A 419 Corps Member.


 

A 419 Corps Member

‘When it was 4:00 pm we gathered as usual at the pavilion to watch football and volleyball matches. The football match was between platoon five and six. While in volleyball, platoons eight and two slugged it out. My friends and I decided to stay closer to the volleyball pitch and to watch football match a far off. Since we only paid attention to football match yesterday because of Marklong. The volleyball was only for females and football for male corps members. So, it involved females from platoons eight and two to lock horns together on the volleyball court.

 ‘The referee blew the whistle. The vibrant players began to show their skills in the world of volleyball. As we continue to watch the volleyball match, I noticed that as those ladies began to jump up to punch the ball over the bar, Chukwu felt somehow. Eventually platoon two won the march with 2-0 while the football match ended in a goalless draw. We left the field and proceeded to the hostel. On the way I asked what was disturbing Chukwu when the volley was going on. Yaya said, he also observed that Chukwu felt restless whenever those ladies jumped or bent down.’

“Don’t you know that, Chukwu likes woman too much?” Wazobia laughed. “Let me tell you the truth. He was mesmerized by the gracious curves of those ladies. As they jumped up or bent down the two round raised parts on their chests jump up and down with them. Lovely! This sent erotic feeling down the spine of my man, Chukwu. His body shook from the crown of his head to the tip of his toes. If you hear that Chukwu dies tomorrow, it is a woman that kills him. Take it or leave it, my guys.”

“I do not understand what you people are insinuating about my action,” Chukwu grumbled. “It is a fool that will see good things and fail to appreciate them─ the works of Almighty God. I believe God did extra works on those young women. Are you guys blind or impotent that you cannot see the beauty of those damsels, playing attendance on them? Can’t you see their body’s gracious curves? Whoa! See their buttocks and the other anti-hills on their chests. They look amazing! Love is strong as death!” 

“My guy, this one is not love but lust,” Yaya warned. “But do not forget that woman and wine, game and deceit, make the wealth small, and the wants great. You are playing with fire if you continue your life like this. You cannot control your emotion and what your eyes should focus on. Oh, you are giving your eyes too much liberty. How I wish you follow me to our sensitization training tomorrow in reproductive health and HIV/Aids group.”

“I’m in anti-corruption group,” Wazobia said. “And I know that Yaya is in medical and health services group. When do you have your training, Yaya?”

“Two o’ clock in the afternoon.”

“Drug abuse and quality control group that I belong to, we are not having any training till Monday, when we swing into action,” I explained. “I know that in road safety group, Chukwu’s group, they hardly have training.

“You are wrong, man!” Chukwu shouted.

“Have you become a soldier or the camp commandant?” I laughed. Chukwu smiled and said, is like we were misunderstanding this clause ‘YOU ARE WRONG’

“But the Camp Commandant has not once said we are right, why?” I questioned.

“In military, they hardly praise people,” Chukwu clarified. “When you do the right thing, they will tell you that is what you are supposed to be doing, no praise or appreciation. In doing what we ought to do we deserve no praise, because it is our duty. That is their take in military. Except you do some things exceptionally. They are poised to correct your mistakes or wrong doings. Let us put that one aside. We do have training also, but for tomorrow nothing of such.”

“No problem, Yaya,” I assured him. “We will converge in front of multipurpose hall tomorrow’s afternoon, from there; we proceed to the training point. We all unanimously agreed. On the following day that was Saturday, after the military drills, we met in front of the multipurpose hall at 2:00pm as earlier agreed.

‘I peeped into the hall through the window. Some corps members were watching a premier league match on satellite between Chelsea (the Blues) and Arsenal (the Gunners).

“What is your club? Yaya asked. “Am Red Devil, a faithful fan of Manchester United.”

