Chances & Moments

I assured her that I would get back to her as soon as I got home from church, and it appears that was enough to satisfy her. I went out the door to go to church. When I arrived at RCCF, I was immediately led inside. As I sat down, I was greeted with warm smiles from a great number of different corps members, so I'm guessing that a good number of them recognized me.

It was a pleasant time spent serving others. They hosted a short talk show in which the audience was encouraged to participate. A  member in the  audience would be given the option of selecting a question number or a speech number at random.

If the audience member chose a question number, the anchor would then read out the instructions for what the attendee needed to do.

I overheard a lovely lady usher whisper something to the host of the program, and he turned his attention towards me before announcing, "The next pick will come from the leader of platoon 2!" Please raise your hands for identification..."

I stood up and selected the second option, asking the anchor, "If given the opportunity, what are some of the things you would love to change about asaya camp?" Gehn! Genh! I didn't give it much thought; all I did was repeat the complaints that Bisola had been making earlier in the kitchen: The showers and toilets in the dorms, the meals that were prepared in the kitchen, etc. I could hear affirmative comments being made by corps members all around the church as they felt I had just hit the nail on the head: Yes. Exactly! Truth! Gbam!

As I continued on and on, those were the words that kept coming into my head. When I dropped the microphone, there was a deafening clap that followed. I had the sensation of being a genuine celebrity. The anchor prompted the audience to give me another round of applause as they were already clapping for me. Then he asked me to stand up once more and said, "Bros, don't take this the wrong way, shey you are the platoon leader?" I nodded.

"As a leader, please tell us how you intend to have a positive impact on your platoon and how you plan to set good examples for them to imitate," Gehn! Gehn! Now I was sure that the other person was trying to embarrass me. As the congregation remained still to hear what I had to say, the events of the morning came flooding back to me.

I cannot bring myself here to let them down. I did not. I quickly explained the role of a leader and emphasized the significance of leading by example, using the activity from this morning as an example to illustrate my point.

I explained to them that my platoon was supposed to be on kitchen duty, but after receiving a concerning call indicating that they were slacking off, I was forced to go into the boys' dormitory and mobilize them on my own.

I even stayed behind and assisted in the cooking, which is a great example of leading by setting an example for others. Claps could be heard reverberating throughout the hall as the crowd went wild. This is a nice sensation! "Bros, don't be nervous...please stand... Following the service, the usher who had been speaking in a hushed tone to the host of the program approached me.

She then proceeded to introduce herself while maintaining an air of surprise at the fact that I did not recognize her face. "Hello, my name is Jibowu and I am a member of your platoon." As we made our way back to her hostel, we talked the whole way. She only used a little bit of makeup, and her hair was styled in a very basic way. She informed me that she was from Auchi, which is located in the state of Edo, and that she attended Ambrose Ali University.

"I majored in English and literary studies, so I spent most of my time working at the observatory" she said. When I asked her what exactly she does at the observatory, she explained it to me. Conversation with her was enjoyable due to the fact that she possessed a high level of intelligence.

"Exactly where are you planning on going?" She inquired about this as we were getting very close to the women's dorm, but I had not yet turned around. I joked with her and said, "I want to walk you inside and make sure you are safe," and she laughed at my comment. To which I responded, "More like your guardian angel."

"I assure you, I am secure, so you can go". I taunted her once more as I pulled out my phone and handed it to her, saying, "Alright, just for me to be sure, dial your number here so I can call and be at rest that you are always safe," and then I handed her the phone. As she entered her phone number, a grin spread across her face.

She dialled my number and saved both of them. I proceeded towards the kitchen so that I could check on the members of my battalion who were preparing the meals for the afternoon. I did not see Batanga, but there were new folks present including Bisola and a few others. They greeted me as I walked in the door.

Several individuals inquired, "What did you bring for us, nau?" I found out that they were cooking rice and chicken at the time. The kitchen personnel were seen bringing trays of fried chicken when I came in. Before I departed, I pitched in and helped them with the washing a little bit. When I contacted Batanga, she told me that she had already gone to take a bath and that she would be coming later.

The line for the rice and chicken served on Sunday afternoon was quite lengthy. There were long queues and swarms of people waiting to be served, all of them had their food flasks with them. Some members of Platoon 2 who were waiting in line outside attempted to join us inside the kitchen, but the staff there declined their request.

After distributing the food and cleaning the flasks, we went back into the kitchen to sit down and eat what we had prepared. We were provided with enormous pieces of uncut chicken that had been set aside for us. Both Batanga and I were given two of those pieces of chicken as leaders. After we finished eating, Batanga and I proceeded to a local joint that was relatively near to the male hostel.

I requested her to wait inside the joint while I hurried inside to drop off my bible, and she complied with my request. It belongs to the Lord. l When I arrived at the hostel, the ugly guy (as I call him) was there blasting music from his music player at a high volume. He let me know that he had been looking for me all this time. That is when we took each other phone numbers.

He suggested that I accompany him to Mami, but I told him that I had an appointment with someone who was waiting for me at the shop that was adjacent to the hostel. Because he urged that we accompany him, we did so.

