do it.

My quest for a new passport led me to seek for more information with regards to getting a new passport. I dreaded going to the Nigerian passport office due to the fact that with everything Nigerian, theree;s bound to be administrative bottleneck.

Prior to that moment, I asked a friend who did his own during that period how he got his, he told me that all that was required was a birth certificate, letter of attestation, state of origin, a passport for the person attesting for you and two passport for the applicant.

I went there with my folder like a new university student going for screening. I left my house by 7 in the morning, the earliest time of me leaving my house in lagos except the days I travel.

Although, I have never been to the passport office at Ikoyi before, but with the help of my computer and a little money, I got the address online and I set out for a journey.

When I got to the passport office, the first thing that happened to me was that an immigration officer accosted me and asked me my purpose of being in the passport office, being the JJC that I was, I explained the reason of my being there and even showed him some documentation, the man now asked me for evidence of payment, guarrantor form with his/her drivers licence and international passport. I was dumbfounded to say the least, he now took me to a cyber cafe in the office and showed me an example of a paaaport application, I then asked him how i was going to do mine. I said I should part with some money which is far more than the officail price and i would finish the documentation that same day, the offer was too good to resist because my being at the immigration office was just mere providence and going there again would have been difficult.

When I got to the passort office, I met a lot of people there, but I can say that i did not spend more than three hours there and I finished everything before people that were there even had the chance to start.

Yes, bribery and corruption. I was really against the twin demons of bribery and corruption, but after so time, I realised that bribery and corruption has become part of us, we are all prone to bribe.

With the money I paid I was told by my runsman to come in 3 days time when the official time was a little bit more than 2 weeks.

Yes, the Nigerian Immigration service adviced all the intending applicants not to do business with tout; the normal Nigerian tout has been changed to immigration staffs. Instead of staffs to be at their duty posts, they would be outside soucing for customers.

I want to work at the immigration service because there is mad money there, do u know how much a person makes from the runs they do there everyday, I am really jealous.

The fight against corruption can continue now, at least I have gotten what I wanted without any form of stress.

Maybe it is not corruption, I did not bagain for it, I was just offered help because I was not with complete documentation and I did not intend to go home and come back late.

I STILL BELIEVE IN THE NIGERIAN DREAM!

Life after service.

2011-07-12T22:20:00.002+01:00

Today is the 12th of July 2011, it's been about one month that I was demobilized from the NYSC scheme and I have not yet found my foothold. I am neither here nor there, with my fathers incapacitation, it has become a different ballgame.

Due to the fact that my father was involved in a near fatal accident and came out with his right leg crushed, he has not been able to walk and he requires care for about one month.

Since I got back home, I have not had time to get the much needed rest that I desired while in Ofoni. I had an illusion that after service, I will get at least 2 full weeks of rest, but that did not happen. Instead I am always on the road, morning, afternoon and evening. Prior to this moment, I have never gone on an errand for the house, it was only my eldest sister that does most of the work, so, to think that I would start to be going shopping, is really alarming.

Beyond the issue at hand, is the fear of what the future holds. I have the idealistic perception that whenever I finish school and requires a job, then jobs will begin to run to me, but when I start hearing that corps members that finished before I did are still searching for jobs, then I get the creeps.

I just hope and pray that I will be highly favored in whatever I put my hand into, if it is job, then I will get job opportunities, if it is admission, I go get am plenty, as far as the Mater Planner is on the throne, then I don't have cause to worry.

I go make am!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

MY OFONI DIARY

2011-07-01T22:22:00.003+01:00

Ofoni is a rural community located in the Niger-Delta state of Bayelsa in Sagbama Local Government Area. It is acclaimed to be the second largest community in Bayelsa state. It is populated by approximately 17,000 people and it is polygamous in nature, with men having more than one wife in their lifetime.
It is a riverine community that is only accessible by water. It has four primary schools, A Basic Junior Secondary School and a Senior Secondary School. It has a health centre and lots churches and shrines.
I would not have known that there existed a place called Ofoni Town if I had not been posted to Bayelsa state for the compulsory National Youth Service Corps programme for the 2010/2011 Batch ‘B’.
When I saw my Call-up letter and Bayelsa written there, I was filled with joy because I wanted to travel to place that I had never been to before and to see firsthand the problems plaguing the Niger Delta state, this was due to the fact that I researched on the Niger Delta crisis and militancy for my final project in the university.
I left Abuja for Bayelsa on the 6th of June, and when I got there I was dumbfounded because the state was really underdeveloped with only one access road.
I was in the NYSC orientation camp located in Kaiama for three weeks and I did not enjoy my stay because the condition of living in the camp was nothing to write home about, with no portable water, electricity, clean toilets and other necessary items.
I was a member of the Nigeria Christian Corpers’ Fellowship (NCCF), I joined the publicity wing of the fellowship and I really had fun in the fellowship. I met beautiful people like Abimbola Ibitoye, Adakole Christian, Nkechi, Antoinnete and a host of others. It was NCCF that kept me going through out my stay in Kaiama.
In camp I took part in the Peer Education Training for HIV/AIDS educators, this programme really took my time and I did not have time to take part in parade which I was looking forward to taking part in.
I also took part in a cultural dance competition in camp, I joined the dance group of my platoon (06) that competed in the dance competition and we took second position.
The first week in camp was really hectic; I found it difficult to cope in the hostel because of the amount of people in a room.
The second and third weeks came with its own activities that made me forget the evils of kaiama camp and I really enjoyed that period, to the extent that on the final day in camp, I was nostalgic, I did not want to leave the place because of the realization that the friendship I made was going to come to an end.
The activities that I enjoyed in camp were dance, NCCF, parade, morning drills, endurance walk etc.
My most embarrassing moment in camp was during the fire alarm drill, prior to that moment we were told that something of that nature was going to happen. Fire alarm is a situation whereby camp officials would pursue all the corpers unawares out of their room to an open place and they would begin to take roll –call to know the corpers that are on ground and those that absconded.
The time for the fire alarm was one a.m. and all the corps members were asleep, so, when the beagle was blown we were all asked to leave the hostels, lo and behold, a scared boy like me, did not bother to wear something presentable, but I left with only boxers short, singlet, wrapper and I was bare footed. People that saw me really had a good laugh. They told me that I could have taken my time to put something on. I would never forget that day.
Finally, the day we all were waiting for, 27th of July 2010. That was the day we were given our posting letter to our places of primary assignment.
On that day, I was really scared because people were really afraid of being posted to a riverine community. So, I was given my posting letter and I saw C.S.S OFONI, OFONI TOWN, SAGBAMA LGA. When I saw my posting letter the TOWN really deceived me, I assumed that I was being posted to the capital of the local government, so I was happy; then we were given our life jacket, I started having cold feet, ‘I AM GOING TO ENTER A BOAT FOR THE FIRST TIME’ was all that was on my mind.
The journey to Ofoni began in the late part of July 28, 2011. Four out of the five corps members that were posted to the same school embarked on the journey; Myself, Lola, Ijeoma and Babatunde, with Ernest making a journey home and promising to catch up with us later.
The journey to Ofoni was not easy, to get to Ofoni, you have to leave Bayelsa and go to an interior community of Delta state, before you board a motorcycle and cross to the other side.
Ofoni is a boundary community between Bayelsa and Delta states and it is the only Urhobo speaking community in Bayelsa state.
When one of the female Corps member saw the river, she began to cry because before that moment, the Principal of the school told us that we were going to cross a small river.

