By Our Reporter
Prosper Okoye’s posting to Benue State was not the plan. Attempts to influence his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) assignment failed, but the experience became the first step on a journey that ended in Abuja — where President Bola Ahmed Tinubu named him among 200 recipients of the NYSC Presidential Award.
“The journey there in 2020 was the longest trip I had ever made,” he said. “It wasn’t just the distance — it was the pain of leaving behind my small business in Anambra, my friends and my family. And there was the uncertainty of serving in a state where herdsmen attacks often made the news.”
It was at the Wannune NYSC camp that he first learnt about community development projects and their value during orientation. “We were told that carrying out projects was a core pillar of the scheme,” he recalled. “In fact, your service was not considered complete without it.”
Prosper’s first posting after orientation was to Otukpa, a local government area in Benue State. He was later reposted to Makurdi to work with the Orientation Broadcasting Service (OBS) radio station, where he had been an active participant during camp.
“The 2020 Batch B corps members were few in number because we came in shortly after the easing of the Covid restrictions, so there was a shortfall in manpower and many were relocated,” he said. “I was happy about the posting — at least it was the state capital and I could continue my laundry business.”
However, he later realised that his incamp duties and his primary assignment at The Voice newspaper left little room to pursue it.
“My boss didn’t like the idea of me leaving for camp duties — he never said it outright, but I could tell,” Prosper recalled. “Instead, he asked me to keep a weekly column in the paper titled A Corper’s Diary, which I did gladly.
“One day during my second camp trip, I overheard some officials talking about a corps member from the state who was among those receiving a Presidential Award, and the benefits that would follow. I didn’t probe further — they were my seniors, and I was just a corps member privileged to sit among them.”
What began as a simple desire to carry out a CDS project had grown into a life’s ambition — one that would eventually earn him a Presidential Award, five years later.
By then, Prosper had already been recognised at different levels. In 2021, he received the NYSC Director General’s Award as the secondbest serving corps member, and the Benue State Government honoured him as the overall best in the state.
“I had planned to donate desks and stationery to less privileged schools,” he said. “So I went to the Ministry of Education for guidance on which schools might need such support. But instead, the Director told me about a boarding secondary school where students had to walk several miles to fetch water during the dry season. It was a major concern for the state, as previous attempts to get the government to drill a borehole had failed.”
An early morning visit to the School for the Gifted confirmed the concern. He saw students thronging along the road with their kegs, searching for water. “I resolved in my heart to drill the borehole, no matter what, or how long it would take,” he said.
He recalled that carrying out the project was not as easy as he had thought. “The greatest mistake I made was relying on state politicians for funds,” Prosper said. “I had plenty of promises of assistance, but none ever came.”
Instead, it was ordinary people — the okada riders, petty traders and those far from being called rich — who contributed to ensure the project was completed.
Alongside this, Prosper also mobilised support from churches to donate food and other supplies to people living in the internally displaced persons’ camp in Makurdi. He later joined an advocacy platform, speaking in Lagos under the Bible Society of Nigeria, against the persistent killings in the state.
“I am glad to be recognised by the NYSC and by the President of Nigeria,” he said. “But even if that never came, I would still be fulfilled to have served in Benue State. I found a new, loving family and community there. And I earnestly pray that the bloodshed in the state will one day be a thing of the past.”
