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I remember when I joined the Band CDS during my service year. It started from the Orientation Camp. I was a part of OBS at the time already but some of the female corps members there can be troublesome for no reason. They pick unnecessary fights with themselves. Geez…had they come from Lagos State, I would have believed them to grow in Mushin area.
Anyways, back to the gist. I left OBS because of the daily brouhaha and joined the band. That’s one of the best decisions I made during service. I learnt how to play the Tenor drum and later became a pro myself, teaching others. There was this young girl that caught my attention but she wasn’t looking at me. I was going to approach her but, I’ve never done it before. I don’t know how to speak to a lady. I’ll end up stammering, so I decided to see how fate would bring us together. My dears, perhaps fate is dozing. We never said anything more than ‘hi, hello’. Perhaps that was what fate had in store for me. I channeled my energy into practicing more. After rehearsals ended, I’ll still stay back to practice more. I’m glad I did. It paid off. I became president later on and boy, we did a lot. Every CDS day, the community was always looking out for us. They felt our presence. We’ll thrill the neighborhood with sweet songs playing their native songs. We were invited to schools, military base, weddings and teaching new Corps Members in camp. It was a massive experience.
You don’t have to be a member of the band before you notice it is an orderly sect. The band will teach you team spirit. You just have to work together to create that beautiful magic people want to hear. We were always so coordinated and worked as if our souls were united. One of the things I learnt that I thought I had in me before was patience. Ahh…I learnt patience _lopolopo_ What?! With different people coming together and you are to lead them and not lord over them. I learnt human relationship, checking each member to make them feel at home so they can participate fully. I drop my pen here for now. Oh, but not before I inform you that fate finally brought a lady to me but by then, the band had become my one and only love.
With CDS, a Corps Member can contribute positively to the development of their host communities throughout the period of national service.
Tell me the name of your CDS group and what you have achieved or learnt so far in the CDS group.
