After 21 days of living a caged life in the NYSC orientation camp, we were finally posted to our various places of assignment in different local governments within the state. It was a joyful mood because we were finally leaving the hell. I identified some guys that were posted to the same local government as me, so we all travelled down to the place, a very typical rural setting with one-room apartments as the major rentable houses there.
Nine of us(guys) struggled to fit into CLO's one room, while the females stayed in different houses with existing corps members in the village.
The next day, we did all necessary documentation, and we were allowed to go spend a week at home and to fully report back with our luggages to start work in our various PPAs.
The break was during Christmas, so the one-week break lasted like melting ice.
"Where do I stay when I go back?" This became a bugging thought for me because I wasn't patient enough to secure an accommodation before going for the break.
I put up a call to beg the CLO (Liaison Officer) to see if I could pass the night in his house on the day I would be returning before settling down to hunt for accommodation, and he replied, "Bro, my house is filled up already; I have 7 guys already, and I can't allow more because the inconveniences are too much already."
Actually, that was the only place I had hope because of the way he welcomed us when we first reported to the village. My mind sank deep and I began to think of a possible way to get where to lay my head on my arrival before searching for a house the next day.
The worst thing is that the place is very far from my city; it takes almost 12 hours to arrive if there's no traffic jam or delays on the way.
While we were celebrating New Year's Day, a message was passed to us from the NYSC management telling us that we must report on or before January 3rd for clearance. My mood completely changed upon receiving this message, because if, by any means, I missed the clearance, then I wouldn't be paid for that month.
What to do? I picked up my phone and called some other guys in the village, pleading to stay with them upon my arrival, and all of them gave me a tallied response: "My room has been booked by some of your friends already". It dawned on me that I messed up; I would have called them earlier.
The 2nd of January came, with many calls trying to secure an accommodation, and everything yielded zero.
All this time, I didn't tell my parents or my siblings because they know nothing about it; none of them have gotten to my stage, and there's nothing they can do. I was just at home, racking my brain, making calls from morning to night as if I were a customer care representative for a telecommunications company.
On the very early morning of January 3rd, which was clearance day, I arranged my luggage with some food items my mom had packaged for me. I bade them farewell, and I mounted the road for the journey. My mind was zeroed already about the accommodation issue; after all, they were people who started their NYSc life that way, and they didn't die. I was so confident that I must see a place to lay down my head that day.
All through the journey, I tried to navigate off my mind from the accommodation issue, but hey, it wasn't easy, so I kept calling people, begging them to accommodate me for a night, but all of them still gave me the regular response.
After about 11 hours of journey, I arrived in the village. I highlighted from the bus at the entrance of the community. I looked front, back, and sideways, and everything was totally new to me. I was still on the spot with my luggage, looking totally like a 'JJC' (newbie), trying to gather my legs to start asking people about vacant accommodation, when my phone rang. I checked, and it was Ayo, one of my mates.
"Hello, Ayo, I just arrived." I said immediately I a answered the call.
"Where are you? The clearance is about to end" Ayo rushingly said.
"Oh!" I ended the call; I had forgotten about the clearance already because of the accommodation issue.
I wanted to run away to get a bike before I remembered that I had luggage with me. I looked around, and my inner man directed me to meet a woman who sells oranges at the junction.
"Mama, please, can I drop my luggage here? I'll return to pick them up before you close." The meekness in my voice attracted the pity of the woman.
"Oh, Corper, drop them; you don't have a problem, but make sure to come back before 8:00 p.m."
I checked the time, and it was 4:30 p.m. I ran off while thanking her, "Yes, ma, thank you, ma."
I boarded a bike and told him to take me to the local government headquarters. He charged me fairly because I was wearing a recognized government uniform (NYSC khaki). I told him to drive faster because I was running late, and I did just that. It was as if we were on a fast and furious movie on the road.
Luckily, I got to the venue to meet the man in charge of the clearance rounding up. I pleaded and lied that I was held by traffic, and he concurred after blasting me for not embarking on the journey early enough.
The clearance was done, and I fell back to my initial problem of where to sleep for the night.
Most of the corpers that were present for the clearance have already left, so there was no one to beg except Ayo.
"Have you finally secured a house? Please let me stay in your house tonight."
He gave me the 'Yoruba laughter'(a very indigenous laughing style) "I'm perching with someone tonight."
I didn't bother to ask further; we just trekked to the junction, boarded a motorbike, and went back to where I kept my bag. I got there around 6:45 p.m., I thanked the Mama for her kindness, and I asked her if she knew of any available houses for rent. She pointed at a shop some meters away, saying I should go and meet the owner of the shop because he has a room he rents to corpers every year. I thanked her so much, carried my luggage, and as I was about to move, she stretched her hands, handing me a nylon bag with oranges, she must have seen how hungry and tired my face was. I thanked her so well and moved to the shop.
Miraculously, the man had a room, and it was as if he was waiting for me to come and rent the house.
We didn't say much; I paid and moved into the house that night, and all the problems on where to lay my head for the start of my NYSC journey came to an end that night.