How I Was Scammed During My NYSC Year

No one knows about how I was scammed during my time as a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member, serving a mandatory year-long service to Nigeria after an undergraduate degree. I have not shared it with anyone because it is not only embarrassing but also makes me appear to be trying to boycott the system. As much as systems don’t work in Nigeria, I always prefer to go through the long process of waiting and waiting rather than pay to get ahead. I am, however, sharing now because my experience reflects the entire structure of systems and why, for a long time, it might not change.

From Osun State, I was posted to Akwa Ibom for camp, where, together with other corps members, I would spend two weeks parading and connecting with others from different parts of the country. Although NYSC has the relocation option to transfer to any other state apart from the state you studied in and your state of origin, applying for relocation doesn’t guarantee approval. You could apply to be relocated to Lagos and find a different state on your portal. But, like many things in Nigeria, if you know someone who knows someone in the system, you could pay to get your relocation approved. That was what I wanted to do.

After applying for the in-camp relocation, I decided to also pay a person who claimed they could get it done. The person had a group chat with over 250 corp members who were in the group for relocation purposes or simply for NYSC updates. However, the group was locked, and the person alone could share messages to the group. When I reached out to the person for services, they were not interested in taking calls. I insisted I could only trust them when I spoke to a…