NYSC has a way of throwing strangers into shared suffering and unexpected friendship. From camp drills to PPA drama and the legendary monthly clearances, bonds are formed… but do they actually last?
We asked a few Nigerians if they’re still in touch with the people they met during their service year, and the responses were brutally honest.
Tayo
I was posted to Taraba, a whole Lagos babe like me! I schooled in the west and I’m a proud Yoruba girl. Now imagine my culture shock when I got shipped off to the North. The experience was okay sha, but I wouldn’t want to do it again. I made friends, yes, but I cut them off as soon as the service year ended. Our ways of thinking were too different. No hard feelings, though.
Henry
Omo, I made solid friends during my service year o. I was the president of my CDS group, so I didn’t have a choice. I had to be everywhere, meet everybody, solve wahala left and right. It forced me to connect with people from all walks of life, and I’m honestly grateful.
Till now, I’m still in some of the NYSC WhatsApp groups, and even though it’s mostly ghost town energy, someone randomly drops birthday shoutouts, job openings, or funny throwbacks from camp and everyone suddenly comes alive. We may not talk every day, but there’s still that sense of connection.
Chisom
Honestly, the only padis I made were the ones I met in camp, and even that one, it’s just to react to each other’s status once in a while. I wasn’t interested in all those deep bonding moments NYSC people always talk about. I just wanted to serve and go. I even used to hide in my lodge on CDS days so I wouldn’t be dragged into unplanned friendship. No hard feelings sha, I just wasn’t in the mood for group photos and lifelong memories.
Joshua
I can’t relate at all o. I legit ghosted my PPA. If not for monthly clearance and biometric capture, they probably would’ve forgotten I existed. CDS? I was a shadow. I came, I saw, I dodged. I didn’t make any friends and I didn’t even try. My goal was to get that certificate and bounce. NYSC wasn’t a “service year” for me, it was a survival year.
Funmi
For me, NYSC was where I actually found the true essence of friendship. From my lodge mates to my PPA crew and my CDS fam, they made my service year bearable and even fun. We bonded over everything; kitchen disasters, clearance stress, and even camp throwbacks. We still keep in touch through our group chat and check in on birthdays or random life updates. It’s not every time, but when we talk, it feels like no time has passed
Bashiru
Ah! I no go lie, NYSC was vibes for me. I met real ones, we were like a gang. From trekking to the market to cooking indomie together with one camp stove. We still have our WhatsApp group, but life don enter now, so we mostly just send birthday wishes and random memes. But I still rate them, we shared struggle.
Deborah
To be honest, I didn’t even expect to make friends during service. I’m introverted, and I stayed in my lane. But somehow, I bonded with two other corpers at our PPA over the daily nonsense we went through. Till today, we still check on each other, one of them is even my bridesmaid now. Life is funny like that.
Whether you made lifelong padis or simply ghosted your entire LG, one thing is clear, NYSC was a different kind of ride for everyone. Some of us found soulmates, others found network problems. And while not all friendships made it past the khaki, the memories? Oh, they still slap.
So tell us, are you still tight with your NYSC gang, or did you vanish like CDS on a rainy day?
Read more interesting writeups here!
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