The N77,000 Windfall: A Corps Member’s Long-Awaited Dream Comes True

The N77,000 Windfall: A Corps Member’s Long-Awaited Dream Comes True

The morning sun peered through the dusty curtains of Adepoju’s tiny one-room apartment in Ilorin. A low hum filled the air as his aging ceiling fan wobbled, slicing through the silence like the unanswered prayers of thousands of corps members across the country.

He turned over in bed, groggily reaching for his phone. A glance at his bank app had become a painful ritual—one that had, for months, yielded nothing but the same old N33,000. His heart clenched at the thought. The promise had been made six months ago, yet all they received were reassurances, empty as the plates of many corps members who had long given up on hope.

With a sigh, he tapped on his phone screen. The app opened, the numbers blinking into existence.

Then his breath hitched.

"N77,000.00 CREDITED TO YOUR ACCOUNT."

His eyes widened, fingers trembling. His head spun. He blinked, once, twice. Was he dreaming? Had the government finally made good on its word?

A sharp knock at his door made him jolt. It was Jubril, his fellow corps member from the next room, his voice trembling with excitement.

"Adepoju! Check your account! NYSC don pay o!"

He flung the door open, and they stared at each other, wide-eyed, before erupting into shouts of joy. Jubril grabbed him by the shoulders, shaking him.

"We don hammer!"

Across the nation, corps members were waking up to the same miracle. The silence that had once choked them with disappointment now erupted into a wave of celebration. Social media platforms lit up like a Christmas tree.

"NYSC don pay 77k oooo! I feel good 💃💃💃!!!" tweeted @dreyymo.

"See as everywhere just quiet now that dem don pay. If na before, wahala go dey. Sha, make we enjoy our money abeg." @fimlex2 posted.

While some danced, others waited anxiously, refreshing their banking apps every five seconds. Was the payment in batches? Would they receive theirs today?

As Adepoju sat on his thin mattress, heart still racing, he whispered, "Finally."

He could already taste the jollof rice he would buy at Mama T’s joint. The past months of waiting, of stretching every naira, of wondering whether the government’s promises were real or just another mirage—those days were finally over.

And across the country, from Lagos to Sokoto, from Enugu to Jos, a single truth echoed in the hearts of corps members:

The wait was long, but today, the N77,000 windfall had arrived.