On and on, day after day, one paper after the other the malpractice went on unchallenged and unabated. It had become a long standing culture everyone was satisfied with.
As I taught SS1 and SS2 students each day, the effect of the malpractice was telling on them. They hardly concentrated, knowing that when it's time for SSCE, answers would be readily made available on the board. It was frustrating.
I thought about the way out and felt if promotion exams at each level would be taken serious, and only students deserving promotion were promoted to the next class, the students would sit up and study hard. But then it's more of a catch-22 situation. Education wasn't free, the students would stop coming to school if they failed, but the schools needed their money hence they kept promoting them so that they would keep coming.

There's a need for drastic change. There is a need to move away from the culture of malpractice and turn to diligence. There's little a corps member like me could do. But I must try, and hope it brings out a positive change. Hope, they say, maketh not ashamed.

In a bid to reverse the trend, I spoke to SS1 and SS2 students. I made them realise the need to be diligent with their studies. They were sober and showed willingness to change.
Knowing that they'd had a poor academic foundation, I organized extra classes for them; teaching Mathematics and Physics, starting from the basics. But these were only two subjects out of many! Well, the believe was that if they could excel in those subjects, they might be convinced that they could do well in other subjects as well.
The early signs were promising.
Perhaps the culture of exam malpractice would stop at Ekirom one day, and who knows, maybe Ikom local government as a whole. Perhaps!
--------------------------------
THE END

"My children how are you doing?" It was the Principal. She had come under the guise of knowing how we were faring, but we soon realised the purpose of her visit.
"I hope you're enjoying your stay here," she asked. Perhaps managing, instead of enjoying, should have been the more appropriate word. After discussing for a few minutes, she finally came out of hiding.
"These children are writing Maths today, are you not helping them?" I knew the question was directed at me because other corps members present - Tayo and Victoria - were teaching Financial Accounting and Economics respectively.
"It is against my ideology," I said in a low voice. The question caught me unawares.
She pretended she didn't hear me clearly, asking for my response once again.
"It is against my personal principles." This time it was in a loud voice. She didn't say anything again until she was about leaving when she said "let me see the person that came today in the name of supervisor."
Somehow, they still found something to write on the board for the WAEC candidates. It seemed all the schools in the neighborhood had a working relationship concerning examination malpractice.
At the start I thought the problem was only limited to my school, not until I went for the NYSC monthly clearance did I realise it was widespread. When my fellow Batch A corps members narrated what transpired in their schools, mine looked like a child's play.

The following morning, few minutes after the assembly, a teacher stormed into the corpers' office looking for Victor. Incidentally, that same Tuesday was for the monthly clearance of Batch B corpers, hence Victor was away at Ikom for his clearance. He had come looking for him to help in solving the exam questions. When he realised that Victor would not be available he reconsidered his options, and guess who was the next on his list, me!
"Are you not the corper taking Physics?" he asked, fixing his gaze on me, just like that lame man at the Beautiful Gate did to Peter and John.
"Yes, I am." I knew where the question was leading to.
"Would you come around to help SS3 students?" He was direct in his approach. I wasn't going to beat about the bush either.
"No, I wouldn't be available."
From my body language, he knew it would be a waste of time trying to persuade me to change my decision. But he wouldn't give up easily.
"Is there any other corper who is Mathematics-inclined?"
"They are not around," I replied.
He turned around and left. He hasn't got all day to devise an alternative plan.
When students went out for labour later in the day, some of them were asked to cut grasses around the corpers' lodge, so we were there to supervise them. It didn't take long for them to clear the whole place, so we the corpers decided to stay back in the lodge till the labour period would be over. As we were seated chatting in the sitting room, we received an unusual visitor.

