News

NYSC @50: Stakeholders Assess Scheme, As Corps Members Make Demands

Published

12 months ago

May 14, 2023

Activities to mark the 50th anniversary of the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, gained momentum across Nigeria last week.

The frenzy online, on the streets and across cities evoked nostalgia, excitement and wistfulness as stakeholders (mostly generations of Nigerians who themselves had served in the past as corps members) reflected on the long-term impact of the scheme on Nigeria and its citizens.

NYSC, established on May 22, 1973, through Decree No. 24 by the administration of General Yakubu Gowon, has the overarching goal of fostering national unity and integration following the civil war that crippled the country from 1967 to 1970.

The war had prompted Nigeria to seek a permanent solution to discord among its ethnic components.

It was to this end that the military administration of General Yakubu Gowon, in pursuit of its “Three Rs” policy (of reconciliation, reconstruction, and rehabilitation), established NYSC as an organ of national unity.

In good and bad times, NYSC weathered the storm. On Monday, May 8, 2023, authorities of the NYSC formally commenced activities to mark the 50-year milestone of the institution.

The journey so far

Without being sentimental, NYSC has been an avenue for true service to the fatherland for young Nigerians.

Members of the corps (famously called corpers) spend 12 months contributing to the development of various sectors, most prominently the education and health sectors.

In its half-century existence, the scheme has continually reinvented itself to meet the demands of the day, with the most recent evolution being its Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Department, SAED, which has been facilitating job creation for its teeming members.

Far from being a vestige of the past, NYSC, as an institution, offers young Nigerians a gateway to their future in a country of ethnic and religious pluralism where peaceful coexistence is paramount.

Stakeholders, who spoke to DAILY POST, commended the scheme for its efforts so far in uniting the country despite the perennial ethnic, political, and religious polarities that perpetuate divisions among Nigerians.

The respondents also spotlighted areas where NYSC could be strengthened as an institution.

According to the President of the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF), Alhaji Yerima Shettima: “The intentions for the establishment of NYSC were good to an extent; we must acknowledge the fact that it has impacted positively on the lives of Nigerians.”

He underscored the role of NYSC in promoting unity as it provides opportunities for young Nigerians to leave the environment of their birth and upbringing and “go to where they have never imagined.”

Said he: “Intermarriage among corps members is also part of the reason for the establishment of the scheme. The aim was to unite the country so that we can see ourselves as one nation.”

In the same vein, the President General of the Coalition of South East Youth Leaders, COSEYL, Goodluck Ibem affirmed that the scheme had helped Nigerians to acquaint themselves with people of other languages and tribes, a development that fosters peace and harmony in the country.

He also credited the NYSC for fostering peace through inter-ethnic marriage among young Nigerians.

“The NYSC has improved intermarriage among our youths from different ethnic and religious backgrounds, which ordinarily would not have been impossible.

“But as corps members met and interacted during their service years, they discovered that what their political leaders told them about people of other tribes was not true but a lie,” he articulated.

Ibem enumerated other benefits of NYSC thus: “One, the scheme has helped our youths discover their talents and business opportunities in areas where they are posted for their primary assignments.

“Two, NYSC helps our youths learn new languages and cultures of their fellow Nigerians, which ordinarily would have been impossible if not for the scheme. As they learn new languages and cultures, they understand better how to relate freely with their fellow countrymen and women.

“Three, the scheme has helped the advancement of education in rural areas where ordinary Nigerians wouldn’t have had the opportunity of access to education. This is possible as corps members, in the spirit of service to the fatherland, help to build schools and teaching centres. Their sacrifices establish trust and unity among Nigerians.”

Another respondent, Ademola Joshua, a youth leader in Ondo State, highlighted the area of weakness in the scheme.

According to him: “Most Nigerians served their country only during the one-year compulsory service; after the NYSC programme, the majority of Nigerians don’t have the opportunity to serve their nation again. This is bad.”

He continued: “The federal government should find a way to create jobs for these young Nigerians or extend the service beyond just one year and pay them well. How can you pay them N33,000 and expect them to save and start a business afterwards?

“Parents struggle to pay school fees for their children, and even during service, they still struggle to feed them, this is not correct.”

Expanding national assignment and growing concerns

The past few decades have seen the NYSC take on weighty responsibilities, especially with the return to democracy, whereby corpers have become pivotal to Nigeria’s electoral process.

In every electioneering season, corps members in their numbers serve as Presiding Officers (PO) and Assistant Presiding Officers (APO) at polling units.

For instance, not less than 200, 000 corpers were enlisted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) during the 2023 elections, constituting 75 percent of the election workers.

Similarly, they serve as part of the workforce of the National Population Commission (NPC) during census exercises.

They are consequently exposed to the hazards of these assignments as witnessed during election periods when they are frequently targets of political violence.

In addition, the insecurity situation of the country has made the “service year” (the dream of graduating students) fraught with dangers.

In the past years, several corps members have paid the supreme price and fallen victims of bandits, insurgents, unknown gunmen, and other criminal elements wreaking havoc across the nation.

The disturbing development is giving patriotic young Nigerians and their parents grave concerns.

