00:53:00 NYSC , Prepare for NYSC
Congratulations on completing the NYSC online application and on getting your posting letter. Now, that you know the state you are posted to, it's time to prepare for camp. Preparing for camp will ensure your experience in Camp is enjoyable, less stressful and not expensive! Especially the expensive part; everything in camp is very expensive except the food and drinks at Mami Market (the stalls present in every camp) which are moderately priced.
Now it's time for the list of things you need to bring along to camp. Your NYSC kit should will consist of 1 NYSC Crested Vest, A pair of Khaki Trousers, Cap and Jacket, 2 White T-shirts, 2 Pairs of Knickers, 2 pairs of green-stripped Stockings, A Pair of Orange Jungle Boots and One Pair of White Converse. A “Belt” is also included.
However, there are essentials which you need to bring along to camp or budget for. The list is divided into three. Part 1 contains the official NYSC requirements; without them, you wouldn't be allowed to gain access to camp or register. Part 2 contains essentials that will make camp enjoyable and less expensive but it's not for everyone. Part 3 is what’s essential for your day-to-day life on camp.
PART 1: Official NYSC Requirements
1. Call-Up Letter: This is a vital part of camp registration and the only evidence that you are a prospective corps member (Corper or Otondo) and you are not impersonating anyone. An original copy (printed in colour from the online portal) will be taken in camp not returned to you. So make several copies and also try not to forget the Call-Up letter especially if you didn't pay N3,000 to have it available on the NYSC online portal but chose the free option to collect from your university. If you paid, you can always print a new one online even if you forget it.
2. Registration Documents: Foreign-trained graduates should take along the original credentials they uploaded to the NYSC Portal for physical verification- the list is here.
3. Green Card: It contains your bio-data. Print from the NYSC portal and bring along your signed copy.
4. Final Year Student ID Card: From my experience, foreign-trained graduates didn't really need this. However, it is compulsory for Locally-trained graduates.
5. Statement of Result from the University: This is compulsory for both foreign-trained and locally-trained graduates.
6. Photocopies of Your Documents: Make about 4 copies of each document, you wouldn't need more than 4 copies. There are photocopiers in camp at mami market but like I said above, it is very pricey (in my time it was N50 at mami market while outside was N20) and bringing your own saves time as there will be multiple people like who forgot theirs, meaning long queues.
7. Passport Photographs: This is very important. I took 16, I ended up using about 10. You would need them for different kinds of registration; for example, religious groups ( I used mine when I registered for the NACC), redeployment, bank account opening, meal ticket and so on. The passport photograph should adhere to these rules:
Ensure your face (eyes, nose, ears, mouth and jaw) is fully shown without bending
Ensure the picture fills the frame and centralized.
Ensure the Photo background is white or off-white with no shadow.
8. A Transparent Folder: You’ll need to put the documents mentioned above in a transparent file to protect it from wear and tear and also to allow for easy monitoring of your documents.
9. Certificate of Registration: All graduates of Medicine, Veterinary Medicine, Physiotheraphy, Radiology, Optometry, Medical Laboratory Science and Pharmacy are expected to have their Certificates of Registration with their professional bodies. Payment receipts are not acceptable.
NOTE:
Guard your documents with your life! People have been sent back for forgetting their documents!
The forms that will be handed to you are straightforward. Attach your passport where necessary and fill them correctly. However, get ready to burn out your energy. The whole registration process took me about 8 hours, running from office to office at the Okada Camp.
After your registration, you will be issued with your State Code. This will be used throughout your Service Year even when you want to obtain NYSC funded loans for your business.
PART 2: Essential But Not Compulsory
10. Stationery: Such as pens, staplers (don't forget the pins) and/or gum. However, out of every stationery listed, your pen is going to be the most important as you will fill several forms. This saves time spent of waiting on another corps member.
NOTE: Some camps don't allow staplers and seize them at the gate during the "search your luggage" exercise at the gate. Pens and gum are always allowed so you are safer with those.
11. Treated Mosquito Net: I must say that I was impressed with the Okada Camp and also other camps from what I heard as there were no mosquitoes. I learnt that the camp was fumigated before we came in. But the fumigation wasn't able to kill some other insects. Overall, it not bringing a mosquito net didn't affect my camp experience. However, you can still bring your own mosquito net. Get ready to sweat though because the camp was very hot except when it rained and even then we were about 40 in a room so it was still not as cold.
