NYSC AND THE ANTICS OF DELTA
STATE GOVERNMENT
The
National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) is a paramilitary scheme established by law
on the 22nd of May 1973 after the Civil War with a view to
restructuring and strengthening the Nigerian state as well as creating a
stronger solidarity among the teeming members of the country.
The scheme is statutory for every Nigerian
graduate both home and in the diaspora whose age falls between eighteen and
thirteen regardless of the country in which the university or polytechnic
he/she attended is situated, provided it is a recognized institution.
The programme is generally made up of
three main phases to include the Orientation Camping, the Place of Primary
Assignment (PPA), and the Community Development Service (CDS) respectively; in
addition to the Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED)
initiative, which was newly introduced to enable the corps members become
self-reliant the moment they are done with the programme irrespective of their
respective disciplines.
The ‘Orientation Camping’, which is
exclusively a core paramilitary training, enables the corps members to be
physically and mentally prepared to face the tasks that await them. Similarly,
the PPA phase, which creates a platform for them to be posted to various
establishments – probably private, state or federal owned firms, immediately
after the camping exercise in respect to their qualifications, is definitely an
avenue for them to extensively practice whatever they have studied on campus.
Whilst, the CDS phase is designed to
ensure that each of the corps members, either individually or collectively,
contribute his/her quota toward the development of their host communities. On
this platform, the corps members are expected to look inwards and examine the
actual needs of the communities involved.
To cut the unending story short, since
the NYSC scheme has proven beyond any reasonable doubt to be a worthwhile
scenario, it is no doubt imperative for the crusade regarding its sustenance to
be duly intensified. Suffice it to say; any sane or rational Nigerian needs not
to be reminded that everyone has a quota to contribute towards actualizing the
aforesaid sustenance.
On the contrary, it is obvious that most
stakeholders in the country are not currently living up to the expectation
toward ensuring that the scheme in question is considered or absorbed as juicy
by its countless participants. Such amusing gesture continually displayed by
various well-meaning individuals really calls for a public outcry.
I’ve earlier advocated that it was high
time the monthly allowance of the corps members, which is ubiquitously #19800,
is reviewed. Undoubtedly, taking a painstaking look at the ongoing economic
situation in the country coupled with the fact that most of these corps members
are not provided with accommodation spaces at their places of primary
assignment, there is a compelling need for the government to review the said
allowance, which I often refer to as peanut, for the interest of the ‘corpers’,
their various families and Nigeria at large.
It is even more devastating to
acknowledge that the leadership of most states across the federation is not
helping matter in regard to improving the welfare of the corps members posted
to their states, knowing fully well that they are not directly under the care
of their parents or guardians as the case may be. The one that shocked my
imagination was the recent report I received on Delta State from one of my
lovely nieces who just concluded her National Youth Service Programme in the
said state, in October 2015 precisely, under the aegis of the 2014 Batch C.
The lady in question was, after her
orientation camping section, posted to one of the secondary schools in the
state. And, as the tradition of the NYSC demands, a corps members assigned to
any state owned ministry, department or agency is meant to statutorily receive
a fixed monthly stipend, in addition to his/her basic federal allowance (#19,800),
from the state government. The amount to be received is to be variously decided
by the state governments as it would suit their purses.
That of the Delta state is five thousand
naira (#5000). According to my niece who meritoriously served in a secondary
school situated in the state’s Capital Territory, Asaba, she never received any
penny starting from December 2014 when she resumed duty till October 2015 when
she rounded off the programme. Though the poor girl remained patient and
optimistic throughout the period because she learnt that sometimes the payment
is made in bulk or per annum, usually at the last month of the service year,
but pathetically she didn’t even receive payment for a single month.
It was during their passing out ceremony
that the Deputy Governor of the state in the person of Barr Kingsley Otuaro who
represented the governor – Sen Ifeanyi Okowa who was unavoidably absent assured
them that their monies must be remitted to their bank accounts as soon as they
depart to their various destinations thereby pleaded with them to bear with the
government, stating that the ‘regrettable’ delay was due to the present
economic challenges faced by the state.
Owing to the seemingly or ostensibly
candid assurance given to them as I was told, I thought it wise to give the
state a benefit of doubt before unleashing my grievance via the media, but what
actually triggered my venom was when the victim in question rightly informed me
a couple of weeks ago that she just got an alert for payment of only one month
wage, which is #5000, deposited to her account rather than the awaited #55,000
owed her. It sounds so absurd but it’s indeed a reality. Honestly, If I wasn’t
directly affected, I would have been sceptical over the ordeal.
It is pertinent to note that other
states are not left out while discussing such manner of antics or melodrama
witnessed under the NYSC scheme. Few months ago, it was on the news that some
aggrieved corps members serving in a certain state situated in the South West region
took to the street to protest over the non-payment of their monthly state
allowances.
As an activist or an agent of positive
change, I’m under an obligation to speak or react whenever necessary without
much ado, which is not unconnected to the oath I willingly took the day I
joined this (the activism) race. To this end, I sincerely urge our leaders to
be very conscious and extremely mindful of how they parade their leaderships,
acknowledging the fact that the law of Karma would always prevail at the long
run. Think about it!
Comr Fred Doc Nwaozor
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