On the eve of Mathematics paper - which came up a week after English language - I was on my way home after the days teaching when I met some WAEC candidates discussing at the school gate. I was quick to recognise one of them, who was one of the Physics students who showed little knowledge of graph plotting during the Physics practical, so I moved towards them.
"Oga Corpo, good afternoon sir," they greeted.
I asked them the paper they would be writing (or should it be copying?) the following day.
"We're having Mathematics tomorrow," they chorused.
Of course, I knew it was Mathematics, I just wanted them to say it with their mouths because I didn't expect them to be playing around. Not that I was surprised though, it wouldn't make any difference if they studied or not - they would still copy the answers from the board.
"How are you preparing for the paper?" I teased them. My motive for the conversation was to see if they would fell any sense of shame or guilt in their actions. From their response, any doubt about them having such feeling was dispelled.
"We've prepared, but we will need the full cooperation of the school." Some of them smiled briskly as they said this.
To them, school's cooperation is equivalent to partnering them in cheating. I was determined to push them harder.
"But that's what they've been doing for the past three years, getting you prepared for this exam." I pretended as though I didn't understand what they meant by 'full cooperation'.
"Not that one," they said. "We need to work together tomorrow."
After hitting them with some harsh words, I decided it was enough, leaving them behind.

phemi01: What's aLl this long n boring story for. Na u go 1st do NYSC abi na u go 1st experience exam malpractice. If u wona talk abt malpractice whch a lot of matured ppl already knw abt, just go straight to d point. Stop feeling fly cos sme secondary schl teenagers are interstd in ur crappy tales. Y not tell us abt how u grew up as well. Dull engineer. U must b a SISSY.

Are you feeling some sense of guilt?

More updates will be coming later in the day.

The school resumed the following Monday after the Easter holidays. Only a few students turned up in the school that day, and I used the better part of the day cleaning my room and repairing some damaged electrical connections at the corpers' lodge. There was a staff meeting the following day where the Principal addressed both teaching and non-teaching staff on her expectations for the term. That same day, Physics theory paper was written but I didn't make myself available. I could see Mr. James from afar doing what he seemed to know how to do best in the exam hall.
English language was scheduled for the following day, and at the rate at which the malpractice was being carried out, I knew that something special would be on the card, and they didn't disappoint.
I was having a Physics class with SS1 students that morning when the Principal came into the class. She complained that the surroundings of the exam hall was dirty and asked me to supervise my students in tidying up the place. As I led the students to carry out the assignment, two SS2 students were busy copying essays on the board for their seniors. Mr. James, who appeared to have assumed the position of 'exam officer' was right there in the hall, urging the students to be mindful of the commas and fullstops.

biolabee:

I hope you are ready to fight this good fight with proof as this story may be a fictionalized account

This is no fiction. It's noting but the whole truth!

tonibassey: Oga Bankole, I hope you read this reply. I have carefully followed your thread and its a pity your NYSC experience in Cross River State had to be a pungent one. As an indigen of this amiable State, Let me try to correct some impressions here: Firstly, I'm going to forward the name of that school to His Excellency the Governor on Monday, I think they deserve a visit from our State Commissioner for Education. Since the inception of Senator Liyel Imoke's tenure as Governor, the Secondary School system has seen immense reformation-and o! We do not have money in CRS so we cannot fund free education. Secondary schools across the 3 Senatorial districts have been renovated and their staff and teachers duely trained, retrained and sacked where necessary. The school at Ekirom will surely witness change soon and I assure you her principal and corrupt staff will be brought to book. We've had instances where the Commissioner for education drives to schools in rural areas and is not even recognized for his person by staff and so He gets the required information and acts accordingly. Examination malpractise is seriously frowned at by the Cross River State government. This government does not believing in commissioning so many school projects, stocking them with laboratory apparatuses and leaving them to rot at the hands of incapable teachers, but seeks to groom schools properly in a quota system, which involves testing, training and retraining of secondary school teachers-and yes, secondary school teachers do write exams set by the ministry. To further clear your doubt, you could inquire about the impact of this administration on the education system. Giving you the Governor's mailbox number here would not be necessary-education is that important to him, the first time I got it was while he was addressing secondary school students at a Children's day forum a couple of years back. Your complaint will be reported to the appropriate authorities, and we don't "eat people" here in Cross River State. Hope you have a rather fulfilling visit when next you traverse the land of this beautiful place. Long Live Cross River State!