12. Cereals and Munchies: I can argue that this is very essential. However, if you have cash and ATM card as listed below, you will be fine. However, I brought our very own Naija cereal... Garri! It saved me when I ran out of cash and didn't want to eat that tasteless camp food. You can also bring cornflakes, Golden Morn, biscuits and so on.
13. Sunglasses: The sun will be your friend especially during afternoon parade. So sunglasses are needed if you don't want to always wear your cap or if you want to be a badoo at camp. Anyone/type will do: geek or trendy, fake or original designer glasses- Tommy Hifighter, Ray-Bon and so on. All join!
PART 3: Essentials For A Stress Free Experience
14. Plain White T-Shirts: White on white is the NYSC camp uniform, that is, white t-shirt and white shorts. In Edo camp, you were only allowed to wear casual clothes to church/Mosque and some camps don't even allow it (so all of you will be angels for 3 weeks... all white!). You will be given 2 pairs of white t-shirts at camp but the quality of those shirts are rubbish plus how can you be washing almost everyday? I brought an additional 5 shirts and even with that I washed frequently because of camp activities. So you can bring extra pairs of shirts because after morning and afternoon parades and Man-O-War drills, you wouldn't have the strength to wash.
NOTE: I put "plain" above because if you bring stripped shirts, soldiers will give you wahala! You can bring along some casual clothes to camp but don't bring more than 3 as you will need that space in your bag for the most necessary things! Keep on reading!
The kind of punishment will make your white turn brown (hovabuzz.com)
15. Plain White Shorts: Abeg for the reasons stated above, bring your own shorts. You can never repeat shorts especially in the Okada Camp where we were told to sit down so often as punishment or to rest even when it is muddy! Make sure they have no sort of pattern, that is, they must be plain or you will always have problems with soldiers and they can seize it! You will also be given 2 pairs of shorts which are usually poor quality and not durable but mine was really nice (I think the manufacturers were afraid of Buhari's administration so they had improve on quality) although it needed adjusted. I brought 5 extra shorts and lived like a king :) So no everyday washing!
16. Plain White Rubber Shoes: This is a very important one!! I advise you to bring your own pair or buy it in camp although it's very expensive. The one I was given by NYSC wasn't as ugly as some previous years' own but it was poorly constructed. The toe cap was strong rubber and that killed my toes during parade or Man-O-War activities. So I gave it away and bought shoes rubber shoes in camp for N600 (way cheaper outside camp). Rubber shoes were important in the Okada Camp as it was raining season and the ground was almost always muddy! So you can easily wash and dry them easily! Also remember, plain white and no patterns!
Exactly why you need rubber shoes (corpr.com.ng)
17. Plain White Socks: No need to say much. Camp activities and Muddy ground will leave you looking like a pig at the end of every day. So bring as many as 5! Plain white too!!
18. Padlocks: Please lock your boxes and bags to avoid items being stolen. Several people lost their phones in camp and one corper was found in possession of multiple stolen phones!!
19. Waist Pouch: This is very vital as you need it to carry your valuables such as phone, money, hand sanitizers and so on! I even used my to carry my tissue paper because I didn't want everyone to know when I wanted to do the major! It also helps you carry out morning and afternoon drills without any hinderance. Always sleep with your waist pouch btw!! Put it under or make it your pillow!!.
20. Basic Medication: You can bring along painkillers like paracetamol/Ibuprofen, medicine for your allergies, inhalers, menstrual pain relief drug, antibiotics and so on. The camp clinic in Edo was adequately stocked but that is not always the case. True story – A corper once donated at least a million Naira worth of medicine to the Lagos State NYSC camp clinic, and barely a few days later, they claimed to have run out of medicine (source: Corpr.com.ng).
21. Antiseptics/Disinfectants: This is very, very essential. I carried Dettol along and although the water was clean, I still used Dettol (I wasn't taking chances). However, some camps have dirty water and it's very essential. Also, even when the water was clean, I needed Dettol for washing the toilets and bathrooms before use.
