If you are interested in Rivers state or posted to Rivers state, here are couple of things you need to know about serving in Rivers state.

Preparing to go for your compulsory NYSC orientation camp, you need items like, 3 to 4 white shorts, 4 white t-shirts, white sucks(3), a rubber canvass. You can only take 2 or 3 mufti clothes because white shirt, short and canvas will be what you will be wearing throughout your stay in camp.

Rivers state is an oil rich state with 23 local Governments. The state orientation camp is located in Nonwa in Tai local Government area of Rivers state. It is in the heart of the popular Ogoni land.

Life in camp in Rivers state during my time, Batch B 2015 (October 2015) is very exciting. Things in rivers state are pretty expensive. A plate of food was N250, but now things won’t be like that. Nigerian economy is not helping matters. So expect that a plate of food in Rivers state camp may be up to N400 or N450 or even N500 for 2016 in coming Batch A corp members. For making calls, all the four major networks of Airtel, Mtn, Glo and Etisalat are working. For browsing, Mtn seems to be the fairer out of the four for browsing in Rivers orientation camp. The other 3 network providers are just okay but not the best unless things have changed this period. Life in camp is so sweet and wonderful. Your first allowee of N19,800 will be paid to you in cash on camp. The Rivers camp is very swampy during rainy season. The hostels are okay, even one of the best in Nigeria. During my time I stayed in hostel B3 and there were sockets to charge my phones. We don’t go to mami to pay N50 to charge phones.

For the hostel toilets and bathrooms, I have couple of photos. They are neat but trust Nigerian graduates to mess them up as quickly as possible. You will definitely meet different characters of people in camp. Some will go to toilet without water. Here are couple of photos..

http://www.hovabuzz.com/frontline/1130-some-of-the-things-you-need-to-know-about-serving-in-rivers-state-as-a-corper

In camp, make sure you respect the soldiers, but don't fear them. They can't beat you. They have been authorized not to harm any corp members or beat them. The only thing they do is to instinct fear into corpers. But please respect them, if not you will be on your way out of the camp and out of NYSC. If You don't respect their rules, you will receive punishments.
Then the carnival. Towards the ending of camp, you will have your carnival, camp Burn fire night.. It was so exciting. Here are couple of photos from my own carnival.

You NYSC journey starts after your orientation course in Nowna. Orientation is just an important addition. Rivers state Government pays state allowee. Infact they are the highest paid in Nigeria. If you serve in main Port Harcourt town, your state allowee is N10,000 monthly, while outside port Harcourt is N15,000 monthly. It was formally N5,000 for port Harcourt and N10,000 for outside port Harcourt but Governor wike increased it by N5,000 due to the death of a corp member during the Rivers state re-run election. But Rivers state has not paid corp members state allowee since 2012. But we are expecting and hoping that as wike has said he will start paying starting from the 2015 Batch A corp members that passed out on April 14th.

There are too many advantages serving in Rivers state. It has been known that 20 to 30% of corpers who served and serving in Rivers state don’t return back to their states. There are too many opportunities in Rivers most especially Port Harcourt town if you are hardworking and smart. Disadvantages is that things are unnecessarily expensive and over hyped. As a corper, if you want to leave a comfortable life, eat good food, you can barely save up to N5,000 in Rivers state. Transportation cost is tooooooo expensive. Another disadvantage is security. Rivers has security challenges with too many cult and political clashes and fights. As a corper in Rivers state, any were you find yourself, most especially outside Port Harcourt town, please do not cross your boundary, respect yourself and do not interfere with the community and political matters, because they don’t joke with politics in that state.

Another thing I want you to note about serving in Rivers state is, if you think you will be posted to a big oil company, that a lie. All corpers are entering classrooms. You are coming to teach unless you studied law or medicine.

Another thing about serving in Rivers state, don’t think because you are a corper wearing the NYSC uniform it will give you an edge, not at all because to an extent they don’t regard corpers here unlike the North and other parts of the country. Don’t think they will be worshiping you, fetching water or even your students do your chores, lai-lai. They won’t. If you be corper, na for your own pocket because them no send you.

Please note that you cannot have it all in Rivers state. One of the most important things you need is electricity, good communicating network, water and good house. There are some areas/local Governments like Phalga(Port Harcourt), Obior akpor and other places. Light na problem for those places and they pay for it monthly. While for someone like me who is serving in Asari-Toru, I don’t pay for any electricity. The local Government pays electricity bills of the whole communities in that local Government. And there is always constant electricity. But browsing network is a problem in some of the communities. In Rivers, so many of the communities don’t pay electricity bills. It’s either oil companies provide them with power or the local Government pays. Examples are Asari-Toru, Bonny island, Onelga.



Serving in Rivers state is wonderful. Have a great time..

http://www.hovabuzz.com/frontline/1130-some-of-the-things-you-need-to-know-about-serving-in-rivers-state-as-a-corper

Op, what if you ate requested by the company?

Izen:
Op, what if you are requested by the company?

Even if you're requested or they even drove their company bus to come pick you from camp. You can't be posted to a company. You can only 'work' it out with maybe your school principal, as long as you're not a medical personnel, lawyer and maybe 'an engineer' you will be posted to a school

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