She was on the verge of going back when one of the boat riders pushed her into the boad and we began our journey on water for the first time in our lives. I really had a good laugh when I saw the way she cried all through the journey and I did not let her forget that moment throughout our stay in Ofoni.
By the way, she sat on the deck of the boat. When we crossed the first hurdle of our service, we entered Ofoni community. The first thing I said when we entered was that “do people live here”. When we got to Ofoni, Lola did not follow us into the community, instead, she gave us some of her belongings and she went back.
That’s all I can say about my entry into Ofoni. The major thought that was in my head was how I was going to live in a place that does not have light, portable water, g.s.m network, corpers lodge, access road and lots more. I almost gave up when I got to Ofoni and I almost deferred my service but I had an attitudinal change with the impression that all was for adventure.
Beyond the physical challenges of Ofoni community, I also experienced what they call culture shock. I was surprised with what the people in that place do, they did things that you’d hardly found being done in public.
Ofoni is a sexual community, in the sense that sex was seen as a neccessity and they could not do without it. People were introduced to sex at a very young age with teenage pregnancy being on a high note. The men of Ofoni are of the lazy stock, they hardly work, it is the women and children that do all the work. The men of Ofoni wake up In the morning and the first thing they do is drink a bottle of hot alcoholic drink. Almost everyone drink alchohol in Ofoni, the young, the old, boys, girls, men, women, every body usually drink.
I also saw the instance where Youth corps members have sexual relationship with their students.
We, the Corps members were all posted to the secondary school in the community, and what we discovered was alarming; majority of the students of the senior secondary school do not know how to communicate in basic english, what they know how to speak is pidgin english , which they claimed was english, even at that, they could not even speak the pidgin.
Less than 10% of the students in the school could read, write and communicate effectively and they did not see a problem with that.
I had a problem getting across to the students of C.S.S Ofoni because of their level of understanding and their unwillingness to learn. The students were found of giving corpers bad names, I was called lots of Names, Ubulu monkey (monkey mouth) was the most prominent and I was called-even by the corps members- that name till I left ofoni.
Beyond the problems I faced in Ofoni, I will forever remember Ofoni Community. The community really thought me a lot, it made me experience a lot of firsts, the most prominent being my ability to stay alone in a house for a year without any parental guidance. I really had fun in ofoni.
Although, Ofoni does not have any relaxation centre. We, the corps members made it a point of duty to have places to go and things to do in order to keep up busy. The prominent being going to the water side to have fun in the afternoon/evening and going for ‘fellowship’ at night. The ‘fellowship’ here is not anywhere close to the usual fellowship in churches, this one is just a gathering of corps members where we’d discuss, argue, have sitting (in the form of a parliament), drink, dance and generally have fun. In the fellowship we had a Chairman, Speaker, majority Leader, Minority leader, Chief Whip, Women leader, Chair lady, Minister of Women Affairs and Kokolet matters, Interior minister, Minister of Information, Communication and Orientation. I served as Minister of Information in one tenure and Chief Whip in a different tenure.
In Ofoni, I got rid of my shyness and really had a lot of friends, most of which were my students, who made my stay memorable and they made me forget the problems of Ofoni.

Ofoni would forever remain in my mind. When I first got to ofoni, my prayer was that let one year come and go, but lo and behold, one year has come and go and I am wishing to go back to spend some time even if it is one week.
I was one teacher that was really close to his students. I made it a point of duty not to get close to the girls, because any friendship between a boy and a girl in ofoni would ultimately lead to sex. The girls had been made a sex object and to have a friendly disposition towards them would be interpreted as a sign of interest.
I had a lot of ‘boys’ that really helped me. Some of them helped me fetch water, others gave me foodstuffs. I never lacked plantain, Garri, Rabbit or even fish and snail. My house was a place that corpers used to come and take foodstuffs. I will never forget people like Benjamin Francis, Ebruphiyo okokorieta, Joachim, Solomon David, Oghenekevwe Ohwo, Collins Omuero, Simeon Clement, Oyivwita Joseph, Kevin Lucky and a host of other students too numerous to mention but they played a different roles in aiding my comfortability in ofonI.
It is not as if I was not close with the corps members, but I know that I would see them again, we even contact on phone and through facebook, so, I don’t have problems with them. It is my boys that I would really miss, there is no means of communication because there is no g.s.m network and it is only when they go to the waterside that they’d get constant network.
My friendship with the students did not affect me in carrying out my duty as a teacher in C.S.S Ofoni. When I am in school, I become their teacher and anyone that offends me or does what I told them not to do, then they’d be severely punished, but while in town, I become their friend and I play with them and I also advise them a lot. Most of my time with the boys would be focused teaching them reproductive health and teach then the adverse effect of HIV infection to oneself, family, community and country as a whole.
The people of Ofoni have a myopic view that there was no possibility of anybody being infected with HIV in Ofoni, so, they have sex with total abandonment, infact, protecting their selves with condom is not in their dictionary. Some of the students in the senior secondary school have already been impregnated or for the guys impregnate the girls.
It is my prayer that my one year in Ofoni was not a waste and that I impacted on my students and that they would forever remember the advice I gave them and use it to improve on their wellbeing.
I will also remember my fellow corps members that we ran things together, I will not forget my neighbours Lola and I.J (those two stay in the same room, Yoruba and Igbo, and they had a big fight that can be likened to the Biafran war, they were sanctioned later), Tunde (my closest friend in Ofoni, but we were always fighting and we were not good friends, maybe just companions, he was always jeopardizing all that I did), Ernest (Amananawei of Ofoni 1), Kenechukwu (took his time to teach me Igbo), Femi, Faraday, Ibrahim (he really annoyed me in ofoni and he always irritated me), Chinonye (my ofoni wife that was told to ‘disvirgin’ me, did she succeed?), Ola (S.U) and Roland (guy man indeed). Below are the profiles of my student friends in Ofoni
BENJAMIN OGHENECHOJA FRANCIS (AGED 16 YEARS AS AT JUNE 2011)
A 16 year old boy of Urhobo extraction, He made my stay in ofoni memorable, he was my one of my earliest student friend, reputably called “corper boy”. It is no news that most people in Ofoni have a bad body odor, but Benjamin was one person that did not smell at all throughout my stay in ofoni.
He had a penchant for always talking dirty and playing a lot. His watch word was “don’t spoil me, I am a virgin”.
The attribute that attracted me to him was his spoken and written English ability-Ofoni being a place with high level of illiteracy-he was among the few that could communicate in English anytime and day. For one to judge the ability of students in Ofoni, you’d use his/her ability to speak in front of all the Youth corps members serving in Ofoni without fear or favour, he was the only boy that succeeded in making friends with all the corpers.
Benjamin also contributed to my stay in ofoni positively by providing foodstuffs for me. He was one of the few that gave me foodstuffs gotten from their farms whenever I request for it. He gave me plantain, garri, pepper, fish, snail and other stuffs; He also helped me fetch water (which was a big deal there since there is no tap water) anytime I asked for it and buy me things when I sent him to do such.
He was the only student friend I had that his parents knew me, I knew his father, mother, and two of his brothers who used to come to my house, infact, it seemed like his family were really close to corpers.
Our friendship was not all about taking from him, I also gave him some clothes and shoe, and anytime he came to my house I used to give him food, whether he asks or not (which was quite often).
Our friendship paid off with Benjamin becoming the student with the highest score in the two tests I gave the S.S.1 students in History; In the first one he scored 18 over 20, while in the second he scored 17, he also won the #500 I promised to give the student with the highest score.
I would surely miss him, but I hope that the short time I spent in Ofoni impacted positively on this young dude. I pray that if I hear the name Benjamin Oghenechoja Francis in ten years time, I would be hearing of a successful person.
I’d rate our friendship 88%.

