WE are strong advocates for the total review of the National Youths Service Corps, NYSC, scheme. It is so unfortunate that the Federal Government, through successive regimes, has bluntly refused to even entertain the need to give the scheme a second look in the light of current realities.

The scheme was established on May 22, 1973 by the General Yakubu Gowon regime. It was a fantastic idea at that time because Nigeria was just recovering from a 30-month civil war. The NYSC was wholeheartedly welcomed as an effective means of fostering national reintegration. It gave our fresh university graduates the opportunity to live and serve in parts of the country other than their states of origin.

One of the requirements that drove participation was that the NYSC discharge certificate must be tendered as part of credentials for employment, election and appointment. Many public officials have lost their jobs or been exposed to scandals for NYSC certificate forgery or lack of service record.

However, the rise of multiple facets of insecurity in most parts of the country calls for a review of some of the terms of the scheme. 

The pathetic case of intending corps members from Akwa Ibom who were kidnapped by bandits in Zamfara State brings back the debate as to whether the scheme as it is has outlived its usefulness.

On August 19, 2023, the eight intending corps members were snatched in Zamfara en route to their call-up state, Sokoto. Reports say their families were able to raise N13 million for their release. The bandits reportedly collected the money and demanded for a further N200 million.

The armed forces and security agencies are on the heels of the criminals. 

But with hundreds of victims abducted by terrorists and bandits still in captivity for months and even years, their loved ones and well-meaning humanity can only hope and pray.

We strongly believe in the sanctity of human lives and that life comes before any other thing. Nigeria is engulfed in insecurity. It is a different situation compared with the atmosphere in the 1970s when people freely travelled to any part of the country without fear. 

Today, school children, clerics, doctors and NYSC members are particularly targeted for kidnapping, especially in the North.

We call on the National Assembly to face the reality of the situation, amend the NYSC law and temporarily suspend the compulsory requirement to serve. Intending Corps members should be given the freedom to decline service or posting to any part of the country where their safety cannot be guaranteed. 

This should remain in force until security is fully restored before compulsion will be reinstalled.

It does not make sense to continue to expose innocent and defenceless youth to danger in unfamiliar and unsafe terrains. The NYSC law must be retouched.