How was your experience at the NYSC orientation camp?
Well at the orientation camp, the experience was not too good particularly when you look at the facilities that were available and many other things that we thought we would enjoy, which we never enjoyed. My colleagues and I that were posted to Borno State had a harrowing experience as we were made to sleep under the tree for three weeks without accommodation

At that point were you disillusioned?
Yes we were. Our unanimous decision at that distressing period was that government should scrap the NYSC programme because the aim was not being achieved. We felt that if the money committed to each Corps member can be redirected in implementing some of the CU custom-built programmes like TTG & EDS, which prepare students for life after school, in all Universities in the country, it will be more meaningful, especially if the monthly allowance of N8, 500 being paid to Corps members and the money expended on kits are given to the students on graduation as take-off grants to start small businesses. But when you take us to places where we cannot even find placement and thereby wasting our potentials, at least for those of us that come from CU who had the mind of going out there to contribute, then it becomes counterproductive and frustrating. However, despite the hiccups, we still participated fully in all the activities and programmes in the camp.

While staying under the tree, as you earlier mentioned, did you have a sense of nostalgia and a feeling of coming back to CU, a place where you were parented in loco and had a readily available accommodation right from the inception of the University?
Greatly, I told myself that the worst situation in CU would not meet me under the tree; the worst situation in CU would not meet me sleeping in the rain. There was a particular night that rain beat us under the tree where we were and I looked back and said, "the CU picture is the ideal picture, the ideal setting of a life that we ought to live outside there, which we did not get outside there in the camp". So my counsel to those who are still passing through Covenant University is to get the ideal picture registered in their hearts so that when they get out there and cannot find it, they should be able to look within and reproduce the picture that they have acquired at CU. We are eager to come back for the alumni meeting and see the pictures again.

Would you say the University actually prepared you for that kind of challenges?
I would say yes. The University is futuristic; it’s raising people that would bring Nigeria to a standard above what it is today. CU has given us an ideal picture of what Nigeria should be. So, by showing us the future and making us see the present, the University has actually armed us with the truth and sharpened us so that we can make impact anywhere we go.

During that camping period, did you still maintain contact with the University authorities either by phone or through other means?
Yes. Even the Chancellor, Dr David Oyedepo, called us and wanted to find out about our welfare and he was so disturbed that such was the case with us at the camp. We also had interactions with other Principal Officers of the University because there were issues that we needed support and counseling from the school and their counsels really worked for us.

How did you feel when the Chancellor called?
Wow! I was not around the first time he called but he later called back and I wanted to be sure that it was not one of our friends that was playing pranks by trying to fake the Chancellor’s voice. We were under a tree when he called and at that point I was seeing myself sitting down before him and at that very moment I forgot all the problems and situation at the camp. In fact that call to me was an inspiration as well as a caution. It made me to realize that even if you want to do something else there’s someone expecting a lot from you. I forgot about my situation and said, ‘since Papa (as the Chancellor is fondly called) has called me it means he is interested in what I am going to do here’. Then, I encouraged my people and said let’s go ahead and participate in whatever they are doing, showing them that we can without defiling ourselves or lowering our standards be part of the process. That was what that call from the Chancellor did, it re-ignited the passion and the strength to forge ahead.

Was there anything striking about CU graduates?
Yes. We were carrying ourselves together to the envy of others because we said to ourselves we may not have been so close in school but there’s a mentality that binds us together, which we must cultivate and cherish. At a point when they were looking for Miss Camp and one of our girls wanted to know if it was healthy for her to participate. After some consultations, we said to her okay you go for Miss Camp but what you are going to wear must be in line with what CU will approve. We affirmed that she will not wear anything contrary to that and she accepted. She went for the contest, never exposed her body nor defiled herself and was absolutely CU compliant and won. Our values, royal carriage and orderliness were speaking eloquently for us. Also the quality of suggestions we made at our different platoons and groups were mostly taken because it was the quality that people were looking at. Indeed, we distinguished ourselves in camp in all ramifications.

What happened after the orientation camp?
Immediately after our orientation camp, the church (Living Faith Church a.k.a Winners Chapel) came to pick us and we had our Corpers’ Fellowship and thereafter, we were posted out to different locations within the state.

Where were you posted for your primary assignment?
I was posted to a local government secretariat and on getting there the environment showed that it was a very lazy environment as everything was in a state of decadence. The moment I realised that I would be working only one hour per week, I knew that I don’t belong there. It’s unacceptable. I mean, I don’t come from a University that condones such a thing. In fact, even if your boss or superior officer is not giving you something to do you engage yourself and so, without hesitation, I opted out.