I sat down next to Batanga while we had an open and honest conversation about everything. The ugly one had some issues with the way the joint was set up. He intended to go to Mami and get some liqueurs there. I sat and had some can bear with Batanga and appreciated it.

 A solider who had just entered the establishment looked our way. His expression changed as soon as he saw Batanga and I together. Batanga was similarly displaying signs of concern across her entire body... The man in the uniform continued making his way over to our table, completely ignoring whatever it was he needed to get from the reception. As he approached closer, I was able to make out the contours of his face beneath the cap he wore... It was Sergeant Banjo, who was the Commander of my Platoon.

The expression on his face indicated that something was wrong. The way he gazed at me gave the impression that he was going to suffocate me to death. Batanga was feeling uneasy. Evidently, there was something she had kept from me that I should have known... She was keeping something from me. Something that would get me in trouble at camp. Something that would make my time there unbearable. She hid it.

CHUKS POV  (THE UGLY ONE)

The evening of Saturday was, without a doubt, one of the highlights of my time at the camp. My acquaintance who is also a photographer told me about a night club in Kaba where we could party together. That was a more accurate description.

I had already come to the conclusion that camp was going to be a dreary environment, and I had already made up my mind that if it continued in that vein, I was going to turn in my medical paperwork and head back home; there was never a dull time where I was coming from.

I was very excited to hear the information, and I had been looking forward to it in a significant way. That evening, we got the flow going on back at camp. My go-to hangout served as the venue, and we got the ball going from there.

I asked my friend Ella, who has long legs, to come with us. I let her know that we wouldn't be returning until the next day, so she made sure to bring some lightweight clothing with her. We ate some beefy steak and drank some Remy Martin when we were high. As the drinks kept coming, I was hanging out with a friend of mine from the military and the photographer.

I have already discussed my plans with my soldier friend who is in the military, and he has given me a go ahead signal. He gave us his word that he would drive us to Kabba in his jeep. As we were leaving camp to go to kabba, Ella changed her clothes inside the golf.

My soldier friend drove us past the gate while he was dressed in uniform. Because I was getting low on cash, he drove me to an ATM in the area, where I was able to make some withdrawals and then purchase a pair of jean pants from a roadside boutique.

We went to the room reserved for the photographer, where I changed into a pair of jean trousers. His neighbor acquaintance spotted us and expressed interest in coming along, but the military man declined his request. I didn't bother asking him why he was acting that way because I figured that soldiers could be unpredictable at times.

I handed him some cash and then asked him to take a taxi to the location where we were meeting. After some time had passed, the photographer had a conversation with his neighbor. And with that, we went; the other person never showed up. We went out in grand style, but my military friend wouldn't enter the club because he was still wearing his uniform.

I had a hunch that it had something to do with the way soldiers are trained, so me and my friends went in there by ourselves as he drove back to Assaya.

The nightclub was not as classic as those I am used to frequenting, but that was okay: as long as it sells liquor, it's still ookaaay to me. It was packed with high-class individuals in addition to the neighborhood regulars. The women who went there wore very enticing clothing, such as bump shorts, sleeveless tops, show backs, and a variety of other sensual and hot clothes.

Some of them danced by themselves, while others did it with the other girls. I got down at a table with Ella and the photographer, and there were already two other girls seated there. I approached the bartender and placed an order for my preferred liquor as well as some Irish cream for Ella.

As the blaring music from the speakers blared through the hall, we smoked cigarettes and drank alcohol. It was decked out with both the standard stage lights and other sparkling lights that seemed more posh. I placed an order for additional Irish cream as well as an additional bottle to share with the two young women who were sitting nearby. They exchanged looks with one another before thanking me. Ella and I started dancing together.

People couldn't help but notice our height difference and gaze at us in disbelief as we walked down the street. She was noticeably taller than I was. The expressions on their faces were priceless to me. After spending a few  hours at the club and having quite a few drinks with the photographer, we made plans to head back home. I recommended to the photographer that he go to the club and pick up a pretty girl.

He appeared uncertain; it's possible that he lacked the necessary funds. He thought it would be a wonderful plan, and he has already let his next-door neighbor know that he will be staying in his room tonight. He agreed that it would be a good idea.

Consequently, I looked around the club, and there were a lot of girls dancing, some of whom were seated alone, and others of whom were seated with their friends.

The two young women who had been sitting at the table with us have since moved on. While one was out on the dance floor with a new acquaintance, the other was working her way through the bottle of Baileys cream that we had left for her.

I approached her quickly and informed her that I desired to see her and have a conversation with her outside. he  She accepted and we went for a walk outside while my friends where still inside.

I informed her that a photographer friend of mine would be interested in spending the night with her at his apartment . She wanted to know, "Where does he live?" "I truly don't know the name, as I am new to this place, but it's not far."

 She said, "Are you corpa member in the state ?" I responded with "Yes," and she flashed a grin. I continued by saying, "Don't worry about a thing; I'll take good care of you." She eyed me warily before finally looking at me. She stated, "I would like to return to school tomorrow, and in order to do so, I will need money to purchase few items."

“Alright”. I said. "I will offer you 5,000 naira for your provision, but you have to guarantee that my friend will be happy." I made her aware of it. She appeared content with herself. As she entered the lobby, the first thing she said was, "Allow me to inform my friend."