‘My hands and legs belong to Super Eagle,’ I answered. We all laughed. Then, we moved to the medical and health service group point. We met forty corps members seated there. We joined them as the coordinator was addressing them:

“I greet you all, my gentlemen corps members. Something is worthwhile in life: rendering service to another fellow human being. Let me share this with you:

“A group of thirty people attended a seminar. All of a sudden, the speaker stopped and started giving each person an inflated balloon. Each person should write his/her name on it using a particular pen given to them. Then, he retrieved all the balloons and put them in a big room. Now these participants were to go into the room and find the balloon which had their respective names written on. They were to do this within 5 minutes. Everyone was anxiously looking for his/her name, elbowing his/her ways and colliding with one other, and there was a commotion. Five minutes past, no one was able to find his/her own inflated balloon. Now, each one was asked to randomly pick a balloon and give it to the person whose name was written on it. Wow, within 3 minutes everyone had gotten his/her balloon. The speaker began;

“This exactly is what is happening in our lives. Everyone is frantically looking for happiness all round, not knowing where it is. Our happiness lies in the happiness of other people. Help them find their happiness and you will get your own happiness too. And this is the purpose of human life …learn to put a smile on someone’s face, and you will also smile in due season.”

“With that short story, what I’m saying is that it pays to put smile on others’ faces and most importantly to serve one’s fathers-land and make it a better place to live in. That is our mission and vision in this group. Today, I will beam the searchlight on the danger of HIV/Aids on our society. Thereafter, I will give you a story to express the gravity of harms, hurts and havoc HIV/Aids can unleash on any careless or carefree individual and even to the entire human race.

          What is Aids? Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) occurs when infection with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) destroys the body’s natural protection from illness. The immune system is weakened to the point where it can be invaded by "opportunistic" infections and certain cancers. These infections would not cause problems for healthy people. For people with AIDS, they may cause serious or even life-threatening problems. Blood is an important part of the body’s immune system. White blood cells help protect people from disease. Certain white blood cells called T cells perform a crucial role. Some of the T cells are "helper" cells that signal other cells to do their jobs. HIV attacks and destroys the "helper" T cells. When enough cells are destroyed, the immune system no longer works and the patient has AIDS.

“Sir, sorry for cutting you,” Chukwu stood up and interrupted. “When you mention HIV/Aids, the word struck me like two-edged sword. I believe beyond a shadow of doubt that HIV/Aids is real indeed. But is it true that it spreads among human being like dry season fire in a thick forest? Are they right, those people that say HIV is spread by food utensils, towels and bedding, swimming pools, telephones, toilet seats and mosquito bites?”

“Curiosity and anxiety were boldly written on Chukwu’s face. My friends exchanged a known look and chuckled.

“Calm down, my young man,” the coordinator fondly said. “Studies have shown that HIV is not spread through these types of casual contact. Although the risks of "deep" kissing are not clear, there is no evidence that the virus is spread through modest contact with saliva, tears, or sweat, or through contact with urine or feces. Unfortunately, there are many myths about how HIV is spread. Your loved one’s family members and friends may wonder if they can "catch" HIV. The disease is contagious but it cannot be spread from person to person through the air. It is usually spread through sexual contact with an infected partner.’’

          “Hearing sexual contact, my friends cast quick glances at Chukwu. Chukwu, noticing their reactions, his brow creased in mild anger and focused on the speaker, pretending as if the training was catching his total attention. 

“HIV can also be spread through contact with infected blood,” he continued. “This can occur when drug users share needles or syringes. Most HIV infections in children are passed from mother to child during pregnancy, labor and delivery, or breastfeeding. However, thanks to preventive treatment regimens, the incidence of mother-to-child HIV transmission is decreasing. Other causes of child HIV include: Blood transfusions using infected blood or injections with unsterilized needles can lead to HIV infection.”

‘Wazobia raised his hand. The speaker allowed him to ask his question.

“Sir, if I understand you clearly, what you are saying is HIV/Aids is deadly. We should know our HIV status and encourage others to do so. I have done HIV test and I believe my blood system and body chemistry are free from the intimidating monster─ HIV/Aids. I think I can continue to enjoy my life with pleasure.”

“You have rightly spoken. But one thing you have to do now is avoid the AIDS risk factors which are: Sharing needles or syringes, Sexual contact (including oral, anal or vaginal sex) with someone who is HIV positive or whose HIV status is unknown, without the protection of a latex male condom and having another sexually transmitted disease such as syphilis, herpes, chlamydial infection, gonorrhea or bacterial vaginosis seems to increase the risk of being infected by HIV during unprotected sexual contact with an infected partner.”

