Hello beloved steemians! I am very excited to participate in this contest, this being my first post in steem fashion&style, as I am quite a newbie in steemit! So I'll be sharing a very shocking moment of my life!
I am a Nigerian and every Nigerian university graduate will dedicate a year of their life to serve the country! This service is called national youth service (NYSC). You camp for 3weeks for proper Orientation before you are sent to your place of Primary assignment where you either teach, or work depending on your course of study in the university.
After my graduation from the university, I went for my NYSC and during the 3 weeks orientation camping, I met a lot of people from different tribes and very few from my tribe and among this very few was a girl name Obianuju! She was in my platoon and quite loveable, so it was easy to bond with her! We became friend and often times communicate in our local dialect
We had some wonderful moments together until the 3 weeks oriented came to an end and we were posted to our place of Primary assignment which was quite a distance from each other! By this arrangement, we only met once in a month in the local government when we want to do our monthly clearance for our allowance!
This arrangement continued for 11 months and then a date was fixed for our passing out parade (POP), Which is the day our service will come to an ende and we will be handed our discharge certificate! It is quite a celebration, so everyone had to look their best!
2 days before the POP, I made a small inter-state trip to get a phone to capture the moment, make a new dress for the after party and of course to make my hair! On my way to Imo state from Abia state where I was serving, the vehicle I boarded was quite sound until 40 minutes into the journey, the back tire bursted and the driver lost control of the vehicle. It was indeed a terrible experience as the vehicle was swerving in the road from left to right uncontrollably and finally it was heading to the bush and hit a big stone, it was about to somasalt, but by the mercies of God it came to a halt and everyone rushed out of the car! Luckily for us, there was no major injury just the car that needed serious fixing! We thanked God for our lives, boarded another vehicle and continued the journey
After fixing my hair, making my dress for the dinner Party and getting my phone, I made my way back to Abia state the next day for my POP! On the day of the POP I was so excited, I wore my make up wore my crested vest and khaki and made my way to the POP venue! When I got there, I was so excited because In this event, everyone that camped with us where supposed to be present, so much more than the excitement of getting a discharge certificate, there was an excitement of meeting the people you've lost contract with over the past 11 months!
I saw so many people I've longed to see, especially those in my platoon, I was so excited saying hello, but something was off! I noticed the way people were looking at me, and I was wandering if it had anything to do with my makeup but then the attitude of the few people i said hello to from my platoon was alarming, they were looking at me as though they saw a ghost! I was too excited to even read meaning to their stares until I walked up to another lady from my platoon! I went to hug her and her withdrawal was so alarming, I had to ask her if all was well! The first thing she asked me was "shey you are Obianuju" I was like "no, I'm Christy, it's my dark friend that is Obianuju" when I said that she hugged me tightly and said thank God! I was still surprised, so I asked her if all was well! She said "Obianuju is dead" I was dumbfounded, the excitement dried up instantly! She said that she thought I was the one and so did other people from our platoon because the informant said it's obianuju the ibo girl that likes speaking ibo, because I was more involved in camp, most people knew me as an ibo girl more than Obianuju so everyone thought it was me, except the very few close friends that knew us by our names!
I asked her for details she said she didn't know more than that, so I left her to look for someone that can give me answers! I saw one of our friends back then in camp, and he told me that Obianuju had some issues with her Landlord and it didn't end well! The man promised her she wouldn't leave Abia State alive, she felt it was an empty threat , she never knew the man was fetish until our POP was announced and she fell ill mysteriously and died two days to our POP Which happened to be the same day the vehicle I boarded to Imo state nearly crashed! It was such a a shock to me that after twelve months of stress, just two days for it to be over, she died and in the morque on the day of the POP!
This incident happened in 2018 but it feels like yesterday! I remember the last time I saw her at the Local Government for our clearance she was complaining about her Landlord, I never knew it will end like that!
This incident was indeed a shock for me! It's been 6 years but I'm glad I can write it without bursting into tears! Time indeed heals all wound! Thank you for sharing this moment with me!