Well, you're getting this wrong. What I've narrated here is not just peculiar to that school. It is widespread in the entire local government.

"Some of you can start number one on the first page while others can leave some spaces for the second question." That was Mr. James teaching his students the art of cheating.
"After 2, you count two boxes upward and mark that point." He obviously wasn't finding it easy explaining how to plot a graph to his students.
One question after the other, Mr. James wrote everything on the board. The students found graph plotting extremely difficult, except for two who seemed to have some idea of how it's done. As he wrote on the board, he asked the students to "go and load your pockets with money."
Towards the end of the paper, the supervisor, who had received his own share of the 'administrative fee' paid by each candidate, brought out a paper to be filled by the Physics teacher, stating the specifications of materials/equipment used for the practical.
I haven't seen any equipment or material but if that paper wasn't filled, or wrongly filled, the whole practical would be rendered useless. I simply took the photocopied material Mr. James copied on the board, and from the table of readings, I calculated the specifications of materials/equipment that must have been used to arrive at those readings, and signed as the Physics teacher.
"Exam malpractices is what we do here o", Mr. James told me as we moved out of the lab after the paper. I didn't say a word.
"Is this how you do it in Southwest too?", he asked. I told him it's not done that way, though there are isolated cases like that.
For years, exam malpractice had been entrenched in the system such that a clean exam would look strange to the people. This is a case when the normal becomes abnormal and the abnormal is the norm; when disorderliness is the order of the day. It reminded me of George Orwell's writing in his 1984's novel: "War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength." How contradictory!
After the paper that day, I realized Mr. James was staying in Ikom so I followed him back on his motorcycle. As we got to the main road (Ikom-Calabar expressway), he stopped for some seconds to greet a man. He later told me that the man was stationed at the entrance of the village to 'signal' them in case an external examiner/supervisor came visiting. I then realized it was a case of 'organized crime'. On our way back that afternoon, I asked him if that's what other schools do.
"Our own is even better," he replied.
I'd heard stories like that before but it was strange watching it unfold in my own eyes.

Thursday soon arrived and I got to Ekirom around 8:30am. I learnt Victor had gone to Ikom so I didn't bother going to corpers' lodge. Only a handful of students were around, standing in groups of twos and threes when I got into the school compound. I moved closer to some of them and asked a few questions about their preparation for the exam. It wasn't long after that when Mr. James arrived, and as usual, he was in 'high spirit'. We talked for a few minutes after which he ordered the students to move into the laboratory.


The sight of the lab from outside alone was discouraging, and moving inside was even more disheartening. There were only a few benches and some stools. No sinks, and if not for a few retort stands and measuring flasks, you'd mistake it for another classroom.
He opened a small office inside the lab where some old and damaged equipment were kept. He brought out, three rectangular glass prisms, four damaged meter rules and three dysfunctional ammeters. Equipment he brought out was no where near what WAEC asked the school to provide.
"Where are the other equipment", I asked.
"These are all we've got, we'll manage them." He knew I wasn't impressed with his response.


He showed me some photocopied papers containing likely questions and their answers, telling me it was prepared by the Physics teacher they liaised with.
When the WAEC invigilator arrived with the question papers, the students were arranged according to their exam numbers while Mr. James asked me to move into the small office where laboratory equipment were kept. After a while, when the paper had started he brought a copy of the question papers and asked me to go through the questions.


The questions were not unfamiliar, the usual questions that had been asked repeatedly by WAEC over the years. Out of curiosity, I moved out of the office to check what was going on. All the students were seated with WAEC questions in front of them doing nothing but looking up as though some sort of manna would fall from heaven. I wasn't surprised because even Isaac Newton, with all his prowess in Physics, would have been helpless without necessary equipment. Of what use are three rectangular glass prisms - without optical pins and plain boards - to thirty students who needed to demonstrate the refraction of light through a glass prism? Outside the lab, Mr. James was busy making calls on his phone. I then returned to my seat in the office.