EBRUPHIIYO OKOKORIETA (AGED 16 AS AT JUNE 2011)
A very skinny fellow; the first time I had an encounter with this dude, I did not know that he would be a close student of mine. Our encounter was on a sour note, he was my student and I gave them (S.S 1) an assignment to do; I gave them some rules with ‘not making use of a different subject note for my subject’, he flouted that rule and he did the assignment in a different note, so, I had him flogged, my beating him led to him hating me and refusing to talk to me, but to my surprise, he came to house one night with Benjamin, and since then he began coming to my house on a regular basis.
This guy had a peculiar type of character; he argues unnecessarily, even with me his teacher and he do not care if what he says is stupid. To see his outward character, put him and Benjamin in the same room and you’d see a ‘parrot’.
Ebruphy was my best student, he had a very good communication skill (written and spoken), of all my students, he was among the best.
Although, Ebruphy did not give me any material thing, he contributed to my stay positively by keeping me company in a place that did not have the basic social amenities, he fetched water and bought things for me whenever I asked him to do such without complaining, not even a slight murmur.
During my last days in ofoni, he was always in my house, he also loved playing games on my Phone, I promised to give him one of my phones but later changed my mind and gave it to someone else.
I’d rate my friendship with him at 80%
OMUERO COLLINS (AGED 16 AS AT JUNE 2011)
I did not plan to make friends with Collins. It was just providence that linked us up, he was not even my student, and he was in S.S 2, which I did not teach throughout my stay in Ofoni.
He was a very good behaved student that was always in my house, although, he was a late bloomer, i.e. we became friends at a late period, like after 5-6 months of my being in Ofoni.
Although, Collins speaks English, he could not read and write but he made my stay memorable, he is the one I know that I really made impact on, even if he could not read and write he had a very good memory and everything you tell him, he remembers.
Of all my student friends, he is one that I know really worked for me, he gave me my respect and he never grumbled whenever I sent him on an errand; he also gave me foodstuffs gotten from his farm, mostly plantain and garri, he later became my largest supplier of plantain.
Throughout my stay at ofoni, I did not see him have a fight with anybody neither did have a hot argument with anyone. While I was leaving, I gave him some of my things to reward him for what he did for me throughout my stay in Ofoni, I gave him an MP3, Man-U Jersey, a short, sleeveless shirt and some other things.
I’d rate our friendship at 89%
PRECIOUS AROGHENE ADAREGBA (16 YEARS AS AT 2011)
Sapele Boy! This boy did not let me forget the fact that he did not grow up in the backwater land of ofoni. He had a good communication skill with the ability to speak and write the English language. He did not speak the Urhobo language throughout my stay in Ofoni. We were pretty close from the first moment I got to Ofoni, that was around July 2010, till the beginning of 2011. He was an academically sound student, infact he was very good in the entire subjects that was thought him. I first noticed him during one of my classes when he answered all the questions I asked.
Precious was not the farm type, so, he did not give me anything, but he really kept me company during my stay in Ofoni and there was never a dull moment in Ofoni.
He was free with the fact that I had a lot of student friends and was never jealous of my friendship with other students, this is due to the fact that in Ofoni, most students want to be the only friend of Corps members, and so, they would do anything possible to jeopardize your friendship with other students.
Our friendship began to wane in the second part of 2011 when I had him punished for insolence in school, since then, our friendship was off and on, but I know I really made an impact on him.
I’d rank our friendship at 79%

EBOH ADAREGBA (BETWEEN 18 AND 20 YEARS)
He is the elder step brother of Precious and my earliest student friend in Ofoni; I first noticed him when I first taught the S.S 1 students.
He was a really proud kid and he looked down on the villagers, he preferred the company of corps members and he did not give me the opportunity to rest, he was always on my neck, but he as a good company.
In terms of spoken English, he would have a pass mark, but for written and reading, he tried in that aspect.
He and Precious were always in my house and they had a ‘hip’ way of dressing and they were quite popular with the girls.
They were really close to the corpers, after Benjamin, they were the other two of my student friends that were quite close to corps members.
Our friendship, like his brother, began to wane in the early part of 2011, after I flogged him in class for having a fight with a female classmate, and I also had a teacher beat him on a different occasion due to his not having my note, since that moment, he stopped being friendly to me, but like we all know, there is a thin line between being a teacher and being a friend, if the student does not want to respect a teacher that happens to be his friend, then the teacher has to let him go.
But during the last weeks of my stay in Ofoni we patched things up, maybe because he was aware that I would soon be leaving.
On the overall, I’d rate our friendship at 62%

KELVIN LUCKY JERRY (AGED 16 AS AT JUNE 2011)
I would not say that he was one of my ‘boys’, but he was a friend. Kelvin really gave me a tough time throughout my stay in Ofoni. He was the class prefect of S.S 1, and he had a penchant of making me angry whenever I teach them, it got to a point that he began running away from the class whenever I go to teach them, he usually does the opposite of whatever I ask him to do.
There was no time that I did not punish him during my class. The funny thing here is that, even though he was one of the people that gave me a tough time, we became really close. Infact, he was interested in following me down to lagos to school there, we really had in-depth discussions about lagos and Abuja, which happens to be my base.
He was a very good student. He speaks good English and he has a nice writing skill. He’s reputed to be sexually active, which is not a big deal in Ofoni, people that are much younger than he is are sexually active which was a shock to me.
I have been out of Ofoni for about two weeks (today being the 30th of June 2011), but it is only Kelvin that has constantly been communicating with me, even though, other people have been calling me, but they stopped after a call.
The funniest thing is that we became really close during my last month in Ofoni, but in that period I know I made an impact on him.

