We ARE our Biggest Problem

So, we were at Community Development (CD) yesterday, and the coordinator came in to talk to us about doing better at developing our community (Maybe I should start with some background info).

Every corper has a day during the week when he/she is expected to show up at the designated local government area office to take part in 'real community service'. So, a corper could be in the traffic management group, or the environmental group, etc. At each meeting, you'd do something related to the goal of your group, for the benefit of the local government area you belong to. After meetings, you should get your CD card signed as proof that you were present.

Anyway, so the lady spoke against our non-chalant attitudes and explained that the only reason she gives us grief is 'cause we've completely abandoned the real gist of CD and are only concerned about getting our cards signed, and disappearing. She then asked us to talk amongst ourselves about things/projects we could take on and, you know, get busy with what CD is all about.

As soon as she finished talking, this nincompoop started making noise, asking the President of the group to do something about getting our cards signed. And I'm thinking to myself: 'is she an idiot, or just pretending to be one?' It may be safe to say here that I'm not an oversabi house-babe. I don't love going to these meetings. In fact, I think the entire program is a joke, because what it has deteriorated into is a far cry from what it was intended to achieve. Corp members live in fear in some states, and some others finish the service year and are left roaming the streets, looking for jobs. Let's leave that for another post. Now, where was I?

Yes. So, though I do not love the program I believe there is a correct way to ensure that it works in your favor. What if everyone of us was as selfish and short-sighted as this 'colleague' of mine? The whole world would be in a major regression. Did she think that the rest of us enjoyed sitting and wasting away? Hell, we were even trying to help by discussing projects and stuff. (We had to show her minutes of our discussion before she'd sign the stupid cards).

This, I believe, all boils down to the Nigerianness that we have to unlearn, for a better future for this country. Say Girl and I ended up in the same organization in the future, (though I'm sure we won't work well together), I would not entrust any responsibilities to her, because my understanding of her attitude is that she is unable to think of anyone but herself.

Maybe I'm thinking too deep, 'cause it's just NYSC right? That's easy to say, but the truth is that it's not just NYSC. There's a Yoruba proverb that says: Iri ni si, ni iso'ni l'ojo. (Someone please help me translate it verbatim), but the general idea is that you judge someone by the picture they portray of themselves. My mind doesn't put the situation in context, and say: 'Oh, she was frustrated, yada yada'.

Ok, lemme just stop.