My NYSC Story: Someone’s suicide note almost landed me in trouble

Every year, Nigerian graduates commit to serving the country by participating in the mandatory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).

These young people leave home for a three-week orientation camp in a state far away from what they’re familiar with and where they’re expected to live and work for 11 months.

Sani, a corps member in Abuja almost got caught up in a police case because he received a suicide note.

Where did you serve?

Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria. That wasn’t where I was initially posted to, but I was scared of insecurity and I wanted to avoid the core of northern Nigeria. I worked at Customs headquarters.

How was orientation camp?

It was just normal. I didn't even attempt to make many new friends. Sad, right? Though when I left camp, I started missing the experience.

Did you experience any culture shock?

Not really, I grew up in Kogi State, it’s not so far from Abuja.

What’s the most significant thing that happened during your NYSC?

A fellow corper wrote a suicide letter to his friend, who was my colleague. The letter requested that my colleague handle all his bank transactions for him, like giving some money to his mum, because he would be dead in a short while.

Unfortunately, my colleague wasn't at work the day someone came to deliver the note, so I collected it on his behalf and gave it to him the next day.

When we saw the content of the letter, we had to report it to the police. We later found out that his phone was switched off and his sisters said he left home two days ago without any trace.

The police became involved and they came to take us to their station, they wanted someone to hold someone accountable if he committed suicide.

Somehow we were called for questioning, interrogated and accused because they wanted to know who dispatched the letter. I didn't bother to take note of who delivered the letter, I only knew who wrote the letter.

What happened next?

They let us go after some hours of questioning. He eventually showed up three days later. I guess he must have heard that everyone was looking for him. He just wanted to scare his sisters because he felt they weren't treating him right in the house.

Do you think the NYSC Scheme should continue?

I'm a strong advocate of national unity and integration. I used to support scrapping NYSC before, but now I want it to continue. The so-called allowance should be a one-time payment to enable corpers to invest in a business with emphasis on the knowledge they got from the Skills Acquisition & Entrepreneurship Department (SAED) during camp.