My experience trying to join the Nigerian Army

  I'm an ardent movie freak, always have been, even from boyhood. I make sure to stay updated on all top trending and latest movies. In as much as I love my movies, I love my military, war, world war one and two movies and documentaries even more.

I've always had love for the military, though not for any flimsy reason like the movies I watch, their uniforms or whatever else but for the discipline, life changing skills, experiences and knowledge one get to gather plus the life time brotherhood and family you make too.

  In the last four years I finished from college and carried out my mandatory national youth service, began my daily hustling as any normal Nigerian youth hoping to make a better life, got married, I also began my applications into the Nigerian Army short service course (SSC) for graduates hoping to enlist as officer cadets. Twice I applied, twice I failed to make the shortlist, on my third trial I was finally shortlisted.

Guess as folks will say "third time's the charm", funny thing about my third trial was that I was certain about making the shortlist even though I had no godfather, "long leg" as Nigerians will say or whatever else, but I already had doubts about going for the selection exercise.

  This was just after the period the dreadful Boko Haram sect was said to have killed over a hundred Nigerian soldiers and capturing others, I watched video after video of how soldiers were being killed for nothing but only due to the massive corruption endemic in Nigeria and in it's military too. Soldiers complaining about the corruption, being given bad or no weapons, their superiors aggrandizing their own pockets from the military budget, and their being generally tired of the job, both online and those I knew personally offline.

  Albeit I got shortlisted as I expected, my love for the military all still strong, all I had watched and heard I put out of my mind and quickly printed all needed documents I had saved waiting, went to my bank got my BVN slip, almost did my ECG test too but decided to first do some other things.

I needed an attestation from my college of graduation, which I found out was not possible due to the perpetually reoccurring and ongoing Nigerian college strikes.

Then I was still living in Lagos and I was also expected to get my local government proof of identification from my state of origin, a South Eastern state, not forgetting it was also the Christmas and New year break period in which almost all institutions and government facilities would barely be operational, in addition all this I was also expected to do in a week before reporting for the screening exercise.

I also began reaching out to people I knew, at getting a Lt Colonel or higher ranks from my state of origin to attest for me and sign some needed documents, all i reached out to, both civilians and military personnel all failed me, some even are yet to return or reply my calls and msgs as at this current moment of my writing.

Not forgetting that all this, the Nigerian army expected us to get done within a week, one that fell during the Christmas and New year celebration and holidays, and all of which you can hardly prepare for before hand because you stood little or no chance at all of being shortlisted.

Things are needlessly hard and frustrating in Nigeria, the system totally bad and rotten and I for one I'm sincerely tired, tired of being a Nigerian, tired of the system, tired of the calibre of people i call my fellow citizens. Nigeria kills dreams, Nigeria kills you and currently I have only two dreams left, to make money and leave or to leave whether I make money or not.

The Nigerian army could have shortlisted the names earlier or given 2 or more weeks for applicants to prepare, which didn't have to be within the period it was. The Nigerian army has to do away with needless requirements, eg local government signing and co that requires long distance of travel to obtain, needing the attestation of a Lt Col or higher and many other things. Otherwise I guess it implies that a person knowing no top serving officer or personnel in the the military or police can't get into the military?, If so it means the system is only made then for themselves i.e the military personnel and politicians and their kins, who even within the one week given can easily get all needed by being well connected, and not for the masses. These things can definitely be made better and easier.

Even as a struggling young man having help from nowhere, I'm expected to spend more than N50,000 ($140), traveling to my college of graduation, traveling to my state/local government of origin, then even more additional to be spent traveling down to the Northern part of the country for the screening, in addition to other things I am supposed to do, all of which requires money, for a recruitment I stand little or no chance of making successfully nonetheless.

I guess all this needless processes are done to waste people's time and favour just those who are the elite, well connected and so on,

All is well though, even as my military dream in Nigeria is gone forever, maybe if I get to leave Nigeria and age is on my side I can still achieve so in a far better and organised society. I just hope if even though I know it's foolhardiness to do so, that Nigeria gets better someday and easier, things are not always done or gotten by suffering and hardship, but whether Nigeria gets better or not, I hope to be in a far better place, out of Nigeria soonest, achieving my dreams and living my life, not just existing.

Although I know wherever I am, I will still keep seeing Nigeria and all the negative it's known for all over the news and cyberspace.

D.N.A