DAVID SOLOMON (Aged 18 years as at June 2011)
Solomon! He was a S.S 3 Arts student of C.S.S Ofoni, he also happened to be the Deputy Senior Prefect of same and my best student in all of Ofoni; He was one of the very few that I intentionally made my friend because of his academic prowess, he was also the overall best student in all of C.S.S. Ofoni. He was a very good student that was willing to learn and I did not fail to give him assignments or test, sometimes, when I give the students class work to do, he would be the only one that would do it sometimes, he was really good in my subject, which happened to be Government.
A very humble student with Christ like qualities, very respectful and responsible, he was also averse to sin. He did not have a lover while I was in Ofoni, which happened to be a big deal because Ofoni was more of a community that was filled with sex, sex, sex, booze, booze and weed. He does not drink alcoholic drinks.
Although, he did not give me a material thing and he did not help me do anything, which was understandable because of the amount of younger students that does my work for me, I gave him the most things than any of my friends in ofoni, I gave him a Nokia phone, a shoe, some shirts, books etc.
He is one of the few of my students that I really see a future in him.
I’d rank our friendship 82%
SIMEON CLEMENT (AGED 19 AS AT JUNE 2011)
He was a very close friend of Solomon and one of my ‘senior boys’. He also made my stay memorable, but I did not see him as being straight forward, he always made promises but did not keep them.
He was an S.S.S. 3 Arts student of government. As far as his academic prowess is concerned, I have no idea because I am not sure of his ability, due to the fact that he refuses to do the assignment and class work I gave them in order to know their academic ability.
Anywhere you see Solomon, Simeon would be right behind him, they were best of friends and their friendship was based on religion. Of all my student friends, both Simeon and Solomon would be classified as what we call born again in Christianity.
Amongst my boys, I really respected both Simeon and Solomon, this was due to the fact that I really probed them and I noticed that they had no fault like other ofoni people, it is not like they were perfect, but they were good enough.
I’d rate my friendship with him at 62%
Joachim (Aged 17 years as at June 2011)
I have forgotten his surname and I forgot the book wherein his name was written in ofoni as I was leaving the place.
Our friendship is such that I did not anticipate. The first time I had a class with them-S.S.S.3- I made it a point of duty to always punish him at the slightest provocation and I made sure I sent him on all sorts of errands in school.
One day, I saw him peeking into my house, then I invited him, since that moment he began coming to my house.
He was among the breed that was not close to corps members, he did not really fancy corps members, so, my connecting with him was such a big deal and I made it a point of duty to advice him whenever I had the opportunity to do such.
Our friendship was off and on, sometimes, we would be close and he would always greet me, but some other times, he would just snub me.
I made it a point of duty not to ask any student that does not greet me the reason, but after a month of his not greeting me, I decided to call him and ask him the reason for his coldness, and the reason he gave was frivolous, he said that ‘since the corps members came back from Christmas break, they stopped being friendly with the students, so, I had to stop being friendly with you because of the way you use to snub me’. When I heard this, I began to laugh because it was really funny. In ofoni, a very small issue could make the students hate you.
He came to my house quite often and one of the reason I liked him was his boldness in asking whenever he wanted food from me.
He was quite vocal and he had the ability to communicate in the English language, I don’t know his written English ability but I know he was willing to learn and I believe that if he should leave ofoni and go and live in an urban center, he would be able to read and write very well.
JOSEPH OTAKI OYIVWITA (AGE UNKNOWN)
I would not say that my friendship with Joseph would be rated like the previous ones. Joseph was on the wild side and no matter how I tried I could not tame him; his was the only boy that I could not domesticate, he was a man of himself and he does whatever he wanted. So, we usually became friends whenever he wanted, so, when he’d willing to be friends with me.
He was mostly referred to as ‘Awillo’, this was due to the fact that he was a very good dancer, I became close to him mostly due to his dancing ability. He was always dancing, up to the extent of dancing in front of the corps members where they used to hang out at night and he did not care. Whenever he dances, he uses his whole body to dance.
Academically, I cannot say much, all I know is that he was not vocal, he has a poor communication skill, his spoken English was below average, he could not read, and neither could he write. He was not even good in Pidgin English, he was my enemy in school (S.S. 1), due to his unwillingness to learn, but in the village, he was a very close friend of mine.
He did not hide the fact that he was sexually active and he claims that he does not want to go to school but he wants to be an Army officer so that he would beat all those boys that use to give him a hard time.
From the time I got to Ofoni till I left, I never saw Joseph with his head opened in town except in school. From dawn to dusk, he always had his head covered, was it skull cap, fez cap or bandana, he had it all.
He really helped me do a lot of things in ofoni, he helped fetch water whenever I asked him, he also helped me buy stuffs whenever I needed it. He also gave me lots of fish and the highpoint of my stay was when he gave me four roasted rabbits.
I would surely miss Joseph but I am not sure that I made an impact on him, beyond the things that I gave him and the food he ate. I just hope that the other corps members on ground would be able to get across to him and have an impact on him.

OGHENEKEVWE OHWO (Aged 20 as at June 2011)
This boy really helped me a lot in Ofoni even when I did not give him a chance. He was the first ever student to give me something without even asking him. One day after having a long discussion with some students (himself inclusive) he walked up to me and asked him if I used to eat plantain, I told him, ‘why not’ and before I knew it, that day he came with a bunch of plantain and I was really surprised. I travelled with the plantain two days later.
When I told one of my boys about the plantain that Kevwe told me, the thing one of my former boys (Enojah Ezra) told me was that Kevwe was a very bad boy and that he was part of a cult group in ofoni that was prone to stealing. Because of what Ezra told me, I kept away from Kevwe, but after some time, I realized that I did not do Kevwe well by listening to small town gossip, so, I became close to him and he confided a lot to me. He told me about his family and stuffs like that.
As far as English is concerned, Kevwe had a poor English language spoken skill and he was unable to read and write, but beyond that he was okay. He was not a regular in school and I tried as much as possible to make him go to school, but like we all know, no matter how close you are to somebody; there is a limit to what you can do for such a person.
When I left Ofoni, Kevwe had ‘dropped out’ of school and had begun to work in Bayelsa state capital, Yenagoa. When I confronted him, he told me that he’d not interested in school that he would enroll for WASSCE the next year which happens to be 2012. That would not be difficult to do because C.S.S Ofoni had a way of doing her final exams, the students pay a sum of money to be allowed to carry textbooks into the exam hall and the teachers would also solve the questions for them and they’d write it on the board. That was one of the major problems we had in Ofoni because the students had the impression that no matter how much you teach them, they would be helped in their final exams which really made them lazy.
I hope and pray that all would be well with Kevwe in the future because I know I had the talk with him and I hope he heeds to my words.
GODBLESS (Age unknown)
I knew this boy throughout my stay in Ofoni due to the fact that we attended the same church and he was the interpreter to the church, interpreting from English to Urhobo that literally means that he was quite intelligent and he could read and write. Even if I had known this guy throughout my stay in Ofoni, I was not close to him until the last few weeks of my stay in Ofoni.
He was made the Senior Prefect of C.S.S. Ofoni but was later disrobed due to his incessant lateness to school.
He was a good student, although, he was not my student, but he used to attend my classes.
He was a true Christian that did not engage in any activity that was against the dictate of Christianity, infact, he was the only Ofoni person that could advise me and I would listen. He was not proud and he did not rub his Christianity on anybody.
The thing that really made me believe in him that people, even corps members, myself inclusive, told him that he did the extreme.
Like I said in Kevwe’s profile, in C.S.S Ofoni, a particular sum of money was collected from all students in order for them to carry textbooks into the exam hall and for the teachers-corpers inclusive-to solve the exam for them and write it on the board. Godbless, told me that he was not going to be a party to examination malpractice, we believed him, what we did not know was that he did not even write the 2011 WAEC examinations due to his fear that the teachers would remove his scripts due to his inability to pay the fee.
I would surely miss Godbless because I know that his future is really bright. Although he did not write the WAEC exams, but he is taking part in the ongoing NECO exams (June 2011), but he is writing it in a separate classroom where he is the only one in the class.
There are other people that made my stay in Ofoni but due to time constraint and lack of space, I would still publish the part two of my Ofoni Diary and it would be in the form of a serial, I would write on instances that occurred in ofonI and had an effect on my. I do hope you had a nice reading.