About an hour after the commencement of the paper, I heard the sound of a motorcycle entering the school compound. Not long after that, Mr. James and a short, dark man walked into the office with some papers. I didn't need a prophet to tell me that the 'manna' the students had been waiting for had arrived, the bye product of Mr. James' alliance with another school. The short man explained some things to Mr. James and left, but not before both of them had agreed on a price. In a moment, Mr. James moved out of the office, cleaned the chalk board and all the students readied themselves to write.
"WELCOME TO CROSS RIVER STATE", I said to myself.

Now the real story begins!

Tayo and I got to Ekirom as early as 8:45am that Monday. Mr. James wasn’t yet in school when we arrived, so we decided to take our belongings to the corpers’ lodge, where we met Victor, who was the only corper that didn't go on Easter break, and it was from our discussion with him that we got a wind of what was to come.
I discussed my coversation with the Principal with him, explaining how she pleaded with me to resume early.
“Are you sure she told you to resume today?”, he asked, with a feeling of amazement on his face.
“Sure”, I replied, narrating how she pleaded with me to resume early over again.
“Why waste your time teaching them when the answers would still be written on the board for them”, Victor said jovially.
“What! You mean they write on the board for them during exams?” I couldn't hide my disbelief.
"Hey! Sorry o. You're surprised, don't worry you'll get used to it soon", he said, laughing hilariously, and continued, "they will grease your palms anyway".
"I'll never be part of that", I insisted.
Victor informed me that each of the students sitting for WAEC paid a sum of N7000 as 'administrative fee' just for malpractices. He also said most of the students are poor academically, and to prove his point, he brought out scripts of a test he conducted in the previous term, and the highest score was three out of ten, most of them scoring below two.
"How then do these students get promoted", I asked.
He explained that the students would move to another school if they're not promoted, which would drastically reduce the revenue of the school. It was then I got to know that there was no free education programme in Cross River State. Each student was paying over N2000 per term.

My enthusiasm was dampened a little after that conversation but I was hoping things would be different.
By the time I left the corpers' lodge, Mr. James had arrived, so I went to the staff room to meet him.
"Good morning corper".
It was nice seeing him in high spirits. Even more, he was literally in 'high spirit' as odour of alcohol oozed out of his mouth as he spoke to me. After we'd exchanged pleasantries, he brought a sheet of paper out of a brown envelop.
"This is what WAEC sent to us concerning the practical", he said, handing the paper to me.
It's the usual practice of exam bodies to send the list of apparatuses/equipment that would be needed for practicals so that the school would make them available, and from the list, experienced teachers could predict likely questions that could be asked, and thus prepare their students ahead. After going through the list, it was apparent the the practical would border on equilibrium/density, refraction of light through a rectangular glass prism, and resistivity of a constantine wire.
After discussing with Mr. James, I informed him that I would need some things in place at the corpers' lodge for me to stay back in Ekirom for that week. He told me that the Principal had gone for ANCOPSS conference at Makurdi, and he wasn't in a position to provide those things. He however assured me that they had liaised with a Physics teacher in another school to put the students through as far as the practical was concerned, but pleaded with me to come around on Thursday when the practical would come up. If only I knew what he meant by that alliance!

ninja4life: Nice oya come update o

Updates coming later in the day.

I returned to Ikom the following week as promised, and wasted no time in getting in touch with the Principal at her residence. She called one Mr. James, a Chemistry teacher in the school, who was in charge of getting equipment and materials needed for the practicals to come to her house. After waiting for over an hour, Mr. James finally showed up and we had a discussion on how to go about the practical. We agreed that I would move down to my PPA (Ekirom) the following Monday (the Physics practical was scheduled for Thursday of that week) to start putting the students through the likely questions and how to take readings for each practical.
I was eager to meet the students and see to what we could do within the short time available, not just about the practicals but also the theory. That weekend, I skimmed through the Physics textbooks I brought from home and jotted some things I thought would be of great help to the students. By Sunday evening I'd packaged my belongings nicely, ready to leave the following day. A fellow corps member, Tayo, who was posted to the same school and had been staying at NCCF Family House said he would like to take his belongings down to Ekirom that Monday, so we agreed to move together.

