Just last month,some youth corp members had their passing out parade. A lot of folks and foes congratulated the lucky ones. I mean serving your father land isn't "something like a joking sturv" *in Falz voice* and those first 3 weeks of orientation ehn! Hehehehe,no be small matter o. From you having to wake up as early as 3am to the strenous "exercise" you have to endure,the corporal punishment and the way the "ajebutters" faint ehn,abeg I dey fear say I no go wan do this thing ooo. Well,enough talk about me,KOPA SHAN Series isn't about Kitty. And so on the first series of "KOPA SHAN",we would be talking to one of the many who successfully passed out of the Youth Corps Service,get to read all about his days in school to the present.
Without much ado,I give to you Tijani Oluwamayowa Emmanuel,aka The Abefe Okin,a graduate of Food Technology,University of Ibadan and most importantly,a journalist. *wow*..surprised right? Well,let's get to know more..You ready???
Kitty: Can we meet you?
Tj: I am Tijani Oluwamayowa Emmanuel,a graduate of the premier university and a practicing journalist.
Kitty: Hmmm..the Premier University. What is it about Uites that make them say that word "Premier" with so much pride? Yes we know that Uniibadan is the first university in Nigeria but the way the students say it with so much pride makes it seem like there is more to the word "Premier".
Tj: Premier,stems from the Latin word "Primus" which gave birth to Prime,meaning, Unique,Eccentric and Altogether Different. A school of though believes it's from "Premiere",a French word meaning First. But in all University of Ibadan would always be the primus inter pares,First among equals!
Kitty:*sighs*,Uniibadan sha,okay oh. It brings me to the next question. I have heard a lot about the "UI standard". I mean when Public speakers,orators go outside the school community to debate or speak,they always talk about the "UI standard" that can be met by other schools. As a journalist and even a renowned public speaker and orator,what do you think about this "over hyped" standard?
Tj: The UI standard is multifaceted. The average UI student has a personal standard,the average graduate knows more and is well respected amongst other graduates. In NYSC sojourn,I came to respect the university even more. You get to camp and you just say it by chance that you are from UI,everything changes. If you are a girl,some guys from other schools get somewhat intimidated. If you are a guy,welcome to the honeymoon. You just become some demigod. There is this aura that comes with the UI brand,it cannot just be totally explained. As for public speaking and other competitions,there is a minimum expectation for UI students out there. Every student who let this university pass through him or her must be able to meet up. Woe unto you if you don't let UI pass through you as a uite.
Kitty: hmmm,I can't wait to serve ooo. Alright moving on,as a 3time consecutive recipient of the best campus journalist in the Premier,a press member of the Union Campus Journalist(UCJ),what did you gain when you were in school and how has it helped your career?
Tj: This was a question I was faced with as a student. I rarely attended classes towards the end,I had found my calling,I went after it. People asked if I was paid,I wasn't. I wrote for Tribune,Guardian,
Saharareporters and TheScoopNG. No one paid me,I was building myself. When I got out of school,getting a job was "child's play",i didn't have to struggle. The sacrifices paid up,i even became sought after by God's gace. Everything pays,just give it time.
Kitty: Wow..interesting. So you are called "The Abefe Okin",what brought about this Panegyric.
Tj: It is my "oriki",it literally means "he who might be begged to be loved,dated and married. It affected my stay in school starting from 300level when many girls began asking me out. *feeling embarrassed*
Kitty: Me sef go dey bear Abefe Kitty Okin,make boys sef dey queue for my front and back..*giggles*. I love that though. So Abefe Okin! Let us go back to your days as a corper,what was it like?
T.j: It was fun,i didn't have sex as feared. When I told a lady that,she said my NYSC was boring. But in the real sense,it was fun. I had 2 families. The Eko Kopa Editorial and Publicity team and Eko Kopa Radio team. I also had the Cable family. They made life worth every bit of it,it was great fun and challenging. In no time,it was all over.
Kitty: awwwn,lovely. So how was the 3weeks orientation camp? The early call to the parade ground,the boring lectures and all? Especially the last 3days in camp which is usually fun like all corpers do say.
