Trip To The Hintherland

Sequel to Visa to the Hinterland
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Placing his hands on his head and mouth opened.
"Kanturu? It's remote O!"
My heart skipped several beats
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I loaded my bag into the back of the bus and found a seat within it - still partially dazed.
"Does the village have electricity? Is there network?" I managed to ask the senior corps member sitting beside the driver.
"Emm, yes - I think so." He replied with a squint on his face apparently deep in thought.
Heaving a sigh of relief. "Well then it's okay - God dey!"
Our bus was still parked waiting for other corps members who were posted to the same LGA.
"Is this bus going to ……. Local government?" A petite lady asked a worried look written all over her face.
"Yesss!" We all chorused, "Welcome!"
By now, those of us in the bus had become family; united, at least, by our common destination - a rural area - and so anyone who joined was given a warm welcome. She sat quietly and spoke very little. I tried to imagine what was going through her mind - my thoughts went like this:
"O God! God -I'd just cry here now - and see these people they're just talking as if they know where they're going to. Bloody Otondos!"
Well, I never can tell if my thoughts closely approximated hers, because I didn't ask, but I bet they did. In all, four busses were heading to my local government of primary assignment. While we waited for all of them to get filled, so we could move as a group, I spotted Dayo and precious:
"So these guys and I were posted to the same place - hmm!" I thought.
They had been love birds on camp, in my platoon, and I thought that the postings to various PPA's would separate them, but I was wrong. They gisted and chatted away, even laughing intermittently.
[Sometimes I imagine how life would have been if I was the only human being on earth. Though, automatically, all wealth would be mine, I cannot envision myself enjoying such wealth. Perhaps you can. There'd be no one to share it with (if you're a good guy) and no one to show off to (if you're a bad guy); either way, humans need humans to feel fulfilled. No wonder God said that it wasn't good for ‘man' to be alone - it still isn't]
All four busses filled fast and we said our last good byes to the orientation camp - Yikpata camp. The driver slammed on the pedals and we hit the road in a hurry. Somehow, it felt good to leave camp and the associated claustrophobia of staying in a compound for three good weeks - much like a boarding house, you'd say.
"Driver take am easy abeg!" A lady shouted.
"Where we dey go far O!"  He replied without reducing the speed.
Immediately my mind began to see things. I saw the village I'd be posted to, the room I'd be sleeping in, the members of that community and the smell of the air. My imagination did a good job and I relished in the imagery. Before long I slept off and only woke up when my bus had to do a sharp turn. I checked my phone and realized I had been asleep for almost an hour. The bus was not comfortable, by any standard, and the road wasn't smooth either. Looking back, I can imagine how tired I must have been to sleep for so long in those conditions. To the left and right of the road, green was the colour and trees were the objects. I was amazed.
"Where on earth are we going to?" I kept thinking.
But for the senior corps members beside the driver who kept chatting away comfortably, I would have had a reason to think we were lost - in the jungle.
I picked out a piece of fried potato from the newspaper on my laps and chewed it. Since there wasn't time to eat on camp, and since hunger had ran away - due to my angst about the posting, I had to buy fried potatoes just in case I was ‘privileged' to feel hungry on the way.
Another hour passed and we arrived at the local government secretariat. We all scrambled out of the bus and stretched vigorously. I looked around and spontaneously checked my phone to see if there was network in my mtn and airtel lines - there was. I spotted two hills around me hidden partially by the lush greenery.
We weren't welcomed by any one in particular so we found seats for ourselves in a half wall. We were famished, tired and confused simultaneously, at least I was. Having come from the southern part of the country, where the terrain comprises mainly of wetlands and plains, it was quite disorienting to see rocks and hills everywhere. The senior corps members ‘entertained' us with stories of gloom and we laughed and sighed sardonically:
"Now Your Suffering Continues!" One of them said.
"Chai - ehen!" A guy said, perhaps without thinking.
"See all the bush we jus dey see for road sef!" Another guy remarked.
"Thank God se NYSC na only one year O!" Yet another remarked.
I was quiet, not really because I wasn't bothered, but because I was just too tired to talk. After about twenty minutes, we were asked into the CLO's residence and we were given, by my estimation, ten table spoons of jollof rice and one tablet of fish. I gobbled it in a hurry, thankfully. At least it cured my hunger - although I knew symptoms would persist.
We moved to a hall, took our seats, and the coordinators of each Place of Primary Assignment (PPA) were introduced by the NYSC Local Government inspector.
"Edudu CDS group coordinator!"
"Corpers we O!" The coordinator stood up shouting.
"Ilisan CDS group coordinator!"
"Corpers we O!" Another guy stood up and said loudly.
"Kanturu CDS group coordinator!"
Silence.
Immediately I looked around to see my PPA's coordinator, but alas, no one was there. I was taken aback:
"Is Kanturu so remote that it doesn't have a coordinator?" I asked myself under my breath.
I felt cold and alone.
"All corps members move to your respective coordinators for further briefing." The Corps Liaison Officer (CLO) announced. I watched as others moved to their coordinators. Some CDS  groups had up to 25 members but I sat still.
"Am I alone - It can't be - how can - how can I be the only one sent to a village so remote …" I kept asking myself.
This was just the beginning of troubling events. Indeed, that was a day I can never forget.  
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POEM (BY UKEMEOBONG OWOH)
Although I'm thrown abroad alone
Within the deep and endless sea
And though I thread alone the path
Not so known by goodly fellows
And even when I feel so cold
And lost for words and thought and deeds
I know one thing is certain sure
My God is watching over me.
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Dear Reader,
Last week's posts were deliberately omitted for certain personal reasons. But I'm back, and better too, by God's grace. Do stay tuned, keep sharing and post comments.
NEXT EPISODE:
Monday 8TH July '13

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