The previous night wasn't one of the greatest nights I've had, but I'd gotten used to that after three grueling weeks at Obubra camp.
I was set for my Place of Primary Assignment as early as 8:30am, putting on my khaki dress. It seemed commercial motorcycle (okada) was the major means of transport in Cross River (except Calabar where it was prohibited), so I didn't waste my time looking for a taxi.
"Na Ekirom I dey go o", I said to a bike man, on motioning him to stop as he rode by.
"Oga corper, the place far o, na only you dey go?", he asked.
We agreed on a price and we were soon off to my PPA. We passed through Okuni, Akam and a number of other villages and after riding for about 25minutes, we arrived at Ekirom.
Ekirom is what you would describe as a typical village. Pieces of land between houses were cultivated and there was no sign of social life in the village. Cocoa, palm, pea and mango trees were almost everywhere. The street road had been overtaken by gully erosion, making it hardly accessible by vehicles.
"Otondo! The latest Otondo in town!" Those were the words I heard as I came down from the bike, in front of the school gate. I looked towards the direction the voice came from and I saw a young man washing some clothes.
"God morning", I said as I moved closer to him.
"I am Uche, one of the corps members serving in this school", he said, his mouth filled with smiles.
He asked me to go into the corpers lodge where there were two other corpers - Victor and Joshua - seated. Joshua was busy marking exam scripts of his students when I walked in. I had a lengthy discussion with them, asking a number of questions about the school, and the community in general. As we discussed one other new corps member, Mary, came in. The two of us left the corpers lodge at once for the Principal's office. The Principal wasn't around so we proceeded to the Vice Principal's office.
"You are welcome my children", he said heartily as we entered his office. He informed us that the Principal would not be coming to school that day because of a meeting she would be attending in Ikom. He put a call through to the Principal, who asked us to meet her in a bank in Ikom.
On our way out of the village we met another corper, Ola, posted to the same school and we informed her of the latest development. The three of us returned to Ikom together.
We met the Principal, Mrs. Margaret Okoh at the bank and she took us to her home from there.
"You're welcome. What can I offer you?", she asked as she ushered us into her apartment in the one-storey building.
"We're fine", we chorused.
"What about drinks?", she asked, and turning to me she continued "will you take beer?"
I was alarmed, I almost laughed out. Offering somebody you're meeting for the first time - in the morning - a bottle of beer! Well, I later got to know that beer was the only drink she had in her refrigerator, and that's how they do it in Ikom.
"No madam", I replied, before quickly adding " I don't take beer".
She laughed and then said "It seems I have gentle corpers this time around."
She sent someone to get us malt drinks as she collected our posting letters. She asked us to write the subjects we could take on a sheet of paper. I wrote Mathematics, Further Mathematics, Physics and Introductory Technology. As she got to my turn while going through the list of subjects we've written down, she looked elated.
"Oh! You can take Physics, good! We've not had a Physics teacher for a while".
After signing and stamping the posting letters, we informed her that we would like to travel home after the NYSC documentation, until the school resumed the following term. She agreed to this, but that wouldn't include me!
"Physics practical will be coming up in two weeks time", she paused for a moment and then continued "the students don't have anyone to put them through". After much pleading, I agreed that I would return from my journey the following week and organize classes for the students. Little did I know I was in for a rude shock.

Updates on the journey to my PPA shortly...

We interacted with the driver throughout the course of the journey, asking a lot of questions about Ikom and Cross River people in general.
"Ikom is a good place o", the driver said responding to a question. "After Calabar, na Ikom be the next urban city" he continued.
"Na true say Cross River people dey chop person?", someone asked from the back seat, causing everyone in the vehicle to burst into laughter.
"Na only Ugep people dey chop person o, no be everywhere", he responded.
"Dem talk am for camp say dem don stop am teh teh", the lady sitting beside me said, looking the direction of the driver, visibly terrified.
"Na lie o no let dem deceive you", he replied, looking convinced about what he was saying. He continued, "If dem see say una body dey fresh well well, na to chop be the next thing o".
The lady beside me gave out a heavy sigh, and everyone seemed filled with fear.
"Na God go save us o", someone finally said following a brief moment of silence.
The discussion continued until we got to Ikom. Just as the driver said, the town seemed civilized. Almost all the new generation banks were present, and the streets were clean. The vehicle took us down to the NCCF Family House, where Batches B and C corps members were on hand to welcome us.

