From Laundry Business to Presidential Honours: The Story Of An NYSC Corps Member In Benue
By Our Reporter
When Prosper Okoye received his posting letter to Benue State, disappointment was his first reaction.
His attempts to influence his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) assignment had failed. What he did not know was that the posting though unwanted, would set him on a path that ended in Abuja, five years later, 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,” Prosper recalled. “It wasn’t just the distance; it was the pain of leaving behind my small business in Anambra, my friends, my family. And there was the uncertainty of serving in a state where herdsmen attacks often made the news.”
Finding Purpose in Service
At the Wannune orientation camp, he first heard about the importance of Community Development Service (CDS) projects. “We were told that carrying out a project was a core pillar of the scheme,” he said. “In fact, your service was not considered complete without it.”
Initially posted to Otukpa in Benue, Prosper was later redeployed to Makurdi, where he worked with the Orientation Broadcasting Service radio station and subsequently, The Voice newspaper.
Though he longed to continue his laundry business on the side, his camp duties and editorial responsibilities made that impossible.
His editor instead gave him a weekly column, A Corper’s Diary.
It was during this time that he first overheard talk of a corps member from Benue who had once won a Presidential Award. “They were my seniors. I didn’t probe further,” he admitted. “But that conversation planted a seed.”
The Borehole That Changed Everything
What started as a plan to donate desks and stationery to underprivileged schools shifted when the Ministry of Education redirected him to a more pressing need: a secondary boarding school where students trekked miles daily for water.
An early morning visit sealed his resolve. “I saw the students thronging the roads with their kegs. I made up my mind to drill a borehole no matter how long it would take,” Prosper said.
But raising funds was a battle. Politicians promised support but never delivered. Instead, it was ordinary Nigerians like okada riders, petty traders, and church members who rallied around him, contributing what little they had.
Eventually, the borehole was completed, changing the lives of the students.
Recognition and Advocacy
In 2021, Prosper was recognised as the second-best corps member nationwide, receiving the NYSC Director General’s Award.
The Benue State Government also honoured him as the best corps member of the year.
Alongside his borehole project, he mobilised churches to donate food and supplies to internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Makurdi.
Later, under the platform of the Bible Society of Nigeria, he joined national advocacy efforts, speaking against the recurring violence in Benue.
Fulfilment Beyond Awards
Looking back, Prosper is grateful. “I am glad to be recognised by the NYSC and by the President of Nigeria.
But even if that never came, I would still be fulfilled to have served in Benue State,” he said. “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.”
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