Youth service is a compulsory service of every fresh graduate. No doubt, the motives behind the creation of this scheme have logical balance and so should be encouraged however, times have changed and so should the policies in the NYSC compendium regarding this scheme.
On 5thJuly, 2011 another bulk of about 95,000 fresh graduates were mobilized by the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and sent to their various places of primary assignment without stepping back to review the scheme and the effects the last national post-election had on the scheme. Indeed, prior to this time the scheme had been suffering from teething problems however, the high death rate recorded during the last election goes a long way to underline and re-emphasize the need for a reformation or abolition of the said scheme.
In Bauchi for instance, corpers were killed as an expressions of dissatisfaction with the results released by INEC under the supervision of Prof. Attahiru Jega. I can still remember very well a dumb statement made by the Gov. of Bauchi State, Isa Yuguda when asked about his efforts in securing his youthful visitors against the post election attack, he replied “…they were destined to die that way and nobody can run away from destiny”. The question everywhere then was, whose destiny is it to die a painful death, not to even talk of a painful death after graduating from the university? Sincerely, Mr. Isa Yuguda’s comments really made me see him as a ‘jack ass’ and went on to show us that he was still a ‘weak link’ just as he was some years back when he left PDP for ANPP to run for governorship election and got elected based on sympathy due to the way he was treated by the PDP while he was Minister of Aviation under the then President Olusegun Obasanjo second coming as a civilian leader only for him to decamp again to PDP due to his romance with Umaru Musa Yar’ Adua ‘s daughter after getting into office under the platform of ANPP; a typical example of a dog going back to its excreta and an ingrate telling people that you don’t give what belongs to gods to swans.
Today, what the government has just shown us is the fact that they do not have regards for lives; not even the youths who are the future of this country. Or how else would they have demonstrated this fact if not by still posting these indigent corpers to northern states again? Imagine this kind of horror being poured out daily by the recently emerged Boko Haram’s in the north with security agencies being incapable of taming them and the ruthless killing of security agents by this frustrated Islamic fighters, the FG still has the guts to allow the posting of people’s children to this no go areas. Absurd!
Today, what the government has just shown us is the fact that they do not have regards for lives; not even the youths who are the future of this country. Or how else would they have demonstrated this fact if not by still posting these indigent corpers to northern states again? Imagine this kind of horror being poured out daily by the recently emerged Boko Haram’s in the north with security agencies being incapable of taming them and the ruthless killing of security agents by this frustrated Islamic fighters, the FG still has the guts to allow the posting of people’s children to this no go areas. Absurd!
My question for the FG is, aren’t this corpers liberal enough? Aren’t they patriotic, down to earth, tolerant and even peaceful enough? Firstly, they are paid a weak sum of #1,500 for transportation to their various places of primary assignment. Despite their location, for instance being posted from Lagos to Yobe where the corper would have to spend about four times the allocated sum, these corpers only get entitled to this money only when they arrive at the camp; yet they don’t complain. Secondly, they are paid #1,000 for local transportation and a miserly #9,500 as their monthly wage away from home which cannot afford to feed, accommodate and handle other exigencies for them whereas, even factory workers without any qualification earn atleast #20,000 monthly still they maintain their cool. Thirdly, they are exposed to annoying sites as camps without good lavatories, food, electricity and even comfort yet they choose to ignore these basic amenities and so now they have to be exposed to insecurity. Crazy! Must they all die simply because they want to serve their country before settling down eventhough some had died already? Believe me, that’s the height of desertion.
I strongly suggest that the FG either scraps the scheme if they can no longer handle it or reform the said scheme by either posting corpers to their respective geo-political regions of origin or allowing them choose where to serve or better still, even posting them to their respective states of origin so that when the blood suckers in their state decides to kill them for no just cause then they will know that they are doomed and set for a life without a doctor, accountant, lawyer, engineer etc. I stand in the gap and pray that the recently mobilized corpers would neither get served as minced meat in any state nor lose their sense of belonging in their various places of primary assignment. I also pray that the state Governors see them (corpers) as special visitors deserving great attention as they uphold their role as the Chief Security Officer of their state. I am wising the 2011 Batch B corp members a happy service year. Ajuwaya!
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