CAMP REGISTRATION - THE GIANT EARTHWORM

With my mind's eye, I can visualize that the camp registration queue must have looked like a giant earthworm when viewed from above - always moving but not covering any distance, and growing too! People joined the queue faster than others left and this continued well into dusk. After the ‘military welcome' I mentioned in my last post, by observing others running ahead, I found my way to this queue. I didn't dare to stop as the eyes of several soldiers were trained on us - looking for scapegoats. Patrick and Bukky arrived soon - behind me. Back in the university, I had had the privilege of being in queues but this was a greater. This episode's story centres on it.

30 minutes on the queue

"Buy your pure water! Buy your gala!"
"Na for free? You don come again!" Those in front responded.

I wondered why people under such scorching sunlight would dare complain about a pure water seller.
I was soon to know why.

"Abeg carry one gala and pure water come," I called out.
"See am for here"

I touched the sachet of water and it was hot - but I bought it all the same and munched the gala too. What choice did I have? My body cells were acclimatizing to the North Central temperature of Kwara state. I managed to wear a cosmetic smile and pose for a photograph with Bukky and Patrick. Looking around, it seemed as though we had just arrived a desert. At once I could see acres of arid land - the sparseness of the vegetation giving me almost unhindered viewing. Lost in thought, I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned back. An ebony black buy - sweating profusely, with mushroom hair, three persons behind me, looked me squarely in the eye and asked:

"Did you attend RCF Unilag?"
"Yes."
"Your face looked familiar; that's why I asked."

He introduced himself and so did I. Segun was my new friend - my first on camp. We got on immediately and chatted on end. You know that instant bonding that develops when you find someone that hails from your ‘constituency' in a strange land. He also knew Bukky and Patrick so we formed a ‘quartet'. While we exchanged banter, the pure water seller came again. Apparently she timed the queue and came round with her wares in intervals. This time around started shouting:

"By pure water O! Na by force! Oya Aunty buy na - Bros buy na." She said as she skirted from one person to the other on the queue.

I laughed. No wonder those guys in front were complaining. People simply wanted to get registered; others were even too famished to talk back. They communicated with their eyes, some amused, others annoyed and some others not willing to waste an additional micro-joule of energy giving her a thought. If you ask me I think she would have excelled as a biologist or medical doctor because she always knew when people were thirsty. She would show up, have a quick sell of her wears and vanish again only to resurface after some minutes. But for the unrelenting overhead sun I would have timed the intervals of her arrival and done some crude research on bodily dehydration. Each pass she made made her richer.  Another incidence occurred.
About three women formed another queue close to the door of camp registration office.

"Why are you not on that queue?" a soldier monitoring the queue pointed from his seat.
Silence.
"Are you deaf? I said why are you not on that queue?" He pointed.
"We are pregnant sir." One of them responded.
"Can I see your papers?" He demanded.
The women searched their bags and brought out papers.

We laughed on the queue but soon learnt a lesson. On camp, only papers were a genuine proof - even if your pregnancy was as evident as daylight. We often used this to joke - as you will see later.

Segun told me about his experience at the camp ‘gate' - a bamboo stick hinged at one end and left free at the other. He told me that as he jogged with his bag, he saw a lady in front whose bag fell off her head while also jogging. She began to cry profusely and the soldiers pitied her and asked her to walk down. He said that he momentarily forgot his pain and had a good laugh while still jogging. He pointed at her to me. I smiled but ‘noted' her face. Later in camp, she won the MISS NYSC contest and was crowned queen of my batch. Life's irony! It reminds me of a verse of scripture that says, "He that goeth forth and weeping, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him." I have come to realize that greatness often comes in a very tattered wrapper. Some reject it while others are offended by it. It takes a wise man to identify it! That is why wise people never to despise others based on their looks, accents or other idiosyncrasies. Tomorrow always has the last laugh.
By past 9 pm Patrick, Bukky, Segun and I were done clearing and registering and were headed for the hostel. We dropped our bags and went to the taps. In front of our flat was a large aluminium overhead tank and an array of faucets beneath. The dry land leading to these faucets suggested to us that the tank was empty. Determined, we prodded on and at the first crack of the tap hot air gushed out. Empty! We went back to the room with no option but to sleep off with our slimy bodies. The only encouragement we had were our weak bodies begging for sleep. The next day had even more surprises.

THE QUEUE
On queue I stood with bag and ‘sweats'
Beneath the sun that never rests
I froze my face and hung a frown
As my fair skin kept turning brown
But soon I saw that queue was slow
And thought within that fun could flow
Not wasting time I found a friend
And talked and laughed away on end
So fond of queue I came to be
That when time came to set me free
I wished to stay on queue some more
But know my friend that life's a queue
Your turn will come just as the dew
So while you have the gift of time
Ensure you make good of your prime

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Dear Reader,
Again I apologize for lateness. I'm sorry. To make this more interactive; if you have a good poem that can add grace to these writings please let me know by sending it to  ukmantle@gmail.com . Your copyright is valued and you will be adequately referenced. Thank you for your time.

Next Episode
Date: 10 - May - 2013
Time: 2100 Hrs. (GMT + 1)