GOMBE CORPER SERIES PART 1, THE CALL UP LETTER.

I sat at the edge of the bed numb and void of any emotion. What did I just read on my portal? Gombe!! Of all places, God sent me to Gombe...

Let's go back a bit.

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I finished University in February 2019 with high expectations that I would go to serve latest March 2020. It is not like I was excited to serve my country, it was more like I was excited to leave home. All my life, I have been in Akwa Ibom, with few trips to Calabar and a single trip to Auchi. (where I went to look for man) Anyways except those two places, nope nowhere else. So you could say I am amongst the few people that want NYSC to stay but not for it, I would marry and die in Akwa Ibom (lol just kidding).

Covid happened and sadly, I couldn't go for service in 2020 and I was more depressed than I had ever been. I felt stuck on so many levels. I mean, my life had seriously run smoothly - primary school to secondary to University all at one sitting- I never experienced any form of delay in my life, carry over, repeated class, none. so I mean why would Covid delay me?...it was all so new, strange and depressing....(we will talk about that later)

Finally, 2021 came and my topmost priority was leaving Akwa Ibom state to have a life. I was so certain that wherever I would be posted to, I would be established there, and would never come back ( except when somebody's son wants to pay small thing on top my head) I did ADEQUATE research on ALL the states in the country and knew states that I was to choose come registration. Lol, Gombe was never in my sight...Jesus what did you do to me...

Okay!

The morning I registered for service soon came. I was so excited that I was going to register and finally leave for service. I hurriedly dressed up and dashed out of the house at about 6:20 am to school (University of Uyo) to register at convo park. Soon, it was my turn and I was initially disappointed that I couldn't choose states I would have loved to be deployed to but that didn't stop me, I was positive that God would send me to somewhere grand as a result, everyone that spoke with me and asked me "howfar?" immediately got my default reply "chill...God will send me somewhere perfect."

The morning of the 24th of July was warm and cozy. The sun came out pretty early and I woke with so much tension in my head, chest, stomach. and abdominal area as I was going to print out my call-up letter and finally see If my positivity had done something to God. As of then, my phone had spoilt and I hadn't gotten a new one yet, so I used my mother's. I browsed how to check the state of deployment by one's self, and then proceeded to check for myself, sitting at the edge of my mother's bed.

From time to time, my mother and siblings would come to ask in our local dialect: "edong fi aka mmong?"(Where did they post you to?) And my reply would be "ndioñoke kaña portal ahahang"(I don't know yet because the portal is hanging).

I tried to control myself as the traffic to the NYSC portal that morning was crraazzyyy! To top it all, a friend of mine was calling to tell me "person A got Abuja o, person B got south south o, person C got Yorubaland o" I was so nervous and scared and cold and sweating and dizzy.

Finally! It opened! State of deployment

GOMBE...I stared at the screen in shock. Gombe? What's Gombe? Where is Gombe? Is that a state or Local government? I recited 36 states and capital and a tear rolled down my eye. "it's a state" I told myself...Gombe is a state. I sat at the edge of the bed numb and void of any emotion. Why Gombe? After all my fastings and small dedication, of all places God sent me to, Gombe. My mother and siblings came in, I told them and immediately I could see the fear in my mother's body.

"mama browse the map of Nigeria let's see where it is" my mother advised and I checked…Northeast...surrounded by Bornu, Yobe, Bauchi, the core bandits states.....oh! My heart fainted!

God please, tell me I'm dreaming...God please ...what did I do wrong?

I was hurt I was confused I was angry...a friend called, I told her and she went quiet for some time then she said "omoh you're finished o" I broke down because that was bitter but the truth; indeed, I was finished. God sent me to die in the North! Who would even bury me when I died? How would they send my corpse back? Oh I would see my father soon. I wasn't happy, I wasn't sad, I couldn't cry, I couldn't laugh, I was just there...

Later on that day I went to school to print out the call-up letter, secretly wishing the state of deployment would change but oh well...God no gri, lol

From the day I saw my S.O.D, my mother couldn't sleep. Her B.P rose and she started making calls to see how I was going to redeploy...

"Should we tell her?" I said to myself

"Should we tell her you promised God you wouldn't redeploy or work anything in respect to your NYSC?"

No, I couldn't tell her so I just let her make calls and tried my best to assure her I would be safe.

But I knew, deep down my mother was no fool...she knew her daughter more than her daughter knew herself...she knew I would not redeploy. So even when she asked me if I would redeploy and I told her yes, she knew I was lying.

I was to report to camp on the 29th of July, but I left Uyo for Gombe on the 27th. If you know me well you would know I and my mother cannot stay a day without fighting but on the morning that I was to leave, she was so quiet and sad and scared. She followed me wherever I went; as I went to bath and dress up to leave and kept asking "are you sure you won't redeploy?" For the first time since my father's death, I saw real fear in her eyes; the kind of fear that someone is leaving you and you don't know what to do, you can't control it. The fear that you might or might not see the person again (especially when you know your other children did deploy but this your child, e strong head...she won't redeploy). Yes that type of fear, was all over her. As we drove to AKTC that chilly morning, from time to time I would watch her through my side eyes and she would be shaking and muttering inaudible words to herself and I know even if she didn't cry outside, in her heart she did.

My mother and two siblings stayed with me at the park from 5:30 am till about 9:15 am when we finally left for Gombe. Once the bus left, I plugged in my earphones and listened to the music artist The Weekend's song "save your tears", leaned back into my seat as I popped one peanut in my mouth and closed my eyes.

I was a few days away from ending my fasting, a few days away from my mother's birthday, a few days away to my birthday and a few hours away from my new life, in the place, I never knew existed.

Me: "What now Lord, what now?"

"Our deal is our deal, I want to trust you completely so I won't redeploy, but what's the next step now...what should I do?"

The weekend: save your tears for another day...