NYSC SAGA — My Unexpected Journey

After finishing university, I thought everything would move quickly. In my mind, uploading results, compiling names, and seeing them on the NYSC Senate List shouldn’t take more than three months.

But surprisingly, I ended up staying at home for 13 long months.

During that period, people kept asking me, “When are you going for NYSC?” And I always assumed, “Maybe in 2–3 months, I’ll go.”

When the time passed and nothing happened, the questions continued. At some point, I became tired of answering the same thing over and over again.

Eventually, our school uploaded our names, and fortunately, I was among those without issues. Others had problems with JAMB numbers, date of birth, and other discrepancies.

The Registration Struggle

NYSC announced that the portal would open on 11th November 2025, so I prepared very well.

I was even advised to use multiple email accounts so I could get the registration link faster.

On 10th November, my friend and I decided to sleep at the cybercafé so we could register immediately at midnight. We waited until 12am, but NYSC didn’t open the portal. We gave up and went home.

Before sleeping, I chatted with a friend who works in a hospital on night duty. I told him to call me the moment the portal opened.

By God’s mercy, around 4:20am, he called. Even though my sleep was heavy, I jumped up immediately because NYSC registration was all that was on my mind. I applied using 4 different email accounts, Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook, and Yopmail.

After hours of waiting, I finally received my registration link at 8:58am.

I completed the entire registration before 11am, while many of my colleagues were still waiting for their emails. People joked that I was “a lucky person.”

Three days later, a friend asked if I had registered. I said yes. Then he asked if I had paid my registration fee. I said no. That was when he told me: “If you don’t make the payment, your registration won’t be validated and you won’t see your Call-Up Number.”

That was the beginning of the real struggle.

Network was terrible, and the payment page refused to load. I thought I had already finished the hard part during registration, but payment turned out to be another battle entirely.

I spent three days barely sleeping, trying to complete that payment. NYSC even extended the deadline by two days due to the nationwide network glitch. Fortunately, I succeeded in making the payment 48 hours before the final deadline.

Call-Up Letter Drama

Two days after registration, I received my Call-Up Number. I was very happy, because NYSC has now become like going for Hajj, only those “called by God” make it.

The next challenge was direct posting. I contacted different people to assist me, and each person assured me that I would be posted to the state I preferred.

On the day Call-Up Letters were released, I woke up around 3:20am to check mine. To my surprise, I had been posted to Yobe State, even though I applied for Sokoto, and I am from Kebbi State.

I tried not to panic. I told myself this was how God wanted it. But honestly, I couldn’t go back to sleep. The first thing on my mind was, “How will I reach Yobe?”

I asked ChatGPT for the distance from Kebbi to Yobe, 1,037 km.

When morning came, I informed my parents. They prayed for me and wished me a safe journey. I began preparing immediately. I linked up with friends and relatives posted to Borno, Yobe, and Gombe, and we planned to travel together.

The Surprise Change

We began our journey a day before orientation camps opened nationwide. Even though the route had security challenges, we moved with courage and hope.

Around 5–6pm, a colleague in our vehicle saw a WhatsApp update that NYSC was changing people’s deployment states.

I quickly opened my dashboard.
And shockingly, I saw that NYSC had redeployed me back to Sokoto, the state I originally wanted.

Meanwhile, I was already inside Kano, after traveling nearly 500km.

I was extremely happy and grateful to God. I spent the night in Kano, and the next morning traveled to Rijiya Zaki and joined a vehicle heading to Sokoto. By God’s grace, I met other corpers coming from Borno, Adamawa, and other states.

We traveled joyfully and arrived at Wamakko Orientation Camp around 8pm. Registration took hours, and I finally finished around 12:30am.

Camp Experience

The first three days of camp were hell stress, early wake-up call, sun, drills, and endless activities.

But now, everything is moving smoothly.

This whole journey taught me patience, resilience, faith, and the importance of timing.

Truly, NYSC is not just a program, it’s an experience.

Gwasta Dmaker

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