Being Mrs Dantata

01

September, 2020

Abuja, Nigeria.

"I pledge to Nigeria my country, to be faithful, loyal and honest. To serve Nigeria with all my strength, to defend her unity, to uphold her honour and glory. So help me God."

"Hands down!"

Like the perfectly trained people they were, the two thousand five hundred corp members in the orientation camp put their hands down and waited silently as the camp's commanding officer marched to the NYSC State Coordinator of the Federal Capital Territory to ask for permission to dismiss the corp members for the last time.

Hanan blew out a slow breath, the heat getting to her even though it was still somewhat early. Last time she checked, it was half past 9AM. If her maths were right, they were a few minutes past 10AM. She couldn't wait to leave. She couldn't remember the last time she had gotten so tired of a place.

At the thought of what she and her friends had planned once they were out of the four walls of the orientation camp, she smiled. That was something she couldn't wait for. Checking out where she was posted to could wait. She'd deal with that much later in the day.

The dismissal approval was given and it took less than ten minutes for the entire orientation programme to officially come to an end. Platoons scattered as people ran to hug each other, screaming and laughing. Hanan smiled at those in her platoon who congratulated her and then smiled for the pictures she was pulled into. When the opportunity presented itself, she bolted and went in search of her friends.

While they had been in the same hostel for the three weeks they spent in the camp, she was the only one not in a different platoon. There were days it got to her but the moments they spent laughing and talking over meals and snacks in Mami market and during SAED lectures made up for it.

She spotted them easily and with a wide smile, she rushed over. "Guys!"

Like everyone else, they were excited. Four of them squeezed themselves into a number of selfies, their smiles wide. The one whose phone they used – Faridah – went through the pictures as soon as they finished. She nodded and raised her head. "Perfect. I'll send them to the group."

Hanan adjusted her belt, impatient to get out of the khaki and crested vest. "The plan is still the same, right?"

They nodded. Yusrah, the darkest in the group of four, spoke first. "We go home, freshen up and then meet up at Athena. Hanan, have you made the reservation?"

Hanan nodded. "I called them again before the parade. They said the table's been reserved. They said we didn't need to make a reservation though and I told them we just wanted to be safe than sorry."

The final member of the group and the loudest, Layefa, sighed dreamily. "I can't wait to get the Athena experience. I hope we meet popular people. My Instagram has been dry and I need to ginger my followers up a bit."

Faridah typed quickly on her phone. "Tell me about it." She then hissed. "These people should do and open the gate abeg. Let us be going home. Ina son abinci wallahi."

Hanan, who could only hear bits and pieces of Hausa thanks to them, exhaled and looked around. Their fellow corp members were still laughing and congratulating each other for successfully reaching the end of the orientation programme. She knew there were some people she would never see again. They were going to be posted to different districts and be assigned different community service groups. Some were going to redeploy to other states for one reason or the other. They were all going to go their separate ways and only those who had formed friendship circles like hers were going to really stay in touch.