By Emma:

The first thing my PPA taught me was simple:

Never trust the sentence, “It will be a very easy posting.”

When I received my Place of Primary Assignment, I was excited. I imagined myself walking into the office every morning with my NYSC uniform, doing meaningful work, meeting wonderful people, and returning home before sunset.

I was wrong.

My first morning at the PPA, the secretary looked at me, smiled and said, “Corper, welcome. We have been waiting for you.”

I smiled back.

That smile lasted exactly three minutes.

“Please arrange these files.”

I looked at the files.

There were hundreds.

Before I could ask where to start, another voice came from behind me.

“Corper! Please type this report.”

Then another:

“Corper, photocopy these documents.”

“Corper, help us check the attendance.”

“Corper, where is yesterday’s report?”

Yesterday’s report?

I had just arrived!

By 10 a.m., I had already questioned every decision that brought me to that office.

Then came the biggest enemy: electricity.

The power went off.

The internet disappeared.

The computer went blank.

I looked around, hoping someone would announce that work was over.

Instead, my supervisor calmly said:

“No light? No problem. We can still work.”

That was the day I discovered that Nigerian PPA workers possess a special kind of strength.

We worked without light.

We worked without internet.

We worked while sweating.

We worked while the generator coughed like it was also tired of the job.

And somehow, the files kept multiplying.

There were days I spent more money on transportation than I could comfortably afford. Some mornings, I would calculate my transport fare twice before leaving home.

“Should I go?”

“Can I afford this?”

“Maybe today they will close early.”

They never closed early.

There were also days when my supervisor would say:

“I need this before you leave.”

I would look at the clock.

5:10 p.m.

I would look at the workload.

Impossible.

Then I would remember the NYSC oath and whisper to myself:

“Oga, na you send me here.”

But somewhere between the frustration, the long hours, the impossible deadlines and the endless files, something unexpected happened.

I started learning.

I learned how to work under pressure.

I learned patience.

I learned how to communicate with difficult people.

I learned that leadership isn't always about standing in front. Sometimes, it is staying behind to finish the work nobody wants to do.

And most importantly, I learned that service is not always glamorous.

Sometimes service looks like sitting in a hot office without electricity.

Sometimes it looks like trekking because transport money is finished.

Sometimes it looks like smiling at 5 p.m. when your supervisor has just handed you another file marked “URGENT.”

My PPA definitely showed me pepper.

But today, when I look back, I realize that the pepper was seasoning me.

The place I once complained about became the place that strengthened me.

The difficult boss taught me patience.

The crazy workload taught me discipline.

The long hours taught me commitment.

The lack of resources taught me creativity.

And the experience taught me something I will never forget:

NYSC does not only ask, “What can you give?”

Sometimes, it quietly asks,

“Who can you become when everything becomes difficult?”

My PPA gave me more than work.

It gave me stories.

It gave me scars.

It gave me laughter.

It gave me unforgettable memories.

And yes…

It showed me pepper.

But looking back now, I can honestly say:

I survived the pepper—and somehow, it made me stronger.

Because sometimes, the assignment that frustrates you today becomes the experience you proudly tell tomorrow.

PPA don show me pepper. But I’m glad I stayed long enough to taste the lesson.