Autobiography

2011-06-28T12:08:00.004+01:00

From my next post, I would be giving a blow by blow account of my stay at ofoni with pictures to give a graphic account of my stay there.

I would be focusing on each of the people that made my stay in the place memorable, Thank God that I have pictures of everyone that made my stay memorable, people like Benjamin, Collins, Ezra, Joseph, James,Ebruphiyo, Godbless etc.

Ofoni on my mind.

2011-06-21T13:00:00.003+01:00

It is finished! That's the word on everybody's mouth. After a year serving the country, for those that truly served. not like the so-called 'Ghost corpers' who do not serve but only come once in a month to sign clearance and P.V and also to collect their monthly pay.

The National Youth Service corps Batch B for 2010/2011 has finally been demobilized, the day of demobilization was on the 16th of June 2011 in the 36 states and the Federal Capital of the Nigerian state.

Bayelsa Passing out parade was held at the Peace Park in Yenagoa.

Serving in Bayelsa is not an easy task, it is not for the faint hearted, it is not for the over pampered child, it is for people that love adventure and have faith in the Nigerian state.

My place of Primary Assignment was in a rural secondary school in a riverine community with no road, electricity, g.s.m network, portable water and all the basic social amenities.

The first time I got to the place, the first thing that came to my mind was that 'is this the place I am going to spend a year in'. This was due to the way the community was like, the people looked hungry and wicked, the place was not anything to write about.

Now, A year has come and I have left the place, but the strange thing is that I really miss the place and I wish I could go back and do something that I could not do while i was their, I miss all the thing I hated about the place, it was in ofoni that I can say that I really had fun, I have experience a lot due to my relationship with the people.

The people that formulated the NYSC programme forgot one very important thing; they forgot to tell us how to forget out places of Primary Assignment, anything I do here in Lagos, I compare it with what I do in Bayelsa, I miss the underdevelopment, the people, the corpers there, waterside, fellowship and other stops.

There are some students that really made my stay there memorable, they gave me some foodstuffs to make me comfortable, I never lacked Garri, Plantain, Fish, Rabbit, Potatoes, Crayfish, Pepper,Ogbonno and other things, infact, I added weight in Bayelsa, also, the students help me fetch water whenever I requested for it and they ran some errand for me.

I will forever remember people like Benjamin Oghenechoja Francis, Okokorieta Ebruphiyo, Collins, Godbless, David Solomon, Simeon Clement, Francis Collins, Francis Wisdom, James, Oghenekevwe Ohwo, Otu Oghenekevwe and a host of others.

I will miss you all!

My Ofoni Foto Diary

2011-05-19T00:47:00.003+01:00

INEC VOTERS REGISTRATION:AN ANALYSIS

2011-02-14T15:07:00.000+01:00

It is no news that the Voters Registration programme has come and gone, what is news is the things the Adhoc Workers were made to do.

I posted to a community called Eriama community with polling unit located in Tikpiware Compound square in Agoro Ward 11 of Sagbama LGA in Bayelsa state.

The exercise was meant to start on the 15th of this month, but in Bayelsa state, that day was when people were posted to different communities, the next day which was ά̯͡ sunday,we were supposed to go to our places of posting, but due to the lack of preparedness, we were unable  go there, so, it was till monday the 17th of January before we went to our different places of postage.

This post is not about my stay in that community-that's ά̯͡ story for another day-but I'd̶̲̥̅̊ talk about the irregularities that plagued the exercise.

We are all aware of the problems we face with the DDC machines, first, it was the printer, then the laptop, then the fingerprint. Infact, up until the end of the exercise, we were still face with problems, but the problems were not as much as when the exercise began, the fingerprint scanner was upgraded from the 1.4  1.8 verson and later  1.8c patch, all these upgrades made our work easier.

The registration was supposed to be for eligible voter from 18 years and above, but we were cajoled to register grossly underaged kids, even less than 5 years. THe machines were carried from one place to another in order complete ά̯͡ unit, a unit is supposed  be from 500 and above, so, if ά̯͡ polling unit does not reach that point, the polling unit might be merged.

Double registration was the inthing, people were paid between 1000 and 1500 naira to register in different places, while the politicians would take their voters card.

Although the use of DDC machines was an innovation but the politicians got another way to rig the elections by making use of INEC experts. Ά̯͡ case of note is Okunbiri is Agoro ward 11 of Sagbama LGA which happens  be the  town of the incubent speaker, during the one week extention, all the workers were rounded  and taken  the house of the speaker, about 12 of them for the 6 pollinh units, they were given names of people, passport photographs and palm kernels  use for the registration, ‎ was surprised when the palm kernels were used  fingerprointing and they worked, each polling unit recorded over 600 registrants, and they were paid ten thousand naira in case and they shared one hundred thousand naira extra  feeding. The RACO, the ‎ .T expert and all of them were paid.

It was not only in Agoro that those irregularies occurred in but in every part of Bayelsa state. The people that were caught were just for publicity, there was no party agent, neither were there security personnel in the field.

It is not the fault of the corpers, most of us were left in the jungle, the RACOs did not deem it fit to come to our aid, we were left in the hands of the indigenes, most of the communities are across the water and we had to what we were asked to do, if not, we would have been left to the elements.

It is my hope that that software that INEC claims that have that would be able to detect double registration, hope and use it and it works, if not, the election is doomed, infact, that 63 preliminary registered voters would be grossly reduced if the software is used.

I never knew Nigeria was this rich, come and see how money were spent by politicians during the voters registration programme. I really feel for this country because it seens like corruption is here to stay and no one can eradicate it.

