This is a story of how I went to boko haram once held territory to get aid for prison inmates. It came with a price of course.
In September, 2014 I was In Onitsha picking and selling scrap metals (akpakara) from bin to bin, street to street, market to market when I received the good news that I was posted to Gombe state for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).
As a man than believe in providence and fate, I accepted it even when my parents and siblings discouraged me and you can’t blame them.
Then, Boko Haram attacks was eminent in the North East including Gombe state to the point that we had to be camped in Niger state for security reason.
When I began the service, as a young man with passion for community service, I ventured into a voluntary personal community development service at Gombe state central Prison yard (inspired by my encounter with a Mandela Washington Fellow at YALI Rollout in Kano that year).
I began by getting consent from the prison head, identified the challenge (the proposed project), then carried out a cost analysis for the projects which includes
i. Renovation of the dilapidated Prison Clinic
ii. Painting of some parts of the prison yard (into a better face lift)
iii. Provision of Medical equipment for the Clinic
iv. Provision of the drugs and sanitary enough to cater for the 948 inmates for 3 months
v. Construction of skill acquisition house for the prisoners (was not successful)
Note that this prison was meant to occupy just 350 inmates but instead it had about 948 inmates thereby stretching their resources.
After the project was approved by NYSC, I began to carry out campaign and solicitations for the project, I wrote letters and travel from one local government to another (Kaltungo, Funakaye, Gombe etc), Supermarkets to Pharmaceutical shops, from one government agency/parastatals to another including the Central Bank of Nigeria and the State Government house.
After several visits and follow ups, there was no progress as such I began the project with the 70,000 Naira I saved up to buy things for my parents after NYSC. Executing a project with your personal money was against the NYSC but I had to start the project, snap it and use the picture to solicit for more fund.
It worked because, I received some donations from A. A. Aliyu pharmacy Gombe LGA, Rotary club of Kaltungo LGA, and Ashaka cement factory of Funakaye LGA (which sponsored all the drugs and sanitary in my project).
Note that, during the same period Boko Haram (insecurity) attacks was at its pick in the state as anytime I am going out to solicit, I fear if I may not come back alive but I had no choice because that’s (community service) what makes me happy.
So when Ashaka cement factory called me, I went to collect the drugs and they surprised me by providing A pool car to help me take it to the motor pack before the evening military curfew but I was met with a bigger surprised when my aid was mistaken for a bomb (details later).
After the whole project, I was nicknamed by the inmates as the MASTER, I won the state award as the best Corp member in Gombe state out of about 2,000 Corp members posted to the state amid insecurity.
This was part of what inspired my coaching journey for community development service where I created a platform (https://www.nairaland.com/
Below is a facebook link on some of the lives this post inspired
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2126265534113521&id=100001902857232&ref=bookmarks
The video documentary:
I am Just a Servant (Bawa)
Tetengi
