Chapter 3 Pa Oni and his daughter sayo went to the sercice for a year

(Charpter Three)

If there was anything that Pa Oni hated most among the things that the Military Government did, it was the Youth Corps Service Programme. He always alluded to it as National suffering.

Pa Oni had no choice. His daughter had to go for the service year. In fact, Sayo had gone to imo State since July before she returned home for her graduation in November. A week after the graduation ceremony, Sayo wanted to return to Imo State for the continuation of the service but her father didn't want her to go.

'Well, Baba , National service is an extension of the degree programe , that's the way I have always viewed it; Sayo told her father.

Pa Oni had a kind of premonition about Sayo's returning to Imo State. He really wanted to change the posting. He ran up and down to the Youth Corps Headquartersin lagos but it was to late.

Madam Asa told her husband;

'If you try and the change is not possible we should leave it. Perhaps her going to that State is one of the plans that God has for us and we should not doubt the guiding hands of God.

One day Folasayo wrote a letter to her father that his he and her mother well, then her father saw the letter and give her the response.

Despite the fact that Sayo told her father how urgent she needed a reply to her letter, there was a lot of delay due to poor postal system. The reply came at last and she was not suprised at having this type of reply from her father. She knew his feelings about Egbeda Had it not been for the academic wind which blew his children away to different places, he would not have allowed any of them to step outside Egbeda.

Sayo wrote to Egbeda State Hospital to accept the offer as a senior pharmacist. She did not conceal this from Dr. Emeka. At least he would know where to locate Sayo if he wanted.

When the service year ended, Sayo returned to Egbeda while Dr. Emeka was still at the Imo State Hospital.