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Episode 11 - Lagos Camp Experience
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PLATOON TWO
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I looked back to see who spoke behind me. There stood behind me a short guy. He had a round bald head with slight bow legs. He wore a pair of green trousers, black polo T-Shirt and a pair of brown boots. He was a little hairy on both hands and I could only remember Pop Eye the sailor.
“Waoh, don't be too fast babe, we are heading the same way. I don't bite” He pulled me back said with a smile. “I like you, and i'd like us to be closer these three weeks.” He said further.
I looked at him speechless. “what effrontery? To pull my hands the way he did.” I thought to my self. I wanted to say something nasty but I held myself.“Hey! Otondos! Move it Now!” A soldier shouted from afar.
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Episode 11
LAGOS CAMP EXPERIENCE
Immediately, I jerked my hand off his grip, he winked at me and licked his lips.
“See you around Derin” He said, he rubbed his bald head and bounced off. I turned away and walked as fast as I could to were the people assembled.
“Run Otondo!” The soldier yelled behind me, I shook and started running towards the place. I heard the soldier laugh behind and call me ajebota. I acted like I heard nothing. When I got to the Assembly line, I heaved a sigh of relief. I placed my right hand on my chest to calm my racing heart and my left hand on my waist to support my back. I was panting both out of fear and out of the impromptu race.
“This too shall pass” I whispered to myself as I hoped and prayed earnestly for Irene to come.
It was an open field within the camp. There were plywoods constructed in box forms to make it look like a stage. There were three unequal rectangular boxes placed behind each other like stairs, so one has to climb the smallest box to the smaller and then to the small which served as the main stage.
The people around were many. They were up to about two thousand people at a glance. The place was noisy, rowdy and lousy. The people there chattered away with reckless abandon as they waited to be addressed. I just stood alone, looking round curiously. I had quickly overcome the feeling of fear that consumed me earlier.I had become excited again. I was more excited I was in Lagos that I easily forgot the few dramas that have scared me those few hours.
The joy of seeing the whole place full of people like me and beyond me filled my heart again, the excitement of seeing new faces overwhelmed me, the eagerness of my “would-be” adventure welled up in me again and I was very hopeful about my service year.
I thought about Sheila, “the lady is weird, she looks like she knows the “Big Dons” in Lagos, the high class people, I'll get her to connect me with some” I thought to myself. I thought about John, the guy that I met few mins ago, “he must be a player he is definitely not my type, he cannot take me places, he just wants to chop and clean mouth sleep with me and go, even if I will lose my virginity, I must lose it to a guy that has taste mtcheew” I hissed aloud. As I continued in my barrage of thoughts, I was interrupted by harsh feedback of the microphone.
Suddenly, the place became as quite as a grave yard, the soldiers had climbed up the stage and one of them was ready to speak.
“Otondo Corpers! You are welcome to Lagos State. Many of you have come from the Northern and Eastern part of Nigeria and you have been sent here to serve your fatherland. This is not a welcome address, for now all you need to do is to register and get a room to sleep in tonight as it is getting late and the day is almost over...”
I checked my wristwatch to see the time. It was 6:15pm. I did not know the day was far spent, I counted the hours left for the next day so I could see Irene again. I started to drift again when I was jolted back by the soldier's voice.
“Is that clear?” He asked authoritatively.
“Yes sir!” The Corps members responded.
He asked the same questions three times, corps members responded three time, until he finally said “now form a line according to your different schools and get yourself registered. See you tomorrow, 6am.”
Everyone disassembled and form different lines for their various schools as the names of their schools were called.
... to be continued
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