From Nysc To Nowhere: Life After Youth Service 6

I still sit by the gate sometimes, fixing phones, but things aren’t the same anymore.
The hustle is harder, the roads rougher, but my spirit? It’s stronger.

The Hard Truth

Life after NYSC is no fairy tale.
No magical job offers. No overnight riches.
Just struggle.
Waiting.
And fighting every single day to be seen — not just as an “unemployed youth” or “Nigerian graduate.”

I’ve learned that your degree and NYSC certificate don’t pay your bills — your skills and network do.

Small Wins Matter

That small Lagos logistics job?
That’s the seed.

The extra ₦5,000 here, the POS repairs there — they slowly added up.
I saved every kobo.
I told myself, no matter how small the job, do it with all my heart.

Because I knew this was my break — not the one they promised in camp, but the one I built with my own hands.

Family and Faith

My parents don’t say much now. They see me working. They see me bringing food home.
Sometimes Dad calls me into the room and says, “You dey try, my son.”

That’s all I need. Their quiet approval.

I’ve also learned to lean on faith — not the church noise, but the quiet belief that this struggle has a purpose.

What Next?

I’m still here, still fixing phones, still learning, still hungry.
But now I have a plan:

• Save enough to rent a proper workshop.
• Learn software repairs and phone unlocking.
• Start training younger boys around the neighborhood.
• Build a brand, not just a business.

Because life after NYSC is not nowhere.
It’s a place where many of us are planting seeds — sometimes in barren soil, but seeds nonetheless.

To Every Nigerian Youth Reading This

Don’t let NYSC or lack of “big opportunity” define you.

You can build something —
even from a plastic chair outside your parents’ house,
even with broken tools and power cuts,
even when the world seems to have forgotten you.

Keep grinding. Keep faith. Your time will come.

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