I've spent the past month at a military-controlled orientation camp.

The National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, is a program set up by the Nigerian government during the military regime to involve Nigerian graduates in nation-building and the development of the country

NYSC was created on 22 May 1973 as an avenue for the reconciliation, reconstruction, and rebuilding of the nation after the civil war. Its most important purpose is to foster national unity & cohesion

The first three weeks of the NYSC service year are spent in an orientation camp - a military-controlled camp. Our schedules were very regimented, and so I have been away from life as usual including my laptops and hashnode.

Nigeria has 36 states, 500 languages and over 250 ethnic groups. As a way of promoting diversity among cultures, the NYSC would post corp members (participants in the National Youth Service Scheme) to states other than their state of origin, so we are encouraged to mix with people from different ethnic groups, social and family background all in a bid to promote unity.

How was the orientation camp?

The purpose was to promote diversity in culture and I think I learnt so much more about Nigeria by travelling than I have in years through the media.

I travelled by road from the southwest region of Nigeria to the north-central, I passed through many states that I had heard about. I met new people, tried different meals (my favourite part), and learnt new skills (in the orientation camp).

I believe it was a worthwhile experience.

It was a military-controlled camp and so our time was very regimented. On one hand, it was DIFFICULT to adapt to, on the other hand, I was impressed by how much humans could accomplish with so much discipline.

Glad to be out and about. The service year lasts an entire year and the orientation camp is just the first phase.

Cheers to a hitch-free service year ✌🏼

Additional readings

• [National Youth service corps](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Youth_Service_Corps)