Summary

Daphne, a young Nigerian adult, reflects on her journey from dreaming of joining the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to actively serving and the nostalgic and transformative experiences that come with it.

Abstract

Daphne, now a corps member, recounts her childhood aspirations of wearing the khaki uniform of the NYSC, a mandatory service for Nigerian graduates. Having spent more than two decades on Earth, she finds herself living out her dreams through the rigorous paramilitary training. Despite some contemporaries finding her enthusiasm unusual, Daphne embraces the challenge with fond memories of her secondary school days when she first encountered the term "Otondo," a nickname used by soldiers for civilians. The experience, though stressful, is rewarding, as it allows her to embrace her extroverted side, make new friends, and live out a long-term goal. She acknowledges the difficulty of adapting to the regimented lifestyle and the challenges of dealing with health issues like IBS during the service but remains positive about the opportunity to share her story and the experiences that come with serving her country.

Opinions

Daphne views her NYSC service with a sense of pride and nostalgia, recalling her childhood dreams of participating.
She finds the term "Otondo," often meant to be derogatory, endearing due to her positive associations from her school days.
Despite the stress and loss of autonomy in the orientation camp, she considers the experience rewarding and enriching.
Daphne's enthusiasm for the NYSC is not necessarily driven by patriotism but by her personal long-term goal and the fulfillment of a dream.
She acknowledges the diverse and sometimes challenging nature of human interactions during her service, requiring her to employ her people skills.
Daphne maintains a positive outlook on her service, focusing on the opportunity to grow, make friends, and tell her story.

The Clarion Call I Answered

Otondo Diaries

When I think back to those years when little Daphne dreamed of wearing the khaki one day, it feels just like yesterday, but as a baby girl who has spent more than two decades on this earth, I know it is farther away than just yesterday. I’m here for the experience, always have wanted to be. To wear that khaki proudly but some of my contemporaries find this weird. For context and my non-Nigerian readers, the National Youth Service Corps(NYSC) is a one year mandatory paramilitary service program for graduates of Nigerian higher institutions between the ages of 18–35.

I’ve been undergoing paramilitary training for nearly two weeks now and the experience has proved to be more than what I imagined. There are so many adjectives the English language provides that I could use to describe it and it would still not do justice to it.

In case you’re wondering about the name Otondo, I’ve been familiar with it ever since the corp members assigned to my secondary school would call us that during our early morning Physical Exercises. We would jog and sing with joy. As a non-morning person, looking forward to those mini drills made me a little less grumpy grinch in the mornings. I still remember most of the ‘gyration’ songs we jogged and exercised to.

Call: Wonder, wonder, wonder

Chorus: wonderful!

Call: Mami wata say make you no carry her wata, you carry her wata o you see something

Chorus: wonderful

Call: aboki o, wetin you see?

Chorus: small yarinya, bigi bumbum! Wonderful!

The name Otondo is meant to be derogatory but because of the fun and nostalgic memories I have associated with it right from the beginning, it’s hard to see it that way and that’s why I have no problem titling this mini series; ‘Otondo Diaries’. For me back then, being called Otondo was an endearing way the ‘corpers’ tried to include us in their exclusive world reserved for young Nigerian adults who were done with university studies. Growing up as a teenager, the corp members I encountered were one of the people I looked up to most. I wanted badly to be like them when I grew up, to wear the green khaki and white and say proudly that I am serving my country. For tweens and teens, you can imagine how easily it would have been to idolize or rather, really look up to these corps members.

Instead of singing;

ehhh I want to be a Corper,

I am now singing,

ehh I’m now a Corper…

Not many Nigerian graduates/young people share this enthusiasm and sentiments about the mandatory paramilitary service to the country and really I don’t blame them. Speaking of which, I won’t necessarily say I’m doing this out of overflowing patriotism for Naija(even though I was assigned to Patriotism Hostel, the irony). I’m this pumped about it because for a long time, it was a long term goal of mine, an experience in my life I looked forward to for a long time and which is now the present I am manifesting.

I am now addressed as ‘corper’/ corps member Daphne and it still feels good as it did when I imagined how it would back in secondary school, calling Corper Adeola, Corper Adeoye, Corper Friyo, Corper Winnie, Corper Drey, Corper Makilo(if they ever read this article I hope they’re not weirded out that I remember almost all of their names even though it’s been years!)

“How has it been?” I’ve been getting this question ever since I resumed orientation camp, so I’ll tell you; “So far, so stressful but rewarding.”

I thought I would adapt really well to a regimented lifestyle since I spent six years in a strict boarding school but this is different! This is more tasking; more loss of autonomy, soldiers breathing down your neck and having to employ all my people skills because homo sapiens can be funny(and I don’t mean in the literal mirthful way) and the worst place to be dealing with health issues such as IBS. Before you lose your knickers, there are amazing parts to this experience I’ve dreamt of and I’m currently living. I get to channel more of my extroverted side and I’m not hating that part as much as I thought I would. I am also making more friends and it feels wonderful! More on that later. These diaries would be about me detailing my experiences; the good, the bad and the ugly, so stay tuned because after all, God dey create and He gave us the stage that is the world to tell its stories!

Glossary

Otondo: a nickname soldiers use to describe non-military/civilians.