Have U̶̲̥̅̊ been to Bayelsa,go there and U̶̲̥̅̊ will understand, there is no form of development, compared to their next down neighbour, Bayelsa is ά̯͡ very small slum, while Delta is Like Heaven on earth. Militancy is really misplaced, they should meet their leaders and ask them about their money.

NIGERIA WILL MAKE IT!

OFONI..............on my mind!!!!

2011-01-05T13:12:00.002+01:00

So, I'd be finally leaving lagos for Ofoni, Bayelsa, tomorrow. Although, I said I was happy i that place, but i am already exhibiting signs of fear and reluctance in going back. That place use to be a safe haven for we the corpers, but now, nobody wants to go back alone. that's quite unfortunate and bad, but I have choice, I just have to go back and there is no two way about that. Adieu! Till I get internet access again.

Now, why am I sounding like I am going to die or something, IFEANYI, IFEANYI, IFEANYI, how many times did I call you, You might be going to a strange land, but GOD is still on the throne and he will watch over you.

New Year

2011-01-03T16:49:00.002+01:00

Wow!!!!That is all I can say right now, it is a new year. 2011 is here. Last year was wonderful, I had lots of fun throughout last year. It was pretty stressfull and successful. It was the year I graduated from the University of Abuja with a B.Sc in Political Science and also embarked on the NYSC programme and was posted to Bayelsa state and is serving in Ofoni community as a teacher in the community secondary school. It was a year of many first, the year I entered a boat for the first time and plenty more.

2011 promises to be funfilled. It is the year that I would embark on the second half of the NYSC programme that I am presently undergoing.

A new year comes with going back to Ofoni. The thought along is disheartening and feearful, but I am going to brace the challenge and go back to my Place of Primary Assignment and complete the NYSC programme, as long as GOD is on the throne, then there is now need to fear. SO, tomorrow is the day that my journey begins, which also means a lull in my activities on my blogs but no need to fear because wherever I am, the good LORD is with me.

My Ofoni Diary 1

2010-12-08T10:11:00.002+01:00

Its been quite an age that I posted something last. I have been cooling my heels in a place called Ofoni, I believe I have made mention of it in my previous posts. Anyway, I am now at home, which means that I now have unlimited access to the internet.

Ofoni, Ofoni, Ofoni, that place is wonderful in a weird way. The place is grossly underdeveloped and lacks basic social amenities. There is no power supply, no portable drinking water, no G.S.M network and many more.

Majority of the corpers were posted to the Secondary school, infact, it was only one that was posted to the clinic.

The funny thing about that place, is that there is no form of parental guidance, anything goes in that place. Infact, If I was the kind that loves having wild fun, then that place is for me. Is it sex, weed, beer, anything you want is in large quantity. There is no small girl in that place, all of them are wise when it comes to sex. The corpers are not saints when it comes to that aspect, most of the guys usually have sexual relation with the indigenes, even their students. No matter how holy you think you are, if you don't have the grace of God, It would just be a matter of time for you to fall to the clutches of sexual immorality.

I really miss that place, it is the only place that I don't get bored at all. I always have something to do and somewhere to go. Every night we have what we call fellowship, and that is where all the corpers usually let off steam. We drink, argue, talk and look. Lest I forget, those people really do know how to shake their body. The next time I come, I give you all a blow by blow account of what happened there.

This is it....................

2010-08-21T15:34:00.000+01:00

I have been in Abuja for the past four weeks and I am really looking forward to going back. This might sound strange to some people, but I miss Ofoni. Although, the place can be referred to as an embodiment of underdevelopment, but I miss the place, maybe it is due to the fact that I have lived in the urban centres for a long time, but now, I'd be leaving all that behind and living in a new place and a new cultural environment. I have been looking forward to having a change of environment and meeting new people, I really do hope that this is it and that Ii will achieve what I want to achieve.

The good thing about that place is the corpers on ground. The guys there are really cool, the first day i went there we had what they call a fellowship. The thing was okay, they had a whole lot of discussions and programme and I truly had fun. Anyway, I should be going back by next week in order for me to sign my PEEVEE, I can't believe that I am now a salary earner, even if the money is not much............

Ofoni.........

2010-08-02T15:29:00.003+01:00

Finally! The three weeks of N.Y.S.C orientation programme has finally come to an end and the moment people have been waiting for arrived-the time of posting, prior that moment, we had been informed that majority of the Corp members would be posted to schools, while the people that won't teach are the graduates from the medical field.

People were not really concerned about the job, it was the place that people were really worried about; Bayelsa, being the state it is, is filled with water, and there are places that it take hours on water before you get to the place.

So, when the day came, which was the 27th of July, 2010, people waited with bated breaths, that day, tears flowed like rives, as for me, I was posted to a Senior Secondary School in Ofoni Town, Sagbama L.G.A. That place is an embodiment of underdevelopment, before you get there, you must cross a river, to them, it is a small river, but to us..........in that place, there is no electricity supply, portable water, G.S.M network and other necessities.

When we got there, one of us had to go back, she was really scared of the river. She claims she was going to come back later; The issue here is that, the water we crossed is very small, the people there said that by August when we come back, the river would have overflown its bank and we would need to enter two boats to get to our destination.

Anyway, I love the place, I met some students there, really cool and stubborn, but I will overcome. Till I come back................!

IT'S TIME!

2010-07-05T18:00:00.000+01:00

Tomorrow is the day I'd be going to Bayelsa for my NYSC. Wow! It has not been easy; I've been preparing for three day, buying stuffs. I have not prepared for anything like this in a while.
I just can't wait to get there: LET'S GO THERE!

Finally!

2010-07-02T14:18:00.002+01:00

It has officially been confirmed....I have been posted to Bayelsa State. This is not what I was expecting, but I think I am happy. I don't know how Bayelsa would be like, but I am really hoping that I'd have fun there.

2010-06-29T07:16:00.001+01:00

It's only matter of days for me to go for NYSC and I am not in anyway ready. I have not collected my statement of result neither have I collected my call up letter.

My Top 10 Songs of the week

2010-06-15T00:40:00.011+01:00

Since this is my first time of posting something of this nature on my blog, I am going to post my best 10 songs of all time. Some of the songs that are listed here might be old, but as far as I am concerned, they remain evergreen in my heart.

10. Tuface- Implication

9. Relient K- Come right out and say it

8. Maxwell- Woman's work

7. Nickelback- Rockstar

6. Five 4 Fighting- 100 years

5. Hinder- Lips of an angel

4. Linkin Park- Breaking the habit

3. Coldplay- Viva la vida

2. Owlcity- Fireflies

1. GREEN DAY- BOULEDVARD OF BROKEN DREAMS

Curiosity killed the cat....

2010-06-14T22:12:00.001+01:00

If there is something wrong with me, that would be curiosity. I am a very curious person, and I could do any thing in order to get an information.

People see me as being inquisitive, I pokenose, eavesdrop and do anything possible to get an information about anything that catches my fancy.

My modus operandi differs, it could be by pleas, force, or even hiding under the bed. As far as I intend to get the info, I'd do anything possible to get it.

