My story continues........Do share yours..........
The coagulation of key words to paint the exact picture of what I experienced during my service year in Efon-alaaye, Ekiti state, has delayed the publication of the part three of my memoir, Efon and I. Pages upon pages have I cancelled to bring you the final piece of this memoir. I pray that its comprehension as you peruse this publication will bring you joy. My name is Nwachukwu Prince, a born writer, though not a professional writer but a good one at it.
As we journeyed to Efon-alaaye, from the mobilization camp at Ise-Emure, the Sun kept blasting it rays as if to show a sign of anger. The rantings of area boys at the gate and quarrels of some drivers tainted the good picture we hoped for, after 3weeks of total lock down and restrictions, nevertheless, I acted unconcerned to the dramas acted as the thought of how the three weeks was spent on camp, the struggle to charge your phone despite the fact that u are paying #50 to those charging it, thoughts of Efon-alaaye and what lied ahead bruised my concentration. Everything seemed important, the fresh air, oh, that little blue colored bird, the fading sound of that "kukere" song from a music retailing shop around the express, as we zoomed on. A bit of familiarity ensued in the bus as I couldn't hide my jovial nature, I still recall a girl who wanted to branch at Ado-Ekiti, I guessed she wanted to deploy to the state capital, probably to enjoy her service year or personal reasons, but am sure it didn't work out, because she ended up serving with us.
The blast of sound from a ringing Chinese phone, brought the unconscious ones back to life, shocked as they were, I speared a brief smile. We moved on driving through a one lane road with tall trees and shrubs guiding us sideways, then crossed through some scanty towns and villages. After receiving a call from my mummy, requesting for an update on the journey, Looking up, I saw an inscription "Welcome to Aramoko, the land of peace" beneath a statue constructed on a junction, the town is larger than the ones we had crossed during the trip. After a while plying the very curvy, hilly and single lane express road, we diverted into another single lane, though smaller than the first, there were no unique welcome signs or statue to elucidate to us where we were, but something told me we had gotten there, our assumptions became confirmed after sighting the local government secretariat of Efon-alaaye, signs of relieve filled the atmosphere, as we journeyed along by-passing some beautiful edifices on a well tarred road. The bus came to a final halt as we alighted to the overwhelming welcome spirit of the corps members serving in Efon-alaaye, our bags were lifted and bright smiles filled the atmosphere as we walked into the hall.
We were welcomed into the local government at the main auditorium of Ekiti state government college, the taste of snacks presented to us by corps members already serving here gave our Tommie a chilling relieve. That was how the journey began, let me fast forward a bit to my first day teaching at my place of primary assignment(PPA), the school was on the peak of a mountain, high up I climbed, it was on a cool Monday, rushing to avoid being late, well, you can call us "otondo" because we just arrived the system, I taught biology to the senior students and did my best too. Anglican corpers eh!, we were just superb, played scrabble at free times, oh scrabble became our watch word, everyone learned how to play till some of us became scrabble lords, that scrabble game caused a serious quarrel between the school authority and us, I still recall the principal saying "this is an affluent", he even told a female corper, "Beauty, or what is that your name, if you do any how, I will SLAP you", I guess that was what triggered our anger, well, thank God he didn't slap the girl, because it would have ended in a sorry state. There are lots and lots of things I long to write about but a few would do. Efon alaaye is a one community or village standing as a local government, its a slow moving town/village because I can count like 100 automobiles plying the town road within a week unlike Lagos or Ibadan, a town placed on the hill, with a population of about 10,000-20,000 inhabitants or even less, their main occupations are trading, farming, tailoring, mason, and teaching, generally Ekiti state is a Civil servant state, no industrial growth observed, the closest tourist attractions are Ikogosi warm springs, Arinta waterfalls and Erin-ijesha water falls.
Everyone had a legacy they left, mine was the popular #TatafoEfon, formulated during the period I served as the Editor-in-chief, a legacy that fine-tuned my talent, I made corps members smile and laugh, placing an atom of happiness in their heart at each supposed boring CDs meetings. My leadership role as the president of the NYSC/EFCC integrity club also made a lot of difference in the club, We conducted our CDs once every thursday by 9am prompt, Service was great.
