Anyone who knows the managers of Crunchies Fried Chicken at Umuahia should thank them for me. The hospitality shown to me by those people was nothing but actual love for humanity.
You may be wondering why I am sharing this. Wait until you hear the full gist.
It would be unwise to tell the story from the middle. How about telling the story from the beginning (how everything began)?
So NYSC made it mandatory that all who relocated from their original states of deployment must report to the Secretariat of the new state of their relocation for proper documentation.
Also Read: How My NYSC Swearing-in Day Turned Tearful
So, since I relocated from Kwara state to Abia on health grounds, I went to Umuahia (the state capital) for my documentation.
I must confess that Umuahia is a fine city. Even the houses were evenly distributed. I moved from Imo state to Umuahia. When I got to the park, I was shocked to the bones by the way the price of transportation had skyrocketed.
Initially, from Owerri to Umuahia was N600 but I was surprised to hear from the driver that from Owerri to Umuahia is now N3000.
I couldn’t say no because people were already in the car for the same price and of course, I needed to be at Umuahia for my documentation.
We Headed to Umuahia
After paying for my seat, I sat in the car and it was full with the number of needed passengers and the car moved.
Within a few hours, our car left the fire service in Wetheral, passed through Egbu, Emekuku, Aboh Mbaise, Ahiara, Obowo and of course, here we are at Umuahia, the capital city of Abia State.
It will be worth it to say that Umuahia police officers are more disciplined compared to what I saw in Imo state.
While we were in Imo state, the officers we met on the road ended up collecting money from our driver while the ones we met when we entered Abia state did not collect a penny from our driver.
Maybe, they have been collecting but from what I witnessed, they did not collect, unlike their colleagues in Imo.
When we got to Umuahia (Ishi gate), we entered Keke-na-pep (tricycle) which headed our way. Because I was new and didn’t know my way around Umuahia, the Keke-na-pep driver took me to the Abia state Secretariat instead of the NYSC Secretariat. Should I add that the keke-na-pep driver did not know where I was going or what?
When I got to the state Secretariat, I came to find out that I was in the wrong place. I had to find another tricycle that finally took me to the NYSC Secretariat.
At NYSC Secretariat Umuahia, Abia State
Upon arriving at the NYSC Secretariat, a lot of corps members who also came for their documentation were already seated waiting for when their names will be mentioned.
After the rigorous processes, I couldn’t achieve what brought me to Umuahia that same day. I was asked to come back the next day.
I could not go back to Imo and come back to Umuahia just to write my name in the BOOK OF LIFE (one of the documents in every NYSC camp that all corps members must fill during their time in camp.
So I couldn’t write my name in the Book of Life that same day due to the hour of the day.
I had to find a National Association of Catholic Corps (NACC) member’s family house and pass the night.
Stay tight, because this is where the whole problem started.
I Found a NACC Family House
So after introducing myself as a member of NACC in Kwara state, I was immediately given a room to rest my head for the night.
After acquiring a room to sleep for that night, I decided to move out and find something to eat to avoid going to bed on an empty stomach.
I was able to secure a plate of rice just outside the family house compound.
The next day, as early as 4:30 AM, I had already taken my bath and forced myself to poop. While I was in the toilet, I couldn’t pass anything. With that, I was convinced that I was good to go for the day.
I finally arrived at the NYSC secretariat a few hours later and started waiting for the NYSC staff.
You can’t believe that I started having a running stomach the moment I got to the NYSC secretariat.
I tried to control it and believed I could sustain it until I returned to Imo state.
Minutes later, it became worse. It was uncontrollable. I finally met with a woman who was into the cyber cafe business and begged her to direct me to where I could ease myself because it was getting uncontrolled.
When she noticed the seriousness on my face, she directed me to Crunchies Fried Chicken restaurant which was not too far from where I was.
I managed to get to the Crunchies Fried Chicken restaurant and they showed me the door to the restroom.
I finally took my time to help myself in the restroom. A few minutes later I was done and felt anew. I regained myself again and headed back to the NYSC secretariat.
Before that, I thanked the man whom I presumed to be the Chief Security Officer at the Crunchies restaurant (he was the person who directed me to where the restroom was).
When I got back to the NYSC secretariat, I finally registered my name in the long-awaited NYSC BOOK OF LIFE and found my way back to Owerri, Imo state.
Final Notes
My Thursday would have been a messy day if not for the intervention of that cyber cafe woman and the Crunchies restaurant.
Honestly, I recommend Crunchies Fried Chicken restaurant to anyone undecided on where to find good meals.
I know that I didn’t buy any food that day but my experience with them that day was enough to place them at the top of the chart. I have also eaten from their restaurant here in Imo state and I must confess, their food is too good.
Crunchies Fried Chicken restaurant is one of the best fried chicken restaurants in Nigeria. I will continue to patronize them. I am also encouraging my esteemed readers to patronize them if you find them anywhere around your country.