Thank God the service year is finally over but it wont be nice not to make mention of my experience towards the end of my National Youth Service Corps service year.
By the Grace of God and the benevolence of fellow corps members in the community I served - Nenwe Community of Aninri Local Government Area, I was the Community Development Service(CDS) president for the unit since our community development service is structured such that each community has a CD group in order to avoid transport expenses to the Local Government Secretariat. Some communities had more than one CD groups, the leader of the general CD group was called the CD Coordinator while the various CD units under the general CDS had presidents but in cases where the community has one CD group, the Coordinator of the group doubles as the CD president.
On assumption to my Service post, there are some traditions ad customs that were existing in the CD group and some were just introduced. One of the tradition that was introduced by the 2011 Batch C was the printing of CDS certificates to complement the National Anti- Corruption Volunteers Corps Certificate that would be issued by the ICPC. The reasoning behind this move was to honor corps members that actively participated in the group's meetings because the ICPC officials are never around during our CD meetings and thus have no knowledge of participation of members of the group. Some members kicked against the planned certificate on the basis that it was illegal for corps members to issue themselves certificates on NYSC platform. The issue was tabled before the then Local Government Inspector Mr. Okpara and he said it was a welcome development and to give it more legitimacy, there was a column for the signature of the Local Government Inspector(LGI). Mr. Okpara was transferred to another Local Government and a new Local Government Inspector was brought on board.
Her coming in as the Local Government Inspector coincided with my election to the position of CD Coordinator/President. The duty therefore fell on me to take the certificates of the then outgoing batch- Batch A 2012 to her for endorsement. She cussed and fumed that she wont append her signature to those documents, that printing those documents with was a criminal offense and punishable by prison term. She then placed a call to the officer in charge of education at the ICPC to find out if it was okay for corps members to print a certificate for themselves which he replied in the affirmative. She told me the outcome of her discussion but added that she would not sign the certificates because she was relatively new then and was not the one in charge for a majority of the time the outgoing corps members served the local government. Another reason she adduced was that corps members from my community were responsible for the exit of the former local government inspector. She said she might only consider signing the certificates for the next outgoing batch that was my batch, Batch B 2012. She also said that the outgone LGI would be coming for a meeting with her that if he is generous enough that he would sign the current batch of certificates. We waited for him and when he came he did justice to the certificates.
By the end of my term as CD Coordinator/President, the general CDS had agreed that we should be awarded the usual certificate alongside the one by the ICPC if any. Although I was averred to this decision due to the fact that the treasury of the CD group was not having sufficient funds and I wanted a legacy of having successfully executed projects and handing down a lifeline to the next set of excos. Nevertheless, the decision of the general house was binding on me so we had to print the certificates. I also went to the officer in charge of Education at the ICPC to submit my last monthly report and request for certificates for myself and my colleagues. He asked me to get an introduction letter on an NYSC letter headed paper from my Local Government Inspector that the list I submitted to him was d authentic list of active participants.
I went to the Local Government Secretariat and could not meet her but met the assistant inspector so I told him the instruction I got. He vowed to get the letter for me. I kept calling him to find out the situation with the letter and he informed me that the problem was with letter headed papers because there was none at the Local Government and thus needs to be gotten from the state secretariat but that he must get a written note from the Local Government Inspector. He advised me to place a call to her and intimate her of the situation. I did exactly as he Instructed but low and behold she scolded the living day light from me for calling her on a Sunday.
A week later during the monthly pay rolling, I in company of the incumbent CD coordinator went and met her concerning the letter and the certificates. Lo and behold all hell was let loose as she nagged me because my fellow corps members from Nenwe had refused to carry out a project in her office. The issue of the project had been communicated to us by the Corps Representative aka Corps Liaison Officer but members had rejected the proposal as it went against the tenets of the CD program thus " corps members are not to use their personal money in executing any project whether Personal or group" , secondly, the site of the project was considerably far from our immediate community and thus would not impact the lives of indigenes of our host community. Thirdly, the office of the Local Government Inspector should be funded by the Local Government NYSC committee. She specifically said "I wont sign it because you people have refused to carry out a project here. Go let the principals of the schools and communities you carried out the project sign the certificates for you and issue you letters.
I met my colleagues and intimated them of the situation. The Enugu State Coordinator of the NYSC was intimated of the situation by an angry corps member. The State Coordinator called the LGI to enquire about the issue and even sent her a copy of the sms from the Corps member. At about 12 noon on Tuesday two days to my Passing Out Ceremony, I received a call from My LGI asking if I reported her to the State Coordinator. I said NO and she directed that I should find out the person and alsocome along with the person and the certificates for her to sign. The incumbent CD Coordinator had signed and so it was just her left to sign. The following day I happily took the certificates to her but was not with the reporter( even if I knew the person was she really expecting me to pinpoint the person to her? If she wanted the person so badly she should have asked the state coordinator the name and details of the person. Moreover I am not a sorcerer to see who sent the message).
On reaching the LGA secretariat, the first thing I did was to handover the certificates to her. She requested for the person that reported her and I told her I could not figure out the person. The terminal clearance she was to issue that day, she withheld mine knowing fully well that without the terminal clearance I would not be issued with my Certificate of National Service.
She publicly humiliated me in front of all then outgoing batch B corps members and laid great curses on me. This she said she did because I have refused to produce the Corps member that reported her. She also said I should produce the person that signed as State coordinator on the certificate when it was clearly written CDS Coordinator. I tried his line and it didn't go thru. My next offense was printing with the NYSC logo and ICPC logo. She forgot that the certificates were brought to her to go through it and if found faultless append her signature or refuse to append her signature for whatever flaw she realized.
Pleas by batch B corps members from my unit and I was abortive. after issuing the terminal clearance to other batch B corps members she left.
On getting home, I quickly reported the issue to the State coordinator. Some other members from my unit did the same thing almost twenty of us. The man being a virtuous and morally upright man quickly wade into the matter and asked me to come on the POP day to get a clearance from him.
On the fateful day, I went to the State Coordinator in company of some of my colleagues and justice was done. I collected my certificate of National Discharge successfully. After the POP, I went to the ICPC office to intimate the officer of matters arising. Unknown to me, the LGI had packed all the CDS certificates we printed and forwarded to the man. while waiting, she came in, met him and discussed with him. She later came down and threatened me fire and brimstone. She said she would make my life miserable because the assignment she gave me I couldn't do it and that I would pay the price on behalf of the entire corps members serving in Nenwe because I am the one she knows, others she does not know. She even asking me to come for a query the following Monday as she would not be available at work on Friday because she is tired( Is a civil servant not suppose to be at work daily?) not knowing that I had gotten my CNS although I begged her. She said corps members at my unit wanted her to lose her pension. when she left, the ICPC official asked me to quickly go and meet the Deputy Director in charge of mobilization to wade into the issue before she puts up a bunch of lies against me to the state secretariat. He said after that I should then get a note from the secretariat to come and get my NAVC certificate because I was the president. I left there and never returned because it is not in the interest of my colleagues that I alone gets a certificate by virtue of the fact that I was president of the group while others that also went through physical and mental stress to achieve the success of our projects would go home without any reward.
I want to thank all Outgone Batch B 2012 corps members that served in Nenwe for their support during the trying times. I am honored to have served distinguished individuals like you and remember we have been adjudged the best set so far in the implementation of projects in the whole of Aninri by Our former Assistant LGI
Also a big Thank you to the management of the NYSC in Enugu for showing that we still have men and women of honor in this country
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