Life in Efon-alaaye as a corper was not easy, I hear in some areas, especially the northern side, farm produce were given to corpers, in some other region corps members got cash gifts, food stuffs and even accommodation from their PPA's, but mine was different, I was doing all the giving, helping students to speak fluent english language, advising them,most especially those in SS2 and SS3, it was a thug-of-war, I did so much that I almost looked sick and some times wondered how the state was the fountain of knowledge (thank God say then change am to Land of honor, if not I for yab them now), though that is history today. Days went, weeks blew as months strolled by, what seemed like it won't end, ended in peace, we started the journey on 6th of November 2012 and completed it on 10th of October 2013. Am going to miss a lot of things and people in Efon-alaaye, I will miss the constant electricity, my comfy bed, the peaceful and quite environment, am going to miss my students, my landlady, Emeka Elekwachi-my roomate, Anglican coppers in general, Iloh Hopecin -a very close darling, Ammy baby-oku, IJ, Ronke, Blessing, Frank-oyibo,
Am grateful to God almighty for the opportunity he gave to me, I thank my parents for granting me a good education, to my siblings (Chukz,Chiroy,Ada,favour) una too much, I thank my uncles and aunts for their prayers and supports via the service year (Dee M and his son una too much jawe), I am grateful to members of Seventh-day adventist church (most especially Sango district in Ogun state,Nigeria), I am grateful to my friends and well-wishers, I salute all Ex and serving corps members in Efon-alaaye LGA (especially Anglican Coppers-Chris, Emma, Sample, Emeka SUG, Endurance, Seun, Uduak, Indiana, Boniface, Confidence, Goodness, Beauty, Adaeze, Angela, Chinaza, Ify, Buddy, Jecinta, Tayo, Freggy, Mfonobong, Ope, Collins, Abasi,Chioma), Ekiti state and Nigeria at large. I extend my gratitude to my landlady, Mrs Orire (a very kind woman), to nurse Grace and the family of Mr.&Mrs. Olubodu, I throw kisses to the wonderful students at Anglican secondary school, Efon-alaaye, especially the good ones. To my special one, I remove head-dressing, and to you who have taken your time to read all parts of this memoir, thanks a lot, I love you all and God bless you as we view together a brighter future.
Long live Anglican Secondary School, Efon-alaaye,
Long live Efon-alaaye LGA,
Long live Ekiti state,
Long live Nigeria,
And Long Live YOU all.
Thank you.
Nwachukwu Prince C.O
EK/12C/0247
The coagulation of key words to paint the exact picture of what I experienced during my service year in Efon-alaaye, Ekiti state, has delayed the publication of the part three of my memoir, Efon and I. Pages upon pages have I cancelled to bring you the final piece of this memoir. I pray that its comprehension as you peruse this publication will bring you joy. My name is Nwachukwu Prince, a born writer, though not a professional writer but a good one at it.
As we journeyed to Efon-alaaye, from the mobilization camp at Ise-Emure, the Sun kept blasting it rays as if to show a sign of anger. The rantings of area boys at the gate and quarrels of some drivers tainted the good picture we hoped for, after 3weeks of total lock down and restrictions, nevertheless, I acted unconcerned to the dramas acted as the thought of how the three weeks was spent on camp, the struggle to charge your phone despite the fact that u are paying #50 to those charging it, thoughts of Efon-alaaye and what lied ahead bruised my concentration. Everything seemed important, the fresh air, oh, that little blue colored bird, the fading sound of that "kukere" song from a music retailing shop around the express, as we zoomed on. A bit of familiarity ensued in the bus as I couldn't hide my jovial nature, I still recall a girl who wanted to branch at Ado-Ekiti, I guessed she wanted to deploy to the state capital, probably to enjoy her service year or personal reasons, but am sure it didn't work out, because she ended up serving with us.
The blast of sound from a ringing Chinese phone, brought the unconscious ones back to life, shocked as they were, I speared a brief smile. We moved on driving through a one lane road with tall trees and shrubs guiding us sideways, then crossed through some scanty towns and villages. After receiving a call from my mummy, requesting for an update on the journey, Looking up, I saw an inscription "Welcome to Aramoko, the land of peace" beneath a statue constructed on a junction, the town is larger than the ones we had crossed during the trip. After a while plying the very curvy, hilly and single lane express road, we diverted into another single lane, though smaller than the first, there were no unique welcome signs or statue to elucidate to us where we were, but something told me we had gotten there, our assumptions became confirmed after sighting the local government secretariat of Efon-alaaye, signs of relieve filled the atmosphere, as we journeyed along by-passing some beautiful edifices on a well tarred road. The bus came to a final halt as we alighted to the overwhelming welcome spirit of the corps members serving in Efon-alaaye, our bags were lifted and bright smiles filled the atmosphere as we walked into the hall.