My curiosity played an important role in shaping my present state of mind. I have been curious about a lot of things, like why does my dick become longer when I wake up, what colour does sperm looks like, how can I produce sperm, when would sperm come out. Questions has always played a dominant role in my life. It becomes worse, since I am the only guy in a family of 7 children. I grew up knowing more about the woman anatomy that the guy's. It took a lot of question asking in my secondary school, which was actually a guys school, that made me know a about the guy's body.

My curiosity has not always been to my favour, it has actually led to problems for me. Curiousity is part of me, it is actually called Amebo, Gbeborun, Aproko and other names in Nigeria, and it is always viewed negatively. People say that my stay with women has made me dyfunctional, they fail to understand that my sisters see me as weird, I don't even discuss with them, so, how can I be like them.

If the male folk don't see me as one of them, the women folks don't also see me as one of them, then, WHO AM I!

Naija Wannabes

2010-06-14T02:27:00.002+01:00

My love for rock songs is indisputable; I love rock songs and not rock artistes. Some so-called rock musicians are not consistent.

My favourite rocks musicians are linkin Park, Green Day and Cold Play, others are The Fray, Creed, Owlcity and some others.

Like I have said in earlier blogs, Rock songs make me high, they inspire me and they lift my spirit anytime I am sad, but what I have not mentioned is the lack of genuine Rock music acts in Nigeria. The ones in existence are wannabes and they are not consistent. The only music artiste that is close to being a rock artiste in Nigeria is Xcetera, the guy sings soft rock and he is not really popular, that shows that rock music is not generally accepted by Nigerians who see people that listen to rock song as freaks, weirdos and gays.

The annoying thing here is the rise to fame of Roof Top Mcs whom people saw as the Nigerian solution to lack of rock talents, when they came out, they came out with a bang, with their hit song Lagimo gaining international recognition immediately, people who saw their rise to fame thought that they were here to stay, but with their recent music release it has been discovered that the group don't know what they are doing, they are just inconsistent and they are over-doing their rock performance, expecially Soul Snatcha, the dude with the dreads, the guy is so annoying, expecially when he does that Kong Fu stuff in his music video.

Although, there are other rock musicians in Nigeria, and most of them can be found in the Gospel genre, we've got Frank Edwards, Eben and a host of others.

Of all the genre of music in Nigeria, it is the rock genre that has not developed, all other brand of music has gone far, even Afro-Juju, Afro-Beat and other indegenious music.

We the Rock fans in Nigeria are waiting patiently for the discovery of an original rock artiste in Nigeria.

For now we'd continue to enjoy Coldplay, Greenday, Linkin Park, Relient K, Nickleback, The Fray and other world class Rock musicians, while we continue to manage Nigeria's own little contribution to rock music and we wait for the discovery

NIGERIA VS. ARGENTINA

2010-06-12T22:34:00.003+01:00

Today, Nigeria played her first match in the 2010 World Cup holding in South Africa.I am not a soccer fan, bUt the thought of Nigeria's Super Eagles playing in the world stage really put me in the mood. I have never watched a football match for the complete 90 minutes, but I could not remove my eyes from the T.V screen.

Although, Nigeria lost to Argentina by a lone goal, but they did not give up without a fighting chance. I have never seen the Super Eagles play like this in a very long while.

My prayer goes to the Eagles, that their next match against South Korea on the 17th of this month which would be a friday, be successful.

WITH GOD BY OUR SIDE, WE WOULD COME OUT TOPS!

Green Day - 21st Century Breakdown (OFFICIAL VIDEO)

2010-06-12T03:18:00.000+01:00

Hinder - Lips Of An Angel

2010-06-12T03:11:00.000+01:00

creed-With Arms Wide Open

2010-06-12T03:01:00.000+01:00

Lies

2010-06-11T22:52:00.004+01:00

There is a saying that one lie leads to another; this is what is happening to me now. Although, I hate lying with passion, but I find it hard to tell somebody to go to hell, I prefer making someone take the blame for what I don't want to do. It seems like I like pleasing everybody, even when i don't even mean it.

I keep on wondering if I have a problem, this has been plaguing me for some time and I don't even have an idea. Sometimes, I wake up and feel extremely sad, I just feel like doing something stupid. It is not as if I feel like hurting myself or the likes of it. It is just that i feel lonely, I am surrounded by lots of people, but in the midst of everything, I still feel lonely.

People see me as being weird, for my sisters to consider me as weird, i wonder what people outside would consider, I can't even imagine it. The reason why I strive to succeed is due to the fact that people don't believe in me, they see me and consider me as being incapable. I made it a point of duty to disprove what people consider me. I strive twice as hard to succeed.

It is not as if I am righteous or that i live a clean life, infact, I kind of live a double life. It is like, I am two people, the very good and the bad, it is only people that have stayed with me in school that know of the second me, while everyone sees me as the guy that cannot hurt a fly, a guy that a respectful, a guy that cannot sin, even a guy that cannot ask a girl out. The worst thing is that when people see the other side of me, they become angry and they claim that I lied to them.

People always wonder why I have a penchant for listening to rock music, they say that I am very weird and that I am a freak, and that is only freaks that listens to rock music, the thing is that, I kind of feel there is someone beneath the facade of Ifeanyi and I get troubled. The reason why i put my trust in Jesus, is due to the fact that i know that if i am not careful, I could become a very bad person. If people are allowed to have a glimpse of my thought, they would never talk to me, so, I think it is for the very best that I am seen as a weirdo and a freak, 'cos if the other me is unleashed into the world, people would get hurt, my parents, my sisters, my intended girlfriend and my friends. Everybody around me would get hurt, so, it is better for me to be sad, than for people around to be hurt.

I have been asked why i don't have a girlfriend, but they don't know that, someone like me picks habit easily. If I was to have a girlfriend, then I must have sex, and then I must have sex with other girls, because I love varieties........maybe it is for the best................

Serious............You don't have a plan?

2010-06-10T22:35:00.003+01:00

It is funny that I don't have a tangible plan for my life. I don't have a plan beyond this year. The only plans I have are short term plans which ranges from one hour to five years. The most notable plan I made was the five year plan I made when I was in S.S.S 3 in Igbobi college. My plan was to gain admission into the univesity immediately I finish secondary school at the age of sixteen; this might not seem like a big deal to some people, but in my family where gaining admission into the university is an impossibiliy; my plan was also to graduate from the university at the age of 20, although the lecturers of Nigerian public university were on incessant strikes which almost crippled my admission and dream of graduatinG at the age of 20, but thank God I succeeded in finishing before my 21st birthday, even if that was a minor setback. Another plan was to graduate as the best student in my department, this was perhaps the most difficult one, but lo and behold, I am graduating as a best student in my department, a department of over 240 peoplE and I have an award to show for it.

