A Closer Look at the Death of the NYSC Members in Nigeria

Bauchi — The remains of the nine National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members who were killed in Bauchi State during the violence that erupted after the presidential election were, over the weekend, taken from Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Teaching hospital to their respective states for burial.The officials of the NYSC led by a deputy director of the organisation, Mr. Yakubu Jok, arrived at the mortuary about 6am and dressed the slain corps members in full regalias”.

The slain corps members were Adewumi Seu (Ekiti), Teidi Olawale Tosin (Kogi), Adowei Elliot (Bayelsa), Okpokiri Obinna (Abia), Gbenjo Ebenezer Aypotunde (Osun), Ukeoma Ikechuwku Chibuzor (Imo), Nkwazema Anslem Chukwuonyerem (Imo), Adeniji Kehinde Jehleel (Osun) and Akonyi Ibrahim Sule (Kogi)”. Allafrica.com.

While the one year National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) program for Nigerian graduates has been around for several decades, it is high time we took a second look at its benefits and risks.

The NYSC program may be a great idea to many, but not adequately addressing the risks involved is nothing but a grave mistake that will continue to undermine the real benefits of the program. One of the drawbacks of this program is the way members are posted with little or no choice on the table. Most members get posted to different places they are not familiar with.

Even though one of the aims of the program was for members to appreciate other ethnic groups, the recent killings of the NYSC members should bring everyone back to the drawing board to reevaluate the goals as well as the difficulties faced by members. The irony of all this is our so-called leaders who introduced this program, including those who continue to support it send their children abroad to study and will never participate in the NYSC program.

As bad as it may be, the northern members of the NYSC most often enjoy the peaceful coexistence in the south regardless of religion and ethnicity, but the opposite is the case when the southern members are posted to the north as seen in the recent incidents in the north. As a result, it’s been quite obvious to see that not many southern members are eager to go to the north to serve, because the risks involved have completely negated the benefits of the program.

While we all dream and hope for a peaceful and prosperous “One” Nigeria, some of us, for stupid and selfish reason, are not doing anything to make that happen, hence they derive pleasure in taking innocent lives. The most upsetting thing about these killings is the fact that those service members didn’t have the opportunity to choose where to serve, simply due to the way the program was set up. This begs so many questions but no answers. Why do we live in Nigeria as if we live in a foreign country? When shall we move past the religion and ethnic divide? Do I need a different form of identification to prove my nationality when I’m around people with different religion and ethnic background?

I can’t help but to imagine what was going through the minds of the slain victims, when they sought refuge at the police stations, thinking their lives would be spared, only to see the opposite. What were they running from? Were they running from ferocious and wild animals? No, they were running from fellow Nigerians; the same fellow Nigerians who would probably help them when they are in need of help; the fellow Nigerians who could jump in the river to save them if they were drowning. In our homes, in our places of worship, isn’t it high time we started teaching ourselves to respect one another?

Those service members spent the past several years studying, going through sleepless nights, with little or nothing to eat, relying on parents and relatives for help just to get by. After all that, they suffered a painful death in the hands of heartless, hopeless, and uneducated morons roaming the streets.  Even those members who manage to survive the one year service still face a tougher challenge in finding a job. They’re often faced with challenges such as discrimination due to language barrier, religion, and ethnicity.

In trying to address these issues, the first question that comes to mind is, why aren’t members allowed to serve in the places of their choice, when we know some Nigerian cities are death traps for the service members? I spent 3 year in the far north and those 3 years were nothing to write home about. Faced with outright discrimination in school, coupled with frequent riots and constant reminder that I wasn’t from there, I vowed never to go back there unless things start to improve.

For Nigerians to be free, we need freedom of choice in every aspect of our lives. By denying the NYSC members the right to choose where they serve, we’re denying them one of the basic human rights. If the NYSC’s aim is to bring about unity in the country and to help youths appreciate other ethnic groups, the safety of the members, along with the freedom of choice must be addressed. Otherwise, its goals will never be achieved.

Pius currently works as a Technical Lead at Cincom Systems in Cincinnati, Ohio. He is also the CEO of JPAC Global, LLC, in Cincinnati, Ohio. As a regular contributor to the nigerianworkers.com blog, he also owns several other websites, including his most recent, www.naijapad.com, a Nigerian business portal. Google+

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Tags: Corps, Featured, NYSC, Youth

Category: Society & Culture