My last post on this blog primarily featured two young men in one of the orientation camps who were caught having sex and were decamped, although in a very quiet manner.
However the case seems to be the opposite in Akwa Ibom state, where a heterosexual couple were caught in the act and were allowed to go unpunished because of the political influence of one of the parents.
It was barely nine-thirty in the evening and many corpers were either loitering around or gossiping at Mami market which was the social hub of the orientation camp. Today was the fifth day since the resumption of camp for we Batch A Corpers, therefore many of us had made new friends from the horde of youths who were sent here for the three weeks orientation course. While some of us were still on the platonic stage of knowing each other, a few others progressed with lightning speed and were already referring to themselves with the glorified title of 'Boyfriend' and 'Girlfriend', i couldn't help but watch in awe, how possible it was for so much love to have bred within the short time frame of five days, especially with consideration extended to the fact that most of the time, we were at one parade, lecture or camp activity, thereby having very little time for socialization and chit-chats.
I was yet to grasp the possibility of developing intense emotional feeling for anyone within this period, when worse news hit my godly ears early Sunday morning, which was our sixth day in Camp. Gradually, just as darkness made way for daylight to set in, the news of a couple being caught in the act of sexual intercourse the previous night gradually crept into our half-awoken ears. Naturally, this was the kind of gossip which immediately caught ones attention, thereby immediately sending the last remaining signs of slumber packing, setting the pace for the necessary alertness needed to ingest and digest the necessary nitty-gritty of the story.
Unfortunately however, the details of this incident were still sketchy, therefore our curiosity was sadly doused even before it could see the light of day. I, on the other hand was not one to be easily dissuaded from following the trail of such a juicy piece of information, therefore i made concerted efforts to gather as much information as i could during the course of the day.
I realised that in actuality, there had indeed been a violation of the 'no-sex' rule within the camp facility and that in-fact the big stick would be wielded on the offenders who were fully aware that immediate decamping was the punishment allotted to such an offence. I slept that night, dreaming of the morning after when the Camp authorities would martial these erring couple onto the podium, then decamp them after using them as subjects in a long boring lecture on morality, actions and consequences. I woke up to my dismay.
Truly as expected, the unrepentant, promiscuous couple were marched to the front lines to be gazed upon by thousand dozens of eyes. Sure, they were the subjects of a long, boring rhetoric on legality and moral codes, but to my utter abashment, there was no big stick around, talk less of any being wielded. Although the Camp commandant talked really tough and acted haughty, beneath the whole facade, was a man hurting from the fact that he could do nothing to these lawbreakers. After about forty five minutes of being at the receiving end of both his tongue lashing and the scorching sun, we were all dismissed, together with the condemned, to put it more concisely, we were dismissed, while the accused were fully acquitted.
This occurrence led to a ruse among the rest of the Corpers, we began to argue amongst ourselves if some of the NYSC rules had been amended without our notice, or perhaps the camp commandant had some veto power over some rules.
In my curiosity, i began to snoop around again, until i overheard some soldiers on my way to Mami market discussing how appalling the Nigerian situation was. "Kai, so na because him papa na Ambassador na him make dem no chase am comot for camp?" One soldier asked in disgust. I just walked past as if i was deaf and mute.
Note: This story is true, but i cannot deny the fact that some of the scenarios were adjusted to match my taste. Same applies to other editions of the chronicles.
Written by Onyeoziri Favour
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