I went to the Federal University of Technology, Owerri where I studied Science Laboratory Technology. After my final project in November, I went back to Lagos to go and rest and eat my mommy's food. I used to be among those “first to finish" groups, so once I heard clearance had started, I rushed back to school. This was in April, and I wanted to be called up with Batch B, which was to go in July.
After all the wahala that comes with final year clearance in a federal school, I went for the final process that would qualify me for NYSC only to find out I didn't have a major document - my admission letter from JAMB. I actually did have the document but it was bearing the name of a different school. You see, I had gotten admission to the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta to study Plant Breeding and Seed Technology. My dad cleared me on time that he wasn't going to pay school fees for a course that we didn't even understand its usefulness in Nigeria. I had initially applied for FUTO's supplementary list and fortunately got it. But alas, JAMB had already documented FUNAAB as my school of study. Wetin I go do now?
I was told I had to return to the Lagos JAMB office to rectify it. I went back to Lagos and started the journey with my dad, yep! I've always been a daddy's girl. On getting to the JAMB office at Ikoyi, we were told there was nothing we could do and that I had to go to the JAMB office at Owerri to rectify it. By then Batch B names had not been released and I thought maybe magic would happen somehow but when the names were released for Batch B, my name was not there. See heartbreak pro max. So I had to wait till November. Trust African parents to take your eyes see shege, all the errands in this life I run am. They were confident to call a plumber, electrician, or carpenter to come and fix things in the house because I was always at home. No retreat, no surrender.
Sometime in October, I went back to Owerri to rectify this situation. I got to the JAMB office and all the officials were doing shakara for me, heyyy Godddd. One man agreed to help me because he said I was from his local government. You can imagine.
I submitted all the documents he requested, and he told me to go home and keep checking the portal. This became my morning, afternoon, and night ritual, and every time the page loaded and I saw the letters spelling out slowly and bringing out the same thing, I’d just sigh in frustration. My friends were already rocking their khaki and I was here monitoring the JAMB portal like village people every day. I stayed in Owerri for a while, just in case I had to go back to the JAMB office again.
One faithful day, I got a call from one of my coursemates who had not also gone for NYSC, he said they had released Batch C names and my name was there. I couldn't believe it even after having anticipated this kind of news for so long. I went to check the portal again. Lo and behold, the change had been made! Joy unspeakable, full of glory!
The next step was to go and register on the NYSC portal which I didn't even waste time doing. I filled in my choice states and waited for the call-up letter. When I heard the callup letter was out I was so excited. I tried checking it on my phone, but couldn’t because of the poor network where I was staying. I had been praying about my posting and I just couldn't wait to see what state I had been posted to. I eventually told my friend, Daniella to help me log in to my account on the portal and check since she was in town and had access to a better network service. I waited patiently, my heart beating faster than usual. This was already 10 pm at night. About 30 mins later, she called back. The network had also been really bad on her end but she was able to check it for me. "No wahala, just tell me what state I was posted to", I asked anxiously. When she responded, I went numb, and hot tears quickly filled my eyes. I couldn't believe what I had just heard.
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