Now that I achieved my five year plan, what do I intend to do? That has been the question that has been plaguing me. People always ask me what I wanted to do now that i am through with university and that I graduated with a good result, when they ask me this question, I become blank, I don't even have an answer. Today, this question resurfaced, my very close friend, if not my only friend in my quarters in Lagos, Junior Ugorji, he asked me what I wanted to do now that I am through with school, and I told him I don't have an Idea.

Even if I don't have a plan, what I know is that I intend to get my Masters and Doctorate degrees before my 25th birthday, I know that sounds impossible, but that is what i want; also I want get married when I am 25, what I don't really know, is the place I intend to work, even if I really want to become a diplomat, but where do I start from.

Whatever happen, I have God and that is why i am not scared because I know that he will see me through, he saw me through the four years I spent in the university and I know he'd see me through, infact, I have got a year to think about my future, so.........I'd take the word of God to heart.............BE CAREFUL FOR NOTHING!

CoNtRaSt

2010-06-09T22:21:00.000+01:00

Today I was forced to attend my younger sisters Open Day and P.T.A's meeting. I did not have the intention of attending, but my father who has a penchant for making me do things I don't want to do, even if it is for my own good.

Although, I did not have the intention of going, but I gained a lot on insight on the plight of schools in Lagos state. My sisters attend different forms of school, my younger sister attends a missionary school called Reagan Memorial Girls Secondary School owned by the Baptist Mission Schools while the other one called Lagos City College which is owned by the Lagos State Government. The difference is very clear, the state of infrastructure in the school is pathetic, I thought the Governor in the person of Babatunde Fashola was developing the state of education in the state. The teachers are nothing to write home about and they were very rude, compared to the Missionary school,the teachers were polite and they were dilligent in their duties, the girls were very neat and respectful. It is not as if the school is perfect, but compared to the Lagos State school, the difference is very clear.

I am not here to promote Reagan or to destroy the image of any school, but the thought of the students being exposed to different mode of learning plays an important role in determining the state of affairs of the student.

My trip to the school made me remember my stay in Igbobi College, I still can't believe that I went through that school without being influenced negatively. Maybe I am weird, I still don't know, but I am doing everything possible to find out; the school is what they call rough, the guys were anything but polite, but I had fun, although, I was not really fun to be with, but I had fun in a weird kind of way, and for a long time, I wished I could have a second chance to go back to school.

What's in a song?

2010-06-09T00:13:00.000+01:00

I have always had a preference towards rock music; I don't know how I came to liking it, but I just discovered that rock music makes me feel good. It makes me high and out of this world, so, anytime I feel sad or angry, I listen to a good rock song and all my sorrows would disappear. This has always been the case for a long while, until recently, when people discovered my preferences, this gave rise to a lot of bad stuffs being said about me, my sisters consider me weird and gayish while others see me as being a fagot.

I wonder, how a person preference towards music can lead to being branded as gay, I have lived with the label of being gay for a long time; I don't know what people see in me that makes them conclude that I am gay. Friends, sisters, and even people I don't relate with see me as queer. The worst thing is that I have not had any sexual relationship with any guy, neither have I asked a guy out. I am even not close to guys. My life sucks due to the fact that people are scared of me, because the think I am going to fuck their ass- I wonder how that is going to be possible-and this becomes worse due to the fact that I don't have a girlfriend and the closest I have gotten to having a sexual relationship with a girl is during the game of truth-or-dare.

The thing people do not know is that I love girls, I always fantasize about having a girlfriend and making love to her; It is not that I am ugly or incapable of taking care of a girl, but it's fear that is keeping me away from that; I grew up in a christain home that frowns upon fornication, I grew up hating girls and sex and now everything is bottled, and my fear now is that my feelings are beginning to overflow and one day it is going to burst and everything I ever stood for would be destroyed

MY PAIN

2010-06-08T01:26:00.000+01:00

I find it hard to understand why I'm am always attacked by demons when I sleep. I know a lot of people don't believe in the supernatural, but believe me, I know what I am talking about. The worse time for me during the day, is when I want to go to bed, this is due to the fact that something or someone is always there trying to attack me. It is not as if I see them when they come around, but I feel them, they come as a presence, without any sound or sight, people around me would be unaware of the going on in my sleep, but a battle would be waging. The worst thing is that the battle is to their favour, because the first thing they do, is the shut my mouth then make me paralysed. No matter how much i try to scream, even the name Jesus which is higher than all other names, they would continue to press me down. My life sucks because of the attAcks, the worst thing is that, it seems like the beings have a special preference towards me, no matter how many people are in a room, I' m the only one that gets attacks, that means that there is something wrong with me, I don't know what it is, but I would do anything to find out. As long as this continues, those motherfucking demons should continue to have their fun, because when I get HOLD OF THEM, THEY WOULD REGRET THE DAY THEY WERE CREATED.

Awesome!

2010-06-05T22:52:00.000+01:00

It's been over three months that I graduated from the university-University of Abuja-and now, I am preparing to go for the National Youth Service Corps which is starting by July. The funny thing here is that, my admission into the university was nothing short of a miracle, at first people were of the opinion that it would be difficult for a recent school leaver to gain admission into a university in Nigeria when his parent are not well to do; "I believed", that is the thing that kept me through that period and it is still kepping me till now. I gained admission into the University of Abuja-which is a public Nigerian university-at the age of 16 and I was one of the youngest in my department. My stay in school was not a bed of roses, with the major limitation being lack of funds, age and lectures.
It's been four years and now I look back with awe, I still don't know how I did it, I graduated as the best student in my department; A department of over 250 students from different schools in different parts of the country, some went to the best and most expensive shools in Nigeria, while me, I attended Igbobi College, it is not a bad school, and I never became the best throughout my stay I school, now it is still a surprise to people when they discover that I am through with school.

Life as a teenager.

2010-06-05T00:05:00.000+01:00

Can a guy be a virgin at the age of 21? How can a guy know he is a virgin when he spent his teenage years masturbating? Does masturbating not result to being disvirgineded. This and many more are questions that seek answers. Living in a country like Nigeria and a notorious city called Lagos; the most important factor of a teenage life is his sexuality, this is a period when guys and maybe girls-I don't know about that-like to experiment. The first thing a guy wants to find out is if his dick is as big as his peers or if it is smaller than usual, this can lead to inferiority complex if a guy finds out that his dick is smaller than usual. The next questions that a teenager would like to be answered is that, why does his dick become strong and bigger when he wakes up and what is that Milky stuffs that comes out when he is asleep. If this questions are not answered well, it could lead to the destruction of the child's life. I, for one was really affected by some things during my teenage years because I am the only boy in the midst of six girls and I did not have contact with guys when I was younger, so, I thought like a girl and behaved like one, this is still affecting me till now and I am now learning to be a man because I have been termed gay.

This is my life

2010-06-04T04:50:00.000+01:00

What my life amounts to, I don't know. People say I am strange, maybe, I don't know. What I know is that this is just an avenue for me to express myself and nobody has the right to tell me the way to go about it. This blog deals with the issue i face as a Nigerian living in Nigeria, with time you would get to know me better.