Insecurity: The Dilemma Of Eligible National Youth Service Corps Members

Scores of eligible National Youth Service Corps members may have declined participation in the ongoing orientation exercise nationwide.

This may not be unconnected to the insecurity situation particularly in some states in the northern part of the country.

Recall that, the killings, abductions and wanton destruction of properties particularly in Plateau and Benue States in recent times have created fear in visitors to the states.

It equally informed the reluctancy or outright shunning of posting of mobilised corps members to the states and other volatile areas of the country by the youths.

In a chat with me in Osogbo the mother of Adesewa, Ms Aderonke Olusola Sanni lamented the deployment of her daughter to Plateau State for her service years.

Against the will of her daughter who was ready to ‘risk’ her life to proceed to Plateau State to join her colleagues at the ongoing orientation camp, madam Sanni vehemently refused her daughter’s participation and decided that her daughter will have to wait for another batch.

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Adesewa was not posted alongside her colleagues due to no fault of hers after completion of her academic studies in Dominium University, had to wait for the just commenced batch while lamenting the waste of her time due to no fault of hers.

To compound issues for Adesewa, her mother’s well wishers who are domiciled in Plateau State discouraged Ms Sanni from allowing her daughter to come to the state because according to them, they are living in fear in the once very peaceful state.

Also, while the parents of Oluchi Chuckwalla, Mr and Mrs Chuckwalla pleaded with their daughter to journey to Benue after being posted to the state, Oluchi pleaded with her parents to let her wait for another batch.

Speaking with me in Ilesa, Osun State, Mr Chuckwalla attributed his plea as a result of the delay hus daughter suffered in her posting for the national service.

According to him, Oluchi had missed two batches of service years adding that he was not even sure his daughter will not be posted to what he described as ‘war zone’ in another round of posting.

However, a cleric, Pastor Sunday Babawale of CAC, Oluwasogo, Glorious Arena English Assembly, Osogbo advocated restriction of NYSC postings to the region of prospective corps members in the face of insecurity bedeviling the nation.

According to him, while the scheme is a welcome development, the prevailing situation called for adjustments to avoid putting parents in protracted one year fear over the security of their children ditto the prospective corps members.