There is a general perception about we Nigerians, about how dubious we are when it comes to material things, most especially money. It is a general saying that the average Nigerian man is a crook and will do anything for money.
This bad generalization about the typical Nigerian has gotten worse over the years, both home and abroad.
We all know that some Nigerians are crooks and could be really dubious, but we also know that there are in deed very good and honest Nigerians all over the world!
This story is really fun, my NYSC experience . . My posting etc etc. The koko of the story is to show that indeed, we have good Nigerians and most especially, Good hausa People!!!!
My Encounter . .
Finished my BSc in Computer Science in 2008 from the University of Lagos. As usual, every graduate feels joy and excitement after graduation, but somehow there is always this bitter taste of NYSC somewhere to spoil the fun. Mine was no exception . .
When NYSC postings came out, I was posted to Borno State. I immediately got a map, and located the state on it . . I was speechless for over 30 minutes, my eyes turned red and it was as if the world came to an end!!!!
Anyways, I went to Borno state . . had fun in camp and then another posting was around the corner again. All the while I was in camp, I was meant to call a particular woman who was meant to help me get posted to the capital: Maiduguri, but somehow I over enjoyed my self and had fun in camp, and I forgot to call her. BEHOLD, I GOT POSTED TO MONGONU!!!
Mongonu is actually about 4 hours drive from Maiduguri (inside the same state o, imagine that). I got my posting letter, I was posted to “school of fishery, Mongonu” . . it was then I called the woman i was to call, then she told me i had to go to where i was posted and get a rejection letter. . .
THIS IS WHERE THE STORY BEGINS . . .
Slept over at a hotel till the next morning, went to the park and boarded a bus to Mongonu . . The journey was just pathetic! long, dusty and dry . . Nothing to view all through the 4 hours, except deserts, empty local govt buildings at intervals, and Cows (I saw plenty of them). .
Before getting to Mongonu, the bus stopped at Kukawa and I saw people coming down, so I came down also . . and the bus left. It was until I asked a corper I spotted about where I was going, before I knew I got down at the wrong place! Mongonu was still one hour away! I almost cried . . I then asked him where to get another bus, he told me I had to wait till 2pm. By then it was still 11am in the morning and I was getting tensed!
I chilled till 2pm and boarded a bus going to Moongonu . . I got to the park (I heard one hausa dude singing Gongo aso, I was shocked!). Took a cab to School of Fishery and located who was in charge of NYSC. The moment the guy saw me, he could tell I wasn’t coming there to accept the posting, so he said “do u want to accept or decline, I have both letters here for you” . . I was so happy and replied him “pls I want to decline”. he said no problem, and even bought me food and a drink.
After everything at the school, it was already around 4 pm in the after noon, and I didn’t want to sleep at Mongonu (Maiduguri was 4 hrs away). I got back to the park, and I had to wait for about one hour before I finally told the driver that he shouldnt worry that I was gonna pay for every space in the Peugeot Station wagon. We left around 5:20pm.
It was after the journey started that I noticed that the car had issues with it’s light and stuff . . it was getting dark, so the driver parked, opened the bonnet and hit the head lamps before they came on. By then I was getting worried and all. . on our way, the light went off twice and we both couldn’t see anything. The second time was so scary, when he managed to park, we were on the other side of the road and a trailer was facing us!!!!!!!!
I almost peed on myself, I had to come down from the vehicle to urinate and throw up!!!!!! yes I was that scared.
Finally we got to Maiduguri and our unsafe journey had ended, I got down and that was it. I took an achaba (hausa name for okada) to the hotel, and behold it was then I remembered: “MY WAIST BAG WAS GONE” . . Ok lemme brief you guys what a waist bag is, almost every corper has a waist bag on camp where u put all your essentials and stuff. . Mine had everything except my fone! My money, my ATM, My cheque book, ID card etc etc . . . Unknown to me, when I got down to pee I unstrapped the waist bag and forgot to strap it back when I got back into the car!!!
I couldnt speak Hausa, and the achaba guy kept saying “ba turenchi” meaning I don’t understand English. I had to beg for money from a fellow corper I saw drinking at the bar to pay the achaba guy!
By then my mum started calling me, how she knew I was in trouble, I don’t understand . . I picked up and told her I was fine and nothing was wrong. . I then called the Woman who was to help me get posted, narrated my story and all. she promised to send a guy who could speak both english and hausa. That night was one of my worst nights ever. I dream’t all kinds of dreams, I dream’t that the bag was under the bed, I woke up and actually checked. . lol
That night I actually prayed to God after a long while, I so prayed till i was speaking in tongues . . whether the tongues were real or fake, only God knows. . lol
The following morning was the D – day! the search for my waist bag. The guy came over, asked me for the plate number of the car, I didn’t know . . the color of the car, I didn’t know, he asked me how the driver looked, and I still didn’t know! then he said “only if God wants you to find that bag, thats the only way you will” .
We got to the park, and the guy whose name by the way is Tunde, started asking some of the drivers questions in Hausa. We were at the park for up to 3hours, and without even understanding what the drivers were saying, I could tell from the expression on Tunde’s face that; my bag was as good as gone!!!
I mean I had no clue about the car, the driver, etc . . it was impossible for anybody to help us.
Just when we were about to give up and leave, this man approached us and spoke in Hausa to Tunde and said “follow me”
we did, and he led us to his car, opened the door and brought out the bag! I WAS SHOCKED TO MY BONES!!!
I was more shocked when I opened it and met the money intact to the last. . . everything was inside, except my ID card which was in his hand. .
Apparently the man had been on a search for me with my ID card, all through the day till he saw me at the park with Tunde . . He said he couldn’t sleep at night because he was in custody of someone’s money and property, and that if he didn’t find me and return it that Allah would be angry with him!
I WAS SO MOVED AND SURPRISED AT THE SAME TIME, AND SAID TO MYSELF “WE NEED MORE OF THIS KIND OF PEOPLE IN THE SOCIETY”
That’s my story, hope you enjoyed it and hope we can all learn from it also. Let us all be like the Good Hausa man, lets all be good Nigerians and someday our country will be good for it. . . A BETTER NIGERIA STARTS WITH YOU, what are you doing about it?
Tosinadeda
Not all Nigerians are bad: My NYSC experience