We were welcomed into the local government at the main auditorium of Ekiti state government college, the taste of snacks presented to us by corps members already serving here gave our Tommie a chilling relieve. That was how the journey began, let me fast forward a bit to my first day teaching at my place of primary assignment(PPA), the school was on the peak of a mountain, high up I climbed, it was on a cool Monday, rushing to avoid being late, well, you can call us "otondo" because we just arrived the system, I taught biology to the senior students and did my best too. Anglican corpers eh!, we were just superb, played scrabble at free times, oh scrabble became our watch word, everyone learned how to play till some of us became scrabble lords, that scrabble game caused a serious quarrel between the school authority and us, I still recall the principal saying "this is an affluent", he even told a female corper, "Beauty, or what is that your name, if you do any how, I will SLAP you", I guess that was what triggered our anger, well, thank God he didn't slap the girl, because it would have ended in a sorry state. There are lots and lots of things I long to write about but a few would do. Efon alaaye is a one community or village standing as a local government, its a slow moving town/village because I can count like 100 automobiles plying the town road within a week unlike Lagos or Ibadan, a town placed on the hill, with a population of about 10,000-20,000 inhabitants or even less, their main occupations are trading, farming, tailoring, mason, and teaching, generally Ekiti state is a Civil servant state, no industrial growth observed, the closest tourist attractions are Ikogosi warm springs, Arinta waterfalls and Erin-ijesha water falls.
Everyone had a legacy they left, mine was the popular #TatafoEfon, formulated during the period I served as the Editor-in-chief, a legacy that fine-tuned my talent, I made corps members smile and laugh, placing an atom of happiness in their heart at each supposed boring CDs meetings. My leadership role as the president of the NYSC/EFCC integrity club also made a lot of difference in the club, We conducted our CDs once every thursday by 9am prompt, Service was great.
Life in Efon-alaaye as a corper was not easy, I hear in some areas, especially the northern side, farm produce were given to corpers, in some other region corps members got cash gifts, food stuffs and even accommodation from their PPA's, but mine was different, I was doing all the giving, helping students to speak fluent english language, advising them,most especially those in SS2 and SS3, it was a thug-of-war, I did so much that I almost looked sick and some times wondered how the state was the fountain of knowledge (thank God say then change am to Land of honor, if not I for yab them now), though that is history today. Days went, weeks blew as months strolled by, what seemed like it won't end, ended in peace, we started the journey on 6th of November 2012 and completed it on 10th of October 2013. Am going to miss a lot of things and people in Efon-alaaye, I will miss the constant electricity, my comfy bed, the peaceful and quite environment, am going to miss my students, my landlady, Emeka Elekwachi-my roomate, Anglican coppers in general, Iloh Hopecin -a very close darling, Ammy baby-oku, IJ, Ronke, Blessing, Frank-oyibo,
Am grateful to God almighty for the opportunity he gave to me, I thank my parents for granting me a good education, to my siblings (Chukz,Chiroy,Ada,favour) una too much, I thank my uncles and aunts for their prayers and supports via the service year (Dee M and his son una too much jawe), I am grateful to members of Seventh-day adventist church (most especially Sango district in Ogun state,Nigeria), I am grateful to my friends and well-wishers, I salute all Ex and serving corps members in Efon-alaaye LGA (especially Anglican Coppers-Chris, Emma, Sample, Emeka SUG, Endurance, Seun, Uduak, Indiana, Boniface, Confidence, Goodness, Beauty, Adaeze, Angela, Chinaza, Ify, Buddy, Jecinta, Tayo, Freggy, Mfonobong, Ope, Collins, Abasi,Chioma), Ekiti state and Nigeria at large. I extend my gratitude to my landlady, Mrs Orire (a very kind woman), to nurse Grace and the family of Mr.&Mrs. Olubodu, I throw kisses to the wonderful students at Anglican secondary school, Efon-alaaye, especially the good ones. To my special one, I remove head-dressing, and to you who have taken your time to read all parts of this memoir, thanks a lot, I love you all and God bless you as we view together a brighter future.
Long live Anglican Secondary School, Efon-alaaye,
Long live Efon-alaaye LGA,
Long live Ekiti state,
Long live Nigeria,
And Long Live YOU all.
Thank you.
Nwachukwu Prince C.O
EK/12C/0247
1 comment:
Wow!! God bless u too. Wishing u d best and I pray God will give u d best Job.
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