Served, memoir of a youth corps member, is a non-fictional account of Joe Agbro Jr., a journalist with The Nation Newspaper, during his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), a one-year mandatory scheme for young Nigerian graduates. The book highlights the highs and lows of living and working in Ezzaland, Ebonyi State.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Joe Agbro Jr: Promising writer

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OSEYIZA OOGBODO 22/09/2012 04:31:00

Call him a promising literary light and you won’t be wrong. His first published book, Served, definitely indicates that he’s a very promising writer who just might soon be up there in the ranks of other great writers like Odia Ofeimun, Wole Soyinka and Niyi Osundare. He is Joe Agbro Jr and his literary baby, Served, is a memoir of his experiences as a youth corps member in Ebonyi State while participating in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in 2004 and 2005. It details his journey through ‘Sharon,’ the NYSC camp in Ebonyi and working as a teacher in semi-rustic Ezzaland, his place of primary assignment. “I love writing. I love putting words together to make beautiful sentences that captivate people to read them. Writing is very important to me because writing analyses a topic properly and if anyone should then read that write-up about that topic, he will understand it.”
Talking about Served, he said, “It is my own way of giving back to the society. People hear a lot about serving the nation through the NYSC.
They look forward to it and Served will help them in that as well.” Writing a book is never an easy proposition but Agbro claims writing Served wasn’t too difficult for him.
“It was not too difficult to write as I made notes intermittently during service year and knew I was going to write a book about my experience.” And on how long it took him to write it, he said, “I finished the first draft in three months in December 2005.
During that period, I worked like a maniac, typing furiously on a desktop computer I bought while serving. I usually left anything I was doing to write whenever there was electricity to power the computer.” “Served is unique, and I am not blowing my own trumpet. What makes it unique is the fact that it contains undiluted facts.
Every part of the story as well as the characters in it is real. In fact, I sometimes feel naked realising how much of myself I’ve put in there.”
And insisting on his love for writing, he disclosed that, “There’s definitely going to be another book from me but for now, I plan to ensure as many people as possible get to read Served. “I’ll like to say many Nigerians that ought to be reading are not reading.
But, for the few that still read or want to read, I think it’s the proper job of the writer to continue churning out stories.”
Disclosing that Served would be released internationally in both soft and hard versions in December, he added that “its public presentation comes up next Wednesday at the Lagos Country Club.
Governor Martins Elechi of Ebonyi State is billed to deliver a lecture on the topic, Re-addressing the role of youths in nation building. Many other dignitaries will also be in attendance and I’m looking forward earnestly to the launching which will herald its release into the market."

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