Every year, thousands of youngsters from various higher institutions across the country bid their families, friends and love ones goodbye as they leave for different parts of the nation to undergo their mandatory one-year national youth service.
The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme was set up in 1973 by government to involve the country’s graduates in the development of the country and to also bring the different ethnic groups closer by getting the graduates to mix with people of other tribes, social and family backgrounds, to learn the culture of the indigenes in the place they are posted to.
The goal was an attempt to bring about unity in the country and to help youths appreciate other ethnic groups. Although it initially met with resistance from fresh graduates who saw it as an attempt by government to have access to ‘cheap labour,’ gradually the scheme, which was at first limited to only university graduates before polytechnics and colleagues of education graduates joined, gradually gained acceptance amongst Nigerians.
I still remember as a youngster then how I watched in awe as ‘corpers’ in their white t-shirts with NYSC boldly emblazoned on the front and their khaki uniforms and hats with the NYSC emblem used to move around with pride. Then they were a welcomed (perhaps even revered) group of Nigerians who were dubbed ‘Omo ijoba’ (‘government pikin’) and so were not caught up in whatever domestic strife occurred in their areas of ‘primary assignments’.
It was NYSC that first introduced me to the now ubiquitous okada, when I arrived Uyo for my service year in the mid 80s! Little did I know that one day what was ‘unique’ to Cross River State back then would become a household name across the country! I served in Cross River State as the Corps Public Relations Officer and had an official car and accommodation attached to the office.
And thus I was able to crisscross the state (then Akwa Ibom had not been created) visiting ‘copers’ at their various primary assignments with the main complaints being the backwardness of where they were serving i.e. no electricity, portable water and many of the things found in urban cities that they were coming from.
Security was never an issue even for some of the corpers posted to very remote areas to help improve the lot of the children there as teachers, doctors and what have you. Sadly recent events have once again raised big question marks over the continued relevance of the 43-year-old programme.
Yes even before last weekend’s rerun elections in Rivers State, with the nauseating pictures of corps members sleeping rough all because they want to help their fatherland conduct elections to the sad murder of one of them, Okonta Samuel, the scheme had already been severely threatened by the various religious insurrections like Maitatsine but had somehow survived them.
However, the rise of the Boko Haram menace has become a more enduring scourge and has effectively meant that thousands of Nigerian youngsters can no longer be posted to cities and villages within their own country because of these extremists.
Ironically despite the glaring Boko Haram threat NYSC authorities were slow to react and were still posting corps members to such hotspots like Borno and Yobe states before they came to their senses.
I wonder how many NYSC officials would have allowed their own sons and daughters be posted such areas! Despondently while the corps members are no longer being caught up in the cross hairs of these religious fanatics, it is the political class that has now turned them into canon folder as has been the case in recent elections.
It was only five years ago that former President Goodluck Jonathan forked out N5million to the families of the 10 corps members who lost their lives in the post election violence of the 2011.
The 10 corps members were Adewumi Paul (Ekiti), Okeoma Okechukwu Chibudom (Imo), Ukazeone Amsalem Chukwunonyere (Imo), Olawale Tosin (Kogi), Akonye Ibrahim Sule (Kogi), Gbejo Ebenizar Ayotunde (Osun), Adeniyi Kehinde Jelil (Osun), Anyanwu Agnes (Imo), Okpokori Obina (Imo) and Adohe Elliot, who left behind his wife and four kids (Bayelsa). Of course government vowed that it would not happen again and adequate security would be provided to ensure that corps members are safe wherever they are posted to or when on national assignment like election duties.
Last weekend once again showed how hollow these words were with the death of Okonta Samuel. Following Samuel’s death, the same old song is being played once again with Governor Nyesom Wike insisting he would be immortalised, while the NYSC apologised to the family of the late corps member, who incidentally is an orphan, for the loss.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which has offered automatic employment to a member of the National Youth Corps (NYSC) who lost her sight during the 2011 general elections in Yobe State, promised to fully participate in the burial programme of Okonta Samuel.
Director General of the NYSC, Brig- General Johnson Olanwumi, who said the NYSC had already set up a panel to investigate the corps member’s death, criticised the government and leaders of political parties in Rivers State for instigating the violence in last Saturday’s rerun elections.
He disclosed that after the panel’s report, the NYSC management will review the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with INEC to ensure the protection and safety of corps members on election duty. Good words indeed, but the million naira question is should corps members still be deployed for election duties considering the irrevocable evidence as to the volatile nature of the polls? My personal and candid answer would be ‘no’.
I cannot imagine my children being posted for election duties. Or can anyone imagine what the families of the late corps members are going through now? So in keeping with the adage “better safe than sorry” I would prefer to have my son or daughter alive rather than get a presidential handshake and N5million!
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