A fantasy of youthful exorbitance
– The loser is the one that gets pregnant and is dumped after her service
If the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme established in 1973 were to be a person, he would have attained the age of 18 by 1991 which would have qualified him to vote and be voted for. The bright child would have started primary school about 1997 and graduated from a university or polytechnic in 1993 qualifying for his own scheme in 1994.
Perhaps the child would have since taken up a good job and got married to the lovely girl he met as a corps member! But have we asked ourselves this sensitive question? Does this Guy or lady really love me?
Following the successful completion of the Batch A Corps members across the state, the question erupted as a result of the one year relationship corps members engage in during the NYSC service year.
Should NYSC relationships be taken seriously?
“Some of such relationships have blossomed, but they are precious few. Faithful hearts are hard to come by in choosing a future partner,” a corper who just finished her service year told The Daily Times in confidence.
In recent times, the question has become rhetoric as answers have been likened to a diamond so hard to come by. Most times the relationships end in sorrow during their passing out parade.
Display Pictures (DPs), a social media lovers code has overtime been proven to unreal and none binding, having been used by lovers for the fun of it. One of the popular dps which reads ‘Distance is crap when love is true’ has not lived up to its billing as distance has taken numerous relationships to the cleaners. The popular saying is that the loser is the corper who gets pregnant and dumped after the service year is over.
Ms Josephine, an ex-corper who served in Benue State and passed out on Thursday 14th of April 2016 had this to say:
“What really matter is, what happens after youth service? It is easier to build a relationship when you are together, but what happens when both of you leave for your various homes is unforeseen.
“Although it is better for adults to build a relationship, the reason it does not work for most people is that they find it difficult to maintain the relationship because of distance which, at the initial stage was not taken into consideration.”
One of the intrigues of graduating and serving graduates is that most corps members have a relationship before coming for youth service.
“It is unfair therefore to break the heart of someone waiting for you somewhere,” Josephine said.
Ogunode Oluwaseyi who served said in Lagos state dismissed such relationship with a wave of the hand: “I don’t see it leading anywhere; you can’t tell me you don’t have someone in your life before rounding up your tertiary education,” she told our correspondent. Down to earth and without mincing words, Oluwaseyi said corpers’ dps is just a means to flirt for the fun of it.
“Many of us came to campus with different background, upbringing and moral aptitude. The good ones come out clean and marry afterwards while the loose ones flirt throughout their university years and do the same in their service year. There is no yardstick to measure the good ones so it is advisable corpers finish with the business of service and face their decide their professional and love life ahead of them.”
Similarly, Vincent (also an ex-corper), scored corpers dating on a scale of 30 percent success. “The girls may be after the peanuts you receive monthly and they are not predictable because they can do and undo. Whichever you assess them, they are dangerous,” he said.
A tertiary statistics records that only 5% of NYSC relationships come to reality or see the light of day. It is largely seen as mere fantasy, the climax of youthful exorbitance.
That’s the way the youthful ones interpret their emotions; but the lines are drawn between teenage and adult life: if the lines fall in pleasant places, the serious ones are bound to have a goodly heritage.