          ‘Chukwu wanted to stand up and ask another question. But, Wazobia who sat beside cautioned him not to do so. I nodded to him that he should allow him. So, he stood and asked, “Is there any hope of good living for anybody who contacts HIV?”

“Yes,’ the speaker replied. “ HIV is not a death sentence as some people think. Society should care for those who live with HIV. They should not stigmatize them. Most importantly, the good news is that HIV and its complications often can be treated. With proper treatment, most infected patients can live relatively normal lives for many years. Even with the onset of AIDS, symptoms can be greatly diminished by treatment. Treatment options include: AIDS treatments, Antiviral therapy known as antiretroviral drugs, Treatments for infections, Treatments for cancers and Treatments for symptoms.

“The greatest treasure human being has is his/her health status. If you are sound as coin, it is your treasure; guard it jealously. Health is great riches. Health is better than wealth. A good wife and health is a man’s wealth. But take note, the only enemy of your health is disease. Disease comes in different ways, majorly from your environment and people you interact with. What enters your mouth if is not well treated can cause disease and slaughter your health like a Christmas goat. More importantly, your blood should be carefully protected against any germs. Life is in blood. What enters your blood enters your whole being. All diseases cause harms to the body chemistry and when the horror (HIV) manipulates its way to your blood stream. It ravages the body system and cause great havoc which leads to death. See what happened to this group of people.

“Ali was a brilliant boy. When he was processing his admission into a university, he met one man who was in 400level, studying Philosophy in the school. Yusuf assisted Ali to make sure that his admission was successful.  Eventually, Ali was admitted to study Pharmacy. He kept on helping Ali financially and in other relevant aspects. One day when Yusuf was in final year and Ali in 200 level, Yusuf called him and said, ‘I take you as my school son since you have entered this school. Even though I did not know you from Adam, I still have interest and passion for you. I discovered since you have been on this campus I did not see you in any social group.

“Yes. I have not got one.”

“There is one social group I want to introduce to you. I’m in that group also. I want you to be part of us. Or how do you see it?”

“You are my caring school father. You always want the best for me. No problem, I will join. But I want to ask, which social group is it? Is it like Press Club we normally do in secondary school?”

“No. You will know when we get to meeting. Just meet me at exactly 8:00pm under the mango tree in front of Economics lecture theatre.”

‘Ali came to the place at the agreed time. He had waited for 45minutes when he decided to proceed to hostel. As he was about to leave, Yusuf emerged.’

“Sorry for coming behind schedule, Ali,” he pleaded. “We are not meeting here again. The meeting will hold off campus.”

‘So they proceeded on the way out of the campus premises. They were going along a footpath’

“This is ten o’ clock,” Ali said, throwing cursory look at his wristwatch. He was enveloped in fear and worry. Everywhere was covered in a gross darkness.

“No problem,” Yusuf assured him as they were moving farther away from the campus arena.

‘Soon enough, they entered an open place. Ten hefty men in black tops and trousers, stood in a particular circular pattern, their eyes rounded with horror and anger. They were smoking Indian hemp with pleasure; the way a white man felt whenever he drank hot tea. In their hands were cutlasses and axes in shades and shapes. They were singing horrendous songs as they banged their legs on the ground and danced round in circular form. The expression on the Ali’s face was confusion mixed with bewilderment. In despair, he looked at Yusuf who quickly signaled to him to remain silent. Darkness covered everywhere except the central that was bathed in the soft light of a lantern.

‘The head of the group gave a sign. Immediately, the songs stopped. He then, roared with a cold laughter and began to talk in thunderous manner:

“I welcome you all to this meeting. The last attack we had with Black Axe’s group claimed the lives of some of our members. If we look around we could see that Scorpion and Tiger are no more in our midst. They have crossed to the other side. But, I want to announce to everybody here that the battle line is drawn between Black Axe and ours─ the Red Sword.”

‘Yes!” they barked.

‘The ghastly truth dawned on Ali that he has been lured into a secret cult. A terrifying panic engulfed him. His life flashed before his eyes. He remembered how his parent had warned him to be a well- mannered and a God-fearing student on the campus. The danger embedded in the secret cult flashed through his brain. He was helpless and began to stifle an urge to cry. His heart raced.