Did you just opt out or did the Local Government Authorities give the option?
Actually, we were asked if anyone of us was interested in getting rejection letter and I opted for it.

So, where did you go from there?
I had already done an interview with Spring Bank under the platform of Covenant University Endowment Programme and I had that confidence that I would be called eventually. So, right now I am serving with Spring Bank.

While you were here at CU, you served as a Student Council chairman and presently you are the coordinator of the University Alumni. Your classmates, without doubt, looked up to you for inspiration and advice. Do you still carry them along, particularly the ones serving with you?
Yes. They are always in touch with me from their different stations. They call to find out what’s happening and also to relay their problems and seek solutions to them. By God’s grace, during our tenure, we were able to win their heart because we served them well. They had this confidence that if you call on Muyiwa, he will be able to help you out and so, from Lagos, Ogun, Adamawa etc calls keep coming in and they kept asking what to do. Even concerning sundry issues like hair do, some ladies in some States, kept asking Muyiwa should we do our hair? And that showed order and respect. In fact, no one called the school without first calling me and my other colleagues that are coordinators of the Alumni programme. Yes we may be out of school but the leadership role still continues.

What do you hope to achieve during the service year?
I want to be involved in youth financial empowerment. I want to raise kingdom financial youths, who can go about their own profitable businesses; engaging themselves positively and not being liabilities or dependants on people.

Do you regret walking through the sands of Covenant University?
God forbid, I never regretted it and will never regret it. In as much as I spent five years after my secondary school before getting admission, I have never regretted passing through Covenant University. Yes, there were tough times, times when you almost felt like giving up. In fact, all the things I experienced and learnt in four years even if I had spent ten years in America, am not sure I would have gotten them. The beauty of it is that the University was so open to us in terms of counseling and guidance as well as providing the needed support for us to forge ahead and these were great privileges that we have enjoyed. CU has enabled me to meet former Heads of State, Presidents and big people in the society. I have had personal touch with the Chancellor and some people do say they see the Bishop Oyedepo in their dreams, but I see him live. This is a man raised for this dispensation to champion change, coming to CU has made me to meet him, I thank God for it and I am not going to break my connection.

Do you have a word for the Eagles that are still here?
Yes I do. We were released as eagles and the next set will be released as ‘flying eagles’ and the set after them will be released as ‘super eagles.’ I want the students after us to get the ideal picture, try to understand virtues being impacted at CU, the vision and the demand that led to the birth of CU. If they can understand the principles they need to imbibe, if they can understand the culture, life out there will not be able to choke them. If they can only allow the whole essence of CU to sink into them, they can use it to withstand the force out there and will not get contaminated easily. Let the picture be well established and well formed in your heart, you can see it and actually touch it and by the time you get out then you can know what stuff you are made of. Now they may not know what’s in there but let them get out, then the ideal life that we were shown here will now begin to recreate and reproduce. Also, the God factor in CU is not to be taken for granted, here (CU) we have the opportunity to serve God but by the time they get to the office setting, it becomes a different ball game entirely. So, whatever they want to grab from God, they need to grab it in time, and all that they find themselves doing on campus in respect of the place of God in their lives should be a personal thing and not a under-the-canopy thing so that out there they can continue since it is already a lifestyle. These are the things I have for them. I love them and I miss all of them.

Do you have a word for the University?
The University should continue to be dynamic and I will like the University to pride its graduates like it has never done before. Many of us want to come back for our Masters programmes but not all would want to join the academic so that the culture can be transformed and re-injected into the future. Our coming back will also increase passion and positively influence the students on campus, as we will want to live up to expectations. All the students without doubt will be looking up to us. Some outstanding students in the next set too should be allowed to come back for their Masters programme until CU is able to achieve the aim of dressing and grooming many academics. This system also helps in recycling the University’s products and re-grooming them.

Apart from injecting the CU products into the University’s faculty, what other advice do you have for the University?
Well I like to tell the University that nothing is too small to do, as they are breaking grounds, they should also not relent at all. They should continue to be dogged in their pursuits and should not let the accolades of people get into their head because very soon they will also be experiencing criticisms. Yes, it is all applause that they are getting now but if they ignore applause of men, definitely, they will not be moved by their criticisms and that makes them to continue to pursue their goals. I love the University because change is always a constant thing at CU.

May we know you?
CORPS MEMBER: My name is Yomi Ayoyinka Sodipe, a graduate of Economics, Covenant University. I am currently a National Youth Service Corps member, posted to Shendam LGA of Plateau State.

How was your experience at the orientation camp?
CORPS MEMBER: Fine. It was an interesting and challenging experience. Apart from the military training, there were opportunities for seminars and other specialized trainings for Corps members, especially in health-related matters.