When it was 8:00 pm the bell for evening devotion was rung. The devotion was a 30-minute programme, after which the NCCF executives introduced themselves one after the other, and we were intimated with the Dos and Don'ts of the Family House.

It had been a long day. My eyes were heavy with sleep, but bed spaces were at premium. The brothers' room was completely occupied, so I moved to the sitting room, laid a piece of cloth on the floor and slept off...

I had a feeling of relief and disappointment at the same time - relief because I've heard stories of local government areas without mobile networks and basic facilities (Ikom is not one of those), and disappointment because representatives of Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) had assured us when they visited the camp that graduates in engineering disciplines would be posted to places related to their fields.

I left my platoon stand and headed for the RCCF stand at Mami. I met a lot of people there; some with long faces, others looking excited. It was evident that a lot of people were not happy with their Place(s) of Primary Assignment (PPA).
"Where were you posted to?" Peter asked, his face brisking with smiles.
"It's a secondary school in Ikom local government".
"You're lucky because Ikom is one of the best local government areas. Here's the list for people posted to Ikom, put your name down".
Peter later addressed corpers posted to Ikom, informing us that RCCF did not have a Family House in Ikom at the time but would set up one the following month. He handed us over to Nigerian Christian Corpers Fellowship (NCCF). Meanwhile, Ade was posted to a secondary school in Boki local government, and he looked devastated from the look on his face.

When we got to NCCF stand, there were a lot of people around with their belongings lying on the ground. It was evident that passengers outnumbered the vehicles available.
"Mr. Principle, Mr. Principle...", I heard a feminine voice call from behind. I turned around sharply, and it was a familiar face. It was Bose.
"Good afternoon", I greeted, squeezing out some smiles on my face.
"Where were you posted to?", she asked, showing little sense of courtesy.
"It's Ikom".
"That's good", she said in Yoruba, "We're going to the same local government. I'll repay you for what you did to me yesterday", she continued.
Bose and I met the previous day when I was on a queue to receive the NYSC monthly allowance. It was a long queue and she wanted to jump the queue by coming into my front which I resisted. I made her realise that I don't do it or allow it, stressing that it's a disservice not only to me, but also other patient people behind me on the queue. She seemed unimpressed by my little 'lecture' and begged someone else who allowed her to join the queue.

The travelling arrangement was hectic, but finally, at about 4:30 pm, a six-passenger car going to Ikom came around and I was able to secure a space in the front seat, and in no time, we were out of the Obubra camp.

IZUKWU: You say ikom lga,hmmm,well i know ikom, spend over two years there after my youth service though i didn't serve there. I lived in ikom ,itself near velous secondary school opposite their nysc office.i enjoyed that town. Its very lively.

You're right brother, it's a nice place.

I was awoken by the noise of people in the hostel that Tuesday morning. I reached for my waist pouch, brought out my mobile phone and checked the time; it was a few minutes after four. They had been narrating tales of corps members who had taken excessive alcohol the previous night and ended up doing some silly things. It had been rumoured that the payment of allowance was intentionally delayed till the eve of Passing Out Parade (POP) to avoid such extravagant behaviour by Corpers, which in the end seemed to have little effect though.

Still lying on the bed, I reflected on the experience I have had in the camp for the past three weeks. It dawned on me that I had been confined within the walls of Obubra camp for the entire length of that period, save for the endurance trek the previous Saturday that afforded me the opportunity of going through the streets of Obubra township.


I quickly said a short prayer, brought out the bucket of water I had kept under the bunk the previous night and headed outside to have my bath. It was still dark, so I decided to use the open space in front of the hostel. Being the last day of the camping exercise, I was more relaxed knowing that the military men would not come chasing us out to the meditation ground.