‘Yusuf went to their leader and whispered some words into his ear. Thereafter, one of the members who also brought a new person strode the leader and mumbled some words to him.

“We have two strangers in our midst today,” the leader continued. “I believed they will skillfully fill the vacuum created by Scorpion and Tiger. They will be initiated into the group this night.”

‘So he called them out. Yusuf winked at the Ali that he should go out or else he was playing with his dear life. They both came out reluctantly; dread could easily be read all over them. He brought out a calabash and asked them to stretch out their left hands over the calabash. He cut them with one small sharp object, blood oozed out and it trickled down to the calabash. Every one of them began to come out and did likewise. Later he licked the blood and passed it round onto other. They also licked it. After the whole scenario, Yusuf called Ali and warned him seriously never to breathe a word of what happened to anybody. That the day he did that he would surely die. Ali was covered in painful sweats which trickled down his creased forehead and within a blink of an eye he burst into tears and lamented, “End has come. My life is finished and totally dashed. I have put my hands in the holes of scorpions and snakes, getting them out become a difficult task.”  A large teardrop ran his check.

‘Ali gave in to fate and continued with the new life─ cultists’ activities. But after six months, something mysterious happened. Their leader fell sick and died. Some weeks later three of them fell sick and breathed their last breath. About five of them were on sick bed, at the brink of the valley of death. The situation confused Ali and even Yusuf. But, it was obvious to Adam, a 300 level student of Biochemistry that was initiated into the group the same day Ali was initiated. The other five that were on the sick bed later bade the world goodbye. Ali quickly ran to Adam’s hostel to inform him the demise of another five members.

“I do not understand the ordeals ravaging our group now. Within two weeks, we have lost six members. Could it be an attack from other groups? Or God of heaven is paying us back in our coins based on lives we have destroyed on this campus?”

“I will say no to the first question. But, I may say yes to your second question.”

“How do you mean, Adam? You mean God of heaven is fighting us?”

“Yes. When I went home immediately after the initiation, my father had an accident. In which he lost much blood. So, he needed blood. I went to hospital to donate blood for him. To my greatest surprise, I was not allowed to donate blood for him.”

“Why? Was your blood not compatible to his?”

“No. It was compatible. I…I…I…was diagnosed HIV positive,” Adam stumbled over his words. “It struck me like thunderbolt. My past lives popped into my mind, going to night parties, using any sharp objects like razorblades indiscriminately and having unprotected sex with different girls including sex workers. Tears filled my eyes. I cried and cried.  It is too late to cry when the head is already cut off. The deed had been done. The doctor advised me that I can still live, that HIV/Aids is not a dead sentence. What I need to do is to be taking some medications. Though they cannot cure it but can reduce the effects of its symptoms. From the way doctor spoke, I had contracted the disease a month before the initiation. So, during the initiation everybody was infected! The result is what we can see now.”

‘Ali slumped and entered into coma. Can you see the havoc HIV can cause to the human being? What are common symptoms of AIDS?  Large lymph nodes or "swollen glands" that maybe enlarged for more than three months unexplained weight loss, fatigue or unusual tiredness, frequent fevers and sweats, skin rashes or flaky skin that does not go away and short-term memory loss. Others are:  slow growth or frequent illness in children, cough and shortness of breath, seizures and lack of coordination, difficult or painful swallowing, confusion and forgetfulness, nausea, stomach cramps, diarrhea, and/or vomiting that do not go away and vision loss. Is there any way we care for HIV/AIDs patient? That is why we are here. You can help by making sure the patient gets proper treatment for pain when it occurs. Do not stigmatize them.

“Though all hope is not lost on HIV/Aids patient, those that are HIV positive. People living with HIV/AIDs (PLWHA) can still enjoy life and do great things in life, if the virus is discovered on time and such a person is taking his drugs regularly. Nobody can boast that he /she is HIV free, except he/she goes for HIV test. I hope everybody here has done HIV test.

“Yeeeees!” everybody answered.

“If you have not done HIV test try and do it without delay.”