As an Eagle just released for a glorious flight, how did your training here at Hebron help you adapt to the camp environment?
CORPS MEMBER: The discipline and the mentality of an eagle being inculcated here, accord one a unique sense of responsibility, mission and unusual carriage for accomplishment in any given task. At the camp, while others were busy wasting their time eating and drinking and doing all manner of things, we (CU Corp members) were quite different being conscious of who we are. Some of them (other Corps members) were particularly angry at me because I was busy reading when they were having fun and they were like who is this missing all the camp experience which made some to be afraid of me and some angry at me because we were totally different from them.

What struck you most on your first day at the camp?
CORPS MEMBER: I was shocked because of the living condition there. In fact, on the first day, accommodation was not really available so we had to sleep on the bare bed bunks, and because we had gotten used to enduring and being patient, we bore it till the following day. The weather was also very unfriendly and unusually cold, but we had to get things like gloves, head warmers to keep warm.

At that point did you have a sense of nostalgia and a feeling of coming back to CU, a place where you had heaters in your bathrooms and a readily available accommodation right from the inception of the University?
CORPS MEMBER: You know we have been taught as a leader that you have to be able to adapt to any environment whether conducive or not. I knew I had to survive because what if it was a missionary journey where you have to live with people under unusual conditions and yet still reach out to them. So, while others impatiently wanted to jump out I maintained the disposition of a leader, all I needed was to adapt to the environment and enjoy it while it lasted.

So how many of you from CU were posted to Plateau State?
CORPS MEMBER: About 25 of us, and we had a sense of community and family love amongst us. We were looking out for each other and asking after each other particularly when we all needed to be somewhere.

Was there anything striking about CU graduates?
CORPS MEMBER: Yes. We did quite some things that amazed our fellow Corps members and officials. Our participations in programmes really made them to know how we did our things at CU. Two of us were group reps, and our participations made them to ask about the University where we came from. The confidence, boldness and the way we carried ourselves got them thinking and saying so this is the way they are and even during programmes our recommendations were really adopted because they saw that it brought results and this made us stand out and also the pageant in my camp was won by a CU student.

You said you made some inputs that were later adopted by the camp authorities, can you mention some of them?
CORPS MEMBER: We made valuable inputs in the several programmes that were held to train Corps members, particularly in the millennium development goals. A CU member, Jonathan Odebiyi, wrote a poem, which was read by another CU student. It was equally a CU Corp member that recommended the logo for the programme, which was adopted.

Your sojourn in CU, did it adequately prepare you for the challenges you encountered, or do you regret passing through here?
CORPS MEMBER: No. The CU environment has really prepared us, it has given us a good personal identity unlike some out there who just want to belong without a good personal identity, as they do not believe in themselves so they just want to be lost or mingled with the crowd. But CU has taught us to be ourselves, live an empowering lifestyle which helps you to be on your own even if the whole world is against you, you just move on once you know that you are on the right track. The perception of being different has really helped me as a person in standing out in the crowd.

The original concept of NYSC was targeted at community development impact and you took part in the University’s home grown Community Development Impact Initiative, how did that prepare you to face the challenges of your primary assignment?
CORPS MEMBER: We were ready because we had been prepared. When we got there and had to embark on such it was not a new thing at all, we were just like this is another community development programme, and so we were readily available to work. For instance, we had trainings and campaigns on HIV/AIDS programme that involved us going out and telling youths that abstinence is the best way. It wasn’t difficult for us to fit in because we were prepared and CU Corps members were fully involved.

So what do you want to accomplish during the service year?
CORPS MEMBER: I want to raise about 40 pair educators on the issues of HIV/AIDS prevention, so as to help the immediate society because lack of knowledge has really contributed to the prevalence of the disease. Also, I want to educate our youths on how to keep their virginity and avoid HIV/AIDS, because preserving one’s virginity is something of great prize that needs to be held on to, and it reduces one’s risk in contacting the virus. These, among other things, I believe will help in empowering them to fight the scourge of HIV/AIDS in our society.

Do you have any message to other Eagles still in the making?
CORPS MEMBER: CU is a place where you should allow yourself to be groomed and let all the virtues inside of your be harnessed and not try to rush out. It could be frustrating out there once you are out and you are not groomed yet because the expectation is really high out there. They expect a high level of moral value from you, and you will be used to set the standard so please stay and be ruled by the rules so that you are fully baked and not become a bye word at the end of the day.

Do you have any word for the University?
CORPS MEMBER: Thank you CU for getting us ready, we taught we were being mistreated, but now we know these values are life values because we were really different from other graduates in camp. We want the University to keep up the good work and we out there will make the University proud in Jesus name.