22. Detergent: I brought the 1Kg Sunlight detergent from home. This is one of the most essential items. You need to wash. I paid a washing service in camp but still needed to wash things like my underwear.
23. Towels: I don't need to tell you this! Bring from home or wouldn't you take a bath? And they don't sell it at Mami market. So if you forget it, you will have to pay one of the traders to buy from outside camp!
24. Pair of Slippers: You can buy or bring from home as slippers are moderately priced. I brought mine from home. However, whatever you do, don't leave your hostel with your slippers, even at night. If you do so, make sure you don't get caught. I got caught by soldiers twice, and on the first occasion, my pair of slippers was seized. I had to walk back to the hostel on bare feet. The second time, I had to sort the soldier out.
25. Bed Sheets, Pillow Cases and Pillow: Bed sheets and Pillow Cases can be brought from home. However, the pillow case can be bought from Mami especially if you are travelling a far distance to camp. If you get posted to your state of residence, you can bring from house.
26. Handkerchiefs: If you are like me that sweats like a goat, you need handkerchiefs. All the camp activities will leave you soaked.
27. Toiletries: Toilet Paper, Sanitary Pad, soap dish can be brought from home or bought at Mami market.
28. Water Bottle, Flask/Bowl and Cup: If you intend to eat camp food or you are like me that brought garri, then these are essentials! Also, you have to buy your own water and therefore need water bottle especially when you can save money by filling it with sachet water (pure water). The Cup can be used for the camp tea a.k.a brown water.
29. Buckets: If you are posted to your state of residence, you can buy this at home as it is way cheaper. However, if you are like me who embarked on a 5 hour journey, just save yourself the stress and buy in camp although it's expensive. For example, I bought a cheap looking bucket for N600 when its normally N250-N300. So yeah, it's that expensive!
30. Beverages: The tea in camp is commonly referred to as "brown water" as they dilute the hell out of the milk and hot chocolate (Milo). So the best thing is to take the brown water you are given and add more milk and Milo for a more creamy and tasty outcome. Bring from home!!
31. Torchlight: This is also a must have! Many camps have very poor power supply, Edo Camp inclusive. The generator is switched on by around 7p.m and switched off (lights out) at 10p.m. Also, the generator is not switched on in the morning and there are also no street lights. So my touch was my best friend, yup always with me especially at night and early mornings.
32. Phones/Music Player + Headphones: Music is important in camp especially when you are about sleeping at night. And you need a camera phone to be able to take pictures!! It's really necessary, don't miss out on great moments!
33. Cardigan/Duvet: It was usually cold in the morning especially when it rained so you may need to sleep with a Cardigan or Duvet. Although soldiers always order you to take off your cardigan if you bring it to morning parade (under the sun or in the rain), you are allowed to wear it if you catch a cold or are not feeling too well. All those in the North during harmattan period, you need it!!
34. Get extra Network SIMs: I was using Etisalat at my state of residence but it failed me at Okada and I didn't have a sim. I was lucky that Airtel finally got a stand about 1 week into the orientation camp and I was able to get an Airtel sim.
35. Cash: This is extremely important! I was lucky that things were cheaper in Edo Camp compared to the Lagos Camp. I spent about N25,000 and that involved eating in Mami market for breakfast, lunch and dinner (because the food was really awful), charging my phone cost N50 per charge and I later paid N3,000 for a laundry service where your whites are washed and you charge your phone for free for the 3 weeks!! However, if you can manage the camp food, then you only need about N3,000-N5,000 to engage in occasional enjoyment. But the food is crap in many camps o!! Be warned!! Plus you get transport allowance of N1,500 and bicycle allowance of N1,000 so add that to the amount you brought!
36. ATM Card: You are not allowed to leave camp although you can seek permission from your platoon officer who will give you a written letter to give the soldiers manning the gate. However, it's advisable to bring your ATM card as there are stalls that have POS machines for withdrawing money although at a small fee. During my time, it was N400 if you want to withdraw above N3,000 or N200 if below N3,000.
That’s all you need to take to the NYSC orientation camp! Oya don't be an Ijebu somebori, share this with your friends on social media. If there is any item left out of the list, please let us know in the comments section.