 “But I know in my heart of hearts that not everybody including me has done the test because of the phobia people have towards it. The way the man talked has arrested my mind. So, I decided to do the test any time I’m opportune. After the sensitization training we proceeded to the pitch to watch the football and the volleyball matches. Chukwu remained unusually calm as we walked along.

“Eh! Come here,” a soldier shouted, pointing to a corps member that was heading in the same direction with us. Our attention was drawn and we quickly looked at him. The corps member jogged up to the soldier.

“Where is your tag?” the soldier asked. The young man began fidgeting with his pen. “I say, wey your tag?”

‘He reluctantly brought it out from his chest pocket.’

“Put it on my friend or you want to nyash up?” he boomed. The corps member pretended as if he did not hear the command of the soldier. The soldier collected the tagged from him and looked at it. On the tag was written “419”

“I know it is mandatory for all corps members to wear his or her tag. Everywhere I go in this camp people call me 419,” he expressed his mind. “Sir, as we  know that in Nigeria’s concept when somebody is called 419, it means that such a person is dubious and corruption personified, swimming in the ocean of all imaginable vices one can think of. That is why I refuse to wear it again.”

‘But, soldier will not take no for an answer. He gave it to him to wear immediately. So, he reluctantly put it on and turned away from the soldier. Noticing the sadness written on his face, Wazobia walked up to him and said, “hello my gentle corps member.” He stopped and turned to see who was greeting him in such manner not in usual 419 corps member. Seeing him, he said ‘corper wee’ and Wazobia replied ‘Waa’.

“Sorry, I overheard your discussion with the soldier, our instructor,” Wazobia said. “How other corps members, who fail to dump campus inconvenient jest, have been calling you jokingly and ridiculously a 419 corper. Wazobia brought out a thousand naira note and asked the corps member how much was the money. The corps member answered and said a thousand naira note. He then, squeezed it and asked the young man, how much is the money? The other replied, a thousand naira note. Wazobia threw the money on the ground and trampled on it several times and asked the same question again. The corps member replied in the same manner.

“You see, my gentle and patriotic corps member,” Wazobia began to drive home his points. “Whatever I do to this money, the value still remains the same. No matter what people say about or name they call you. If you know your worth, value and how young you really are, nzogbu adghi (Igbo language meaning no problem). And you know quite well that you are not dubious or corrupt. You still remain your humble self, my brother. Immediately, you accept what people call you that will negate your real value or personality. Dejection will rule your heart. Better still, the matter of the heart is the heart. As Wazobia left the corps member and came to us Yaya told him that his words to the guy really encouraged him. He said the illustration he gave to the young man increased every ounce of his courage to relate to people no matter their comments. He then commented that Wazobia talked like his friend Aliyu, when he was on campus. Yaya began to talk about Aliyu. He was the one that encouraged me to finish my course ─ Mathematics. It happened that I was in Mathematics lecture one day. The topic was Topology. The lecturer spent two hours for the lecture and gave us about thirty-five theorems. My people, no single theorem was clear to me. After the lecture, I turned to Aliyu and asked, “I hope I have not missed my road?”

“Why did you say that?” Aliyu demanded.

“It is like I have made a wrong decision of choosing Mathematics as my course of study in this institution. My guy all the theorems the man was proving, I could not make head or tail of it: it is purely abstract to me. I was like a blind man in the gross darkness looking for a needle that fell inside a mud. I think I will have to change this course.”

“Since you are still in 200 level, you can change to another course,” he responded. “But do not change to another course. You can make it”. He persuaded and began to draw my attention to trials, travel and triumphs in people’s lives:

“Albert Estein could not speak until he was four. He could not read until he was seven. The polytechnic he applied for refused to admit him into the school because he did show any promise. But, may I tell you, Albert Estein went ahead to become great in life. He propounded most of the famous Physics theories we all know today.”

“With his advice I continued with the course. See me today now, a graduate of Mathematics and a corps member serving his father land…”

‘..And abandoning your motherland,’ I laughed.

“Na gode soshe Yaya for appreciating me,” Wazobia replied (He spoke in Hausa language meaning thank you very much).

A 419 Corps Member.


A 419 Corps Member.

0/Post a Comment/Comments