When it was 5:00am the central generating set was put on (the camp was not connected to the national grid, so we depended solely on generator). Not long after, the 'Obubra boys' began to show up with chants of 'Bucket to dash', 'Cloth to dash', 'Shoes to dash', soliciting for materials they knew that several corpers would leave behind. Prior to the final day of the orientation camp, their usual chants had been 'Water to fetch', 'Cloth to wash' and the likes.


I had arranged my belongings the previous night so I looked around to ensure I wasn't forgetting anything behind. When it was 6:30am, Ade asked if I was ready so that we would move our things out of the hostel.
"I'm ready", I replied.
"Let's get going, RCCF people will be waiting for us by now", he said.
Ade and I finished from the same institution. He is a tall, skinny young man that doesn't talk too much. We met at the gate on the first day in camp and living next to each other in the hostel brought us closer. We did almost everything together.


We were sweating profusely when we got to RCCF stand at Mami after a few minutes of trekking. My hands were strained as a result of the heavy load. A number of corpers were already on ground arranging their belongings.
"You're welcome brothers", Peter said, as we approached the stand.
Peter was the General Secretary of RCCF in the state. I'd met him a few times prior to the POP and he enlightened me about Cross River state - the people, the advantages and disadvantages associated with each local government, and how friendly and accommodating the people are towards corps members.
He had a handshake with us, and then pointed towards a plastic chair, "Put your things there so that we can properly number them to avoid mix up".
We did, and sat on some of the unoccupied chairs as more corpers arrived with their belongings.


"I want to get something to eat, do you mind joining me?" Jide asked.
"I don't", I replied, and then added "this would be the first time I'd be eating at Mami".
It was still early so many of the restaurants just started preparing their meals. We got to one and were told only white and jollof rice were available, a plate going for N250. We settled for Jollof rice and before we were done more corpers had trooped into the restaurant, some with their 'partners'. We soon left the restaurant for RCCF stand, stayed for a few minutes and then to the Parade Ground. Ade was taking part in the Martial Art, and so proceeded to where his colleagues were gathered while I moved down to the Volleyball court. On display on the court were a number of unclaimed photographs taken by different photographers. I scanned through some of them, then retreated to the edge of the court to sit down and go through some online newspapers on my phone. When it was a few minutes after 9:00 am, I could see the military men from where I was seated driving corps members out of the hostel towards the Parade Ground for the POP. By 10:00 am everything was set for the POP as those taking part in the parade had taken their places. There were four guards in all, with each guard having a commander while the overall commander stood in front of the parade. In the middle of the parade, between 2 and 3 guards were the Colour Party and the Band.
Then the wait for the state governor began. For the next couple of hours he didn't show up. At about 12:30 pm, the governor, represented by the Commissioner for Youth, Sports and Social Development finally showed up at the Parade Ground with his entourage. The POP started straight away with the National and NYSC anthems. The Commissioner inspected the parade, there were speeches from the state coordinator of NYSC and the Commissioner, the Martial Art group had their display - some of them breaking concrete bricks with their head, elbow and fists - as the parade drew to a close. Soon people began sprinting down to their platoon stands to receive their posting letters.


I quietly walked down to my platoon stand, which by then was crowded. The posting letters were arranged serially as the platoon officer called out the state codes.
"963..., 973..., 983..."
"983 is here", I responded.
"Where is your ID card?"
He checked the state code on the ID card and handed my posting letter to me. I moved away from the crowd and glanced through the letter. I had been posted to Community Secondary School, Ekirom in Ikom local government.

I will start my story with the final day on NYSC Orientation Camp. Updates will be coming later tonight.

For some reasons, I have decided to call the name of the town where the school is located Ekirom. Also, I will not be using the real identities of the characters involved, but be assured, this is not a fictional work. Everything I'll be writing is real. I also got to know that what transpired in my school could be considered a child's play when compared to other schools in the same local government.

Nigerians are not unfamiliar with exam malpractices. Recently, in the course of my service year at a secondary school in Ikom Local Government, I witnessed a new level of malpractices in SSCE (WAEC) that I think should be exposed.
In this memoir, I have chronicled my first-hand experience of this fraud that has been going on for years unhindered.