In deference to the mounting safety concerns raised by parents, state governments and several sections of the public, the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has redeployed prospective corps members (CMs) previously posted to “volatile states” in the North.Parents and several stakeholders, including the House of Representatives, have kicked vehemently against posting CMs to states that have been prone to severe security threats.
Prospective CMs, who were posted to Bauchi, Gombe, Plateau, Kano and Kaduna States and are yet to report to their camps, have now been directed to report immediately to the NYSC Directorate headquarters in Abuja for redeployment. CMs posted to Yobe and Borno States would also now carry out their orientation exercise at the NYSC camps in Nasarawa and Benue States respectively.
In a statement signed by NYSC's Director General, Brig. Gen. Nnamdi Okore-Affia, the NYSC reminded Yobe and Borno CMs that their orientation dates remain July 26, 2012 and August 16, 2012 as earlier announced. Although the statement did not clarify if the CMs would go back to Yobe and Borno for their primary assignments after the orientation exercise,
THISDAY gathered that it would be unlikely as this would generate another national uproar.
“Yobe State prospective corps members will now hold their orientation course at the Nasarawa State NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp, Keffi, Keffi LGA, and not as stated in their call-up letters. Borno State prospective corps members will undertake their orientation programme at the Benue State NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp at Wanume, Tarka LGA, and not as stated in their call-up letters,” the statement said.
Wednesday, across the country, the theme of most addresses by state governments to CMs shifted noticeably from the ethos of national unity and cohesion to the issue of safety for corps members. The NYSC scheme, which was established to promote national integration after the civil war, first came under fire after the post-election violence claimed the lives of the famous Bauchi-11 in April 2011. Prior to the election, several other corps members employed as ad hoc staff by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), were also killed in places like Suleja, Niger State, as well as in Jos, Plateau State when they got caught in a religious crisis.
Since then, the fierce and relentless attacks by Boko Haram and other violent groups have claimed the lives of many corps members, leading to calls from many quarters for the scrapping of the scheme. Earlier in the week, the NYSC had directed the corps members to proceed to their states of deployment, including the troubled parts of the country. But this generated a lot of criticisms from parents and other stakeholders.
Many corps members refused outright to go, saying their security cannot be guaranteed in those states where many other Nigerians are fleeing. The NYSC then issued a statement assuring them of their security in those states, but the CMs were clearly not convinced.
However, in Kano State, the authorities have increased the number of soldiers that should guard the NYSC camp, by deploying scores of security personnel comprising soldiers, the police as well as other operatives to the NYSC camp at Kusalla in Karaye Local Government Area as part of efforts to provide safety for the 2,500 corps members deployed in the state.
About 50 soldiers, policemen, Civil Defence Corps members and local security operatives known as vigilante group have been deployed in the camp to protect the corps members. The state coordinator of the scheme, Alhaji Bashir Yakasai, warned the new corps members to desist from granting interview to journalists on any issue relating to religion and politics.
Speaking during the swearing-in ceremony of the ‘Batch-B of the corps members, Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, represented by the state Deputy Governor, Dr. Umar Ganduje, said government would do everything possible to ensure the safety of the corps members during the three weeks orientation exercise and afterwards in the various communities they may find themselves.
But while Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State Wednesday reminisced on the primary objectives of the scheme, which is to promote unity, his Ogun State counterpart, Senator Ibikunle Amnosun, decided that the security concerns in the country call for intensified martial arts training for corps members so they can defend themselves at critical times.
The Ogun State Coordinator of NYSC, Mrs. Theresa Anosike, explained that the 2,000 corps members (comprising 999 males and 1001 females) would be trained in martial arts to equip them with self-defence skills in addition to the normal para-military drills and physical training during the three-week orientation programme. She stressed that the training is meant to “instill discipline in them, toughen their resistance, and imbue in them Spartan-like resilience that will prepare them for whatever challenges they may encounter, during and after their service period.”
Amosun, however, assured the new corps members of their security, stressing that “Ogun State is a haven of peace and security.”
On his part, Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State charged the 2,426 (1,355 male and 1,071 female) corps members in his state to be security conscious throughout their service year in the state. The governor urged them to be potent instruments in checking the menace of terrorism in the country, adding that this was the only way by which they could save the country from the international embarrassment caused the nation by the terrorists.
According to him, security should be seen as the primary responsibility of every citizen, adding that the corps members should continue to work harmoniously with the security agencies to rid the country of terror attacks. “You are all aware of the security challenge which is gradually turning the nation into a terrorist nation before the international community. I charge you to see yourself as instruments to check the menace. Be security conscious at all times," he said.
The NYSC State Coordinator, Mr. Tunde Baba-Ahmed, hinted that NYSC, in its determination to strengthen national unity, had arranged its platoons and hostels in a way that would allow corps members of different cultural, ethnic, religious and social backgrounds to interact freely.
In Enugu, the issue of safety of corps members also dominated the speech of Governor Sullivan Chime, who tasked the security agencies in the state to provide adequate cover for the corps members wherever they may be posted in the state. This was reinforced by the NYSC Coordinator in the state, Hillary Nasamu, who assured the corps members that the agency had put measures in place to guarantee the safety of over 2,500 corps members posted to the state.
Chime said the measures he ha put in place were meant to demonstrate the high premium which the government places on the safety of the corps members. He urged them to strive towards achieving the NYSC objective of national integration despite the security challenges currently facing the country.
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