White Nigerian Corper

Hi friends!

How are ya? I hope everyone's well. I know I owe you Part 2 of D's NYSC story and I promise it's coming this week!

I was perusing Bella Naija today and saw a nice NYSC-related feature. Mohammed Jamal, a "white" man born and raised in Nigeria (folks commenting are going back and forth about his parental origins, hence the quote marks), chose to come back to Nigeria after completing his university studies in England. I'd heard about him as a comedian, stage name White Nigerian, but didn't delve farther. So it was a wonderful surprise to see his story on Bella Naija today, and I thought I would share the article with you guys.

Excerpt from Bella Naija

“They say “never judge a book by its cover” and that’s exactly right. 

A lot of people see me and assume I am an “Oyibo.” I’m not and 

let my color not deceive you. It’s what’s inside that counts and for me 

apart from the color, I am Nigerian to the core. Born and bred in Jos, I grew up 

speaking Hausa and of course pidgin English. I have one passport and it’s green. 

So just like every other Nigerian, I completed my studies and decided to serve my country. 

Click to read the full story: White Nigerian Corper on Bella Naija

So, I shall be posting the next part of D's story this week. Have a pretty week.

Berry.

My NYSC story Part 1... by D.

Hi guys,

I promised you I'd have something juicy for you to read from someone who just started his NYSC service. He FOINALLY forwarded his stories to me, and I thank God mine's over and done with. Grab some popcorn, a cold soda or hot chocolate depending on the weather and have fun reading. I've broken the story down into 2/3 parts. This is Part 1.



Hey y’all. Let me start this off by saying NYSC is a colossal waste of time! I used to be one of those people who defended the purpose of NYSC and while I still believe in that purpose, I also believe that it has been lost along the way, especially now, with the whole everyone-must-teach thing. And now that I’m actually doing NYSC, I can testify from my personal experience that it’s a big fucking waste of time! But we’ll get to that later…

Rumors are swirling...

Hey gents and dolls!

How's your week coming? Mine's pretty darn good - I think. Anyways, I bet you're keen on hearing what the rumor is. Well... there's been a lot of talk on Twitter. Apparently NYSC wants to increase the monthly allowance for corpers! It's not confirmed yet, but officials are saying they've heard the claim as well. So what does this mean for corpers?

Now you can spend save N33,000.00 a month! This is as opposed to the former N19,800.00 a month. In USD, this is going from $123.75 to $206.25 using a 1USD = 160NGN exchange rate.

A lot of corpers depend on this allowance for their day-to-day living. Others use theirs to go shopping. I didn't really need mine and saved the bulk of it.

If it's confirmed, I'll let you know.

Have a berry pretty rest of the week!
Berry :)

NYSC Lagos Camp Review

Hey everyone,

How's 2013 going so far? I hope everyone's happy and loving life - or at least being content. Speaking of contentment, here's a great quote I got from Joyce Meyer's devotional:

Find a balance between Contentment and Ambition.

Here's the key: Learn to ENJOY WHERE YOU ARE ON THE WAY TO WHERE YOU'RE GOING. 

NYSC 2013 Batch A Time Table

Hi guys,

As promised, here's the schedule for the 2013 Batch A prospective corps members. Foreign grads have already started registering and Orientation Camp starts in March. Again, no need to worry about the other stuff in the schedule as they pertain only to NYSC officials. The link to the schedule is at NYSC 2013 Batch A Mobilization Timetable.

Pre-mobilization Workshop Meeting	16th January, 2013
Registration of Foreign-trained Nigerian Graduates	10th December, 2012 - 26th February, 2013
Submission of Masterlist. Screening/Vetting by Mobilization Officers	21st - 23rd January, 2013
Action by the ICT Department	21st - 29th January, 2013
Delivery of Corps Mobilization	30th January, 2013
Delivery of Preliminary Printouts to CPIs	30th - 31st January, 2013
Return of Corrected Printouts by Institutions to NYSC NDHQ	4th - 6th January, 2013
Action by ICT)	4th - 19th February, 2013
Sorting and Packaging of Call-up letters	20th - 25th February, 2013
Delivery of Call-up letters to Institutions / NYSC Secretariats	26th - 28th February, 2013
Briefing of Prospective Corps Members	Throughout the year
2013 Batch ‘A’ Orientation Course aka CAMP	5th - 26th March, 2013

OMG! Miracles DO happen for real!

Like I'm in TOTAL shock right now!

I haven't really had any cause to check the NYSC website since the 2012 Batch C corpers left camp. And then I got a comment from my last post asking about the NYSC fees, so I decided to go to the site and get info.

THEY'VE REDESIGNED THE NYSC WEBSITE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*does victory dance*

I was so overly excited, I almost missed out on VERY IMPORTANT information

Happy New Year Everyone!

Hello ladies and gentlemen!

Welcome to 2013 - Happy New Year from moi! This time last year, I was looking at a veeeeeeeery loooooooong year ahead of me in NYSC. Thanks to God, I finished in one piece!

And now with the new year, I have a few things I want to do. I haven't quite come up with a definitive list yet, but it will all be revealed on my new non-NYSC blog - Berry Dakara!

This one will still be left open... I'm expecting a post on a Batch C corps member from his Orientation Camp experience (he chickened out of staying) to the frustration with his Place of Primary Assignment.

I'm cautiously excited about 2013. I expect 1 or 2 major changes personally and professionally, God-willing.

Signing out now! Here's a kiss from me to start 2013!