NYSC: My Journey With Agriculture In Akwa Ibom State [VIDEO] – Godwin Asiegbu

After my successful relocation from Bayelsa state to Akwa Ibom state in the course of my NYSC journey, it wanted to be a boring and time consuming one until one day I (Godwin Asiegbu) and my colleague (Emmanuel Loveday) went to the Redeemed Christian Church of God to worship there on a Sunday morning after the church service the wife of the pastor approached us, welcoming us to the land of peace and showering us with good wishes we were so happy and felt at home with the church and their kind and smiling faces.

Weeks later, while having a chat with one Yoruba corper who had just a few weeks to POP was telling me that do I know I can get a piece of land here at a cheaper rate on lease I asked how much he said around 3k to 5k depending on the size, I was wowed and immediately picked interest.
On reaching home from that day’s CDS meeting I had to tell my neighbour whom we live in the same compound and serve in the same PPA on the update I got he smiles and said he was about telling me the same story which someone suggested to him, immediately we had an agreement to do it.
Not missing that the Yoruba corper whom we call Papa had already told me that the RCCG poters house where we worship has enough lands which they give on lease to their members too, the journey becomes clearer and looks easier.

A few weeks later we had to approach the pastor’s wife telling her that we intend getting a piece of land to farm on she laughed and said she’s surprised to hear that from big boys like us but she’s happy we had such a good idea in our heads she now promised to speak with those incharge and promised to get back to us on any available land to farm on, we went home that day.

The next week she called us and showed us the piece of land to farm on which is also close to where we stay and we had to pay immediately to secure it, imagine how we got a Landed property as a corper, funny right. We did the bush clearing ourselves within two days, and contracted a boy to help us till the ground, we furthered to plant maize, cassava, okra, pumpkin, melon and pepper we even have scent leaf too.

After the easter break we came back to see the farm booming and also struggling with the weeds which is normal so we have to commence the weeding immediately by getting weeding hoe and cutlass from our landlord immediately. We completed that in just 3 evenings on coming back from our PPA.

It was fun and inspiring at the same time.
One of the little challenge we faced was the presence of two big mango trees which attracted lots of people to the space and unintentionally had to step on some of our crops but it was fine, we understood perfectly.

The video of the current state of the farm will be posted here by next week as we are weeding again, maybe for the last time before we jakpa. Smile. If Agriculture Goes Wrong, Nothing Else Will Have a Chance to Go Right.

Documented – 20th May, 2025 – Ikono, Akwa Ibom State

~ Godwin Asiegbu
SDG, CDS President
Ikono, L.G.A Akwa Ibom State.