Tj: I went to a military secondary school,so for me it was just normal. I didn't feel the way others felt around soldiers,i knew what to expect. Parades were "norms" back in secondary school. What people experienced in 3weeks,I had done for 6years. Beat that! *winks*. I left Bayelsa camp,my original state of deployment for Lagos,so my last 3days were normal. Nothing hyper.
Kitty: So tell me,what's up with this mentality that graduates go to camp with? I mean they think the camp is a place to have fun and a sex platform where you get to have fun unlimited,unrestrained. You hear things like "even nuns and spirikoko gets to shag". Is that what the 3weeks in camp especially the last 3days really about?
Tj: No ma'am,many of us didn't indulge ourselves in such rather illicit acts. I don't drink,nor did I drink in camp. I don't give myself to sex and sort,neither did I too in camp and I have friends I can vouch for that didn't do such. Lucas,Pelumi,Segun,Samuel and no be say na we holy pass oooo.
Kitty: *laughs*..abeg guys should be like you people oh. That brings me to the general belief about NYSC and relationships. I once heard a friend say to another friend whose boyfriend was leaving for service. He said to her,"he will break up with you,I mean niccur would want to enjoy his service year now,lot of girls in camp,booze and parties,no dull am o.. he might come back after a year sha." I laughed and started to think of why he would say such. But it is true you know,girls get scared when their guys go to serve because they think their relationships would crumble,I mean the long distance,attraction to someone else,sexual matters and all. In all,do you think NYSC is really the end to most relationships?
Tj: Yes,may relationships end during that year but it is because those relationships were not built on the right foundation in the first place. Some do not lose their relationships during service year,but their partners have "fun",sex and all with other persons claiming they don't know who is handling their partners back home. It is just a sure index that the relationship wasn't worth it in the first place. When they become husbands,they had do the same anytime work posts them out of their spouse sight.
Kitty: Thank you very much for that T.J. Let's now talk about the N19,800 monthly allowance corpers get from the federal government. Do you feel it should be increased?
Tj: I am torn between two schools of thought on that. Everyone wants more money but not every should get more money. If the money is increased to say fifty thousand naira and you collect that every month and live comfortably,when you are done with NYSC and you have no job or a job paying below that,you may find it hard to cope. Personally,I think N19,800 is small,especially those whose states do not pay a dime and their PPA pay them less than N5,000. But I think NYSC should be more about empowerment than money.
Kitty: That is true. So I guess this is the question on everybody's mind. What is next after NYSC? Most importantly,where do you see yourself in the next 5years?
Tj: I got a job with about 4 firms,notable among them were Vanguard newspaper and The Cable. So for me,God has doused my Post-NYSC tension. So your "what next" question is easier to answer. I'd be pursuing my journalism career. And in the next 5years,I should be a few years away from the peak of my career.
Kitty: Great. So in how many years time would the wedding bells ring?
Tj: Vision2020
Kitty: So quickly,what will you say you have achieved in the last few years?
Tj: God has helped me. He is built a solid foundation for the name I hope to have in the years to come. A good name is better than gold and silver. Winning the Nigerian Championship of Public Speaking (NCPS) in 2013 and mentoring the 2014 teams were a good bedrock for my public speaking career.
Winning FOPA,UCJ and Campus Times awards as best campus journalist were also solid starts. As God would have it,even during my service year,a few hours and life changing stories were achieved. For me,it has been a fulfilling milestone.
Kitty: What is your advise to the present corpers and ones that recently passed out?
Tj: Excellence pays,whatever you do,be excellent at it. Even if it is street sweeping.
Kitty: Do you have anything to say to TheFACET readers?
Tj: Yes I do. TheFACET would be very big in the days to come,as a reader on this platform,be ardent,drop comments,get known as a top commentator,because when it gets big,you can also say "WE BUILT THAT BRAND."
*smiles* thank you so much Abefe Okin! I hope to be greater than you though(when I grow up)..lol..it was really nice having a chat with you and I hope to hear more success stories about you as the years roll over. See you at the top,TheFACET loves you!
******************************************** I guess that brings us to the end of this interview session for the KOPA SHAN series for the month of August. Look forward to meeting the next KOPA on KOPA SHAN in September. You really don't want to miss out. See you next time,next month and come with high expectations. Chao chao*kisses*
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