Sewuese's blog

Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time. - Thomas A. Edison “We're full, you can't join”    I entered camp with so much zeal and my blood pumping to do all that was required and at the same time have fun just like everyone advised. In the first 4 days of the first week, I joined my platoon in all her parade preparations.  I've always loved parades because of the sounds of the band and all the blood pumping activities that follows. I literally have chills when the drums begin and the parade commander marches forward to get permission from whomever, for the parade to continue. Everything just goes in perfect rhythm; legs, hands, e.t.c,. I think I fell partially in love with the parade band leader and the parade commander. Follow @sewuese_writes on IG to see videos of the band boy in action so you'll judge if my heart was right or not.     Things were going smoothly, in fact I was marching wi...

Victory at last! You remember how I said I was prepared to march my platoon to victory even if it meant independently, right? Well, we attained victory, and alas, without my help. Walk with me as I tell you how this unofficial 8th wonder of the world happened.    Remember my first week before I ran to join the OBS crew? I told you in one episode that I was eager to march alongside my platoon members because I've always loved parades; the seriousness, the sound of the drums and all the other activities involved? You remember? Somewhere again I told you how scared I was of the soldiers in camp and how I couldn't comprehend the fact that some corpers even had the nerve to stand and gist with them, correct?     Even though I moved to OBS, I didn't really abandon my platoon, I was still nursing the hope that I could avoid the punishments and trainings ‘under the sun or in the rain’, and somehow still participate in the parade. I kept going back to check on things, I ...

Man, know thyself “This girl don carry another biscuit put inside bag this early morning”. This came from my friend as she checked my waist bag to use my lipgloss at 4:40 something, as the final beagle for morning meditation was being blown. Another girl on the line one day during morning meditation said, “ah ahn sister, you're eating this early morning? It's not even 6 yet”.     Amongst my top lists for camp, I wrote ‘2 and half dozens of 50 naira biscuits (mix them )’  and that was the first thing I bought as I got to the market, then I bought my personals, e.t.c,.     I've been a serious fan of biscuits since forever. If you like me and want to please me with snacks , buy cartons of small biscuits, I've asked for biscuits before and gotten some weird tasting big biscuits instead of dozens of parle-G, pure bliss wafer, fab, festo and the likes . I have some expensive biscuits I like too but I'll pick parle-G anyday. I packed my 20 something pieces o...

NENRITMWA    I'd known Nenrit in school and for awhile we were just cordial. Our relationship went from small pleasantries to gisting and laughing after we got each others numbers, but nothing deep.  Even Adam had the animals for company before Eve. This is saying, “you definitely need people at all points in your life”.   In as much as we all make plans with our friends to be together forever, some situations cannot be helped.  I met a twin who was separated from her other twin for the first time ever because of NYSC. They were posted to places very far from each other and after crying and wishing it'd have been the other way, they both survived camp.  I have a couple of close friends I talk to all the time, I have my sisters too, basically enough people that I even thought I didn't necessarily need to connect with anybody or meet new people who would keep me company. The fact that I was leaving for camp at one of the craziest points in my life last year c...

“Wake that girl sleeping and tell her to stand up”.  When people tell you that you haven't known yourself completely, even though you're 57 years old, please believe them and always be ready to shed old skin and wear the new one for as long as is required. And we've been busy saying snakes are sneaky for always shedding skin? I think we humans are actually just too proud.  On this episode of my camp series, you're going to find out how I went from 5/10- 0 on my battle with improper sleep schedules.    Before camp, I used to always want to nap and my nap usually had to last more than 30 minutes, 1 minute less than 30 minutes will automatically give me a headache. You're like this too, yeah? Shockingly, since I and my fellow Nigerian youths unknowingly registered for military short service (in disguise), my life changed. I don't know if it has actually changed completely because I've not had the time to take naps since I got out but I really hope I am alright,...

There's food at home. When Nnnenna said, “carry plenty money when you're going to camp”, she was talking from the experience that I only actually understood when I couldn't allow hunger finish me.    I honestly didn't remember that people have different taste buds. I mean there are people who enjoy dipping bread in tea and people who actually do not like plantain.    When we first came into camp, a good number of people were boasty, telling all and sundry that they couldn't eat the meals served at the camp kitchen. Now fast forward to the second week in 😂     There were three different sets of people in my camp; the constant patronisers of the maami market, the regulars at the camp kitchen and the ones who only eat at the kitchen when it's rice, boiled yam, bread and butter or bread and boiled eggs and eat at restaurants in maami when it's eba, beans and the likes. I was in the third category.    Unsurprisingly, after the first five days in ...

I knew I'd meet a lot of people with different personalities because of course, but I didn't know it was a competition of who can be friendlier in three weeks.  I honestly still cannot wrap my head around the idea of touching people unauthorized, people you don't even know. Why did I encounter a lot of handsy men in camp? I'm sure it wasn't just me because there were a lot of funny ladies and gentlemen on camp who wanted to try their luck to see if they'll go home with a lover or more.  Akwa Ibom ayaya!!!    Maybe it's because I have plenty hairs on my body that I react sensitively to touch, or maybe it's because you have no business touching me at all if we're not close like that. Of course you can touch my hand in greeting if we're close enough, I'll react jerkily if I'm not looking, but not as much as I'll do when it's coming from the hands of a stranger. And maybe it's because I have plenty hairs on my hands that I got not...

Does it really pay to be patient? Or do we just have to be smart enough to know when to abide by the saying?     As the popular saying goes, “the patient dog eats the fattest bone“. Although nowadays when someone quotes it, another person replies, “patient dog don get ulcer” and everyone begins to laugh. Fetching water this afternoon during our free time before lunch, we had a long line of buckets with people waiting to get water to take their baths, wash their clothes, e.t.c,. Sitting with my first camp friend, we discussed a lot of things in a bid to pass time before our turn. Everybody's been so kind to everybody here, as if we're all eager to make new friends. Anyways, this other pretty girl comes with her buckets and expresses shock as she sees the number of people already waiting. Following the chatty trend, people begin to laugh and give her unnecessary/witty advice. One gist leads to the another and she joins the conversation with I and my friend. Somehow during t...

Destiny helpers in camouflage On swearing in day, the 27th of November, 2023, a guy in my platoon received special recognition from the representative of the Executive Governor of Kebbi State. It was the best thing I had the privilege to experience during my time in camp.     After practicing since Monday and being part of the frontliners for each platoon, Gospel assumed he could no longer be in front of platoon 10 as he didn't have the NYSC combat boots because of course, his size wasn't there like some of us, but even worse.  That morning, we'd practiced with the soldiers and were ready to salute and take all the commands from our general parade commander. There were a lot of cameras everywhere as everyone posed for their first photos in complete khaki attire. Don't forget to take pictures on this day, it's one of the days in camp that you can join anybody's selfie and not get the bad eye.    Anticipating the special guest of the occasion, pla...