This concern was also shared by the AYCF president, who pointed out that the insecurity situation in the country is a discouraging factor for young Nigerians, who now worry about being posted to states affected by banditry or insurgency.

“I am optimistic that the security challenge will go away one day. And I commend the government; despite the security challenges, they never considered scrapping the scheme,” Yerima stated.

Speaking on the security of corps members, the Cross River State coordinator of NYSC, Zemoh Andrew Jebo told DAILY POST that the scheme does not post its members to volatile areas, especially during elections.

“There is a directive from the Director-General; we don’t post corps members to volatile areas,” he affirmed.

Finance side of the scheme

For serving corps members, the monthly stipend from the government is their mainstay while serving their fatherland, sometimes, in very demanding circumstances.

In 2002, corps members were paid N11, 000, and 21 years later, they are earning N33, 000, following the implementation of the national minimum wage by the Federal Government in 2020.

Owing to the current economic reality of the country, the allowance, however, can hardly sustain them for a month.

On this, all corps members are in agreement: There is a need for an immediate review of the monthly stipends.

Galloping inflation, which translates into skyrocketing prices of food items and other essential commodities daily, renders their monthly stipend insufficient, from one payday to another.

The trio of Ochoche Maria, Jane Ugwu and Anthony Omoha, who are currently serving in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT Abuja, told DAILY POST in plain terms that their current allowance is “inadequate.”

According to them, they still rely on their parents for financial support.

“Life was better when we were in school. At least, people helped because they knew that, as students, we needed money; now, not everyone understands our situation- the N33,000 finishes in just a week. Transportation, food, rent, and everything else is just too expensive in Abuja,” Jane Ugwu complained.

She reflected solemnly: “When they started paying the N33,000, people were able to save from it because the economy was not that bad; now, N33,000 cannot feed one person for two weeks.”

Her condition, sadly, is representative of the generality of corpers.

As NYSC marks its milestone of 50 years, this is certainly an area of concern for all stakeholders.

There is, however, a ray of hope in this regard, arising from the declaration by Emmanuel Njoku, spokesperson of the National Salaries, Incomes, and Wages Commission (NSIWC), who on January 16, 2023, declared that the process of reviewing the national minimum wage will commence in the first quarter of 2023.

Such a positive development will definitely trickle down to corpers.

As Nigeria continues to deepen its nationhood, the NYSC remains an enduring symbol of the country’s unity, and a functional institution that is making valuable inputs to the corporate existence of Nigeria.
DAILY POST

News

Shell Set To Build Gas Pipelines In Oyo

Published

1 hour ago

May 3, 2024

Editor

Shell Nigeria Gas and the Oyo State Government have signed an agreement to develop a gas supply and distribution infrastructure that will deliver gas to industrial and commercial users in the state.

A statement released on Friday by Shell Nigeria’s Media Relations Manager, Abimbola Essien-Nelson, disclosed that SNG will build and operate the gas distribution network which will serve customers across Oyo State for 20 years.

According to the statement, the project will start with the construction of gas distribution infrastructure along a 15km pipeline route, adding that it will grow to deliver up to 60 million standard cubic feet of gas per day across the state.

It was learnt that the first gas is expected in the fourth quarter of 2025.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, the Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, described the project as a catalyst for development in the state.

Makinde said, “This project fits into our plan to drive innovation and industrialisation in Oyo State and we’re ready to partner with more companies and other organisations to enhance the delivery of relevant projects”.

Speaking, the Managing Director of SNG, Ralph Gbobo, noted that the agreement was “a significant milestone for SNG and Oyo State to boost economic activities in Nigeria by supplying industries and manufacturers with natural gas, a more reliable, cost-efficient and environmentally friendly source of energy”.

He explained, “The gas distribution project will be a game-changer in the industrialisation drive of the Oyo State Government and help boost internally generated revenue and result in more job opportunities.

“For SNG, the project is a milestone in our effort to continue growing the energy supply to businesses in Nigeria in line with Nigeria’s ambition to drive progress on the back of natural gas availability across Nigeria under the Decade of Gas initiative”.

The Managing Director of The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited and Chairman, Shell Companies in Nigeria, Osagie Okunbor remarked that the event pointed to the value of partnership as “Shell continues to power progress” in Nigeria through more and cleaner energy solutions for commercial and industrial customers.

“Building on our presence in the country since the 1960s and the wide marketing and trading reach of Shell Energy, we are excited about developing gas distribution solutions and delivering competitive and reliable energy for power generation and industrial use across Nigeria,” Okunbor added.

SNG was incorporated in 1998 as a fully Shell-owned company. Over the years, the company has become a supplier of gas and now serves over 150 clients in Abia, Bayelsa, Ogun and Rivers states.

The PUNCH reports that the Federal Government said it would stop granting licences to gas companies with no capacity to build pipelines for gas distribution.

This, the government said became necessary to discourage the transportation of compressed natural gas through the roads.

The Minister of State for Petroleum (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, made this disclosure when he was in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital on Wednesday.

While saying the country must transit from fossil fuel to CNG, Ekpo revealed that he had directed the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority, Farouk Ahmed, not to issue licenses to anyone who could not pipe CNG to the end users.

News

15-year-Old Public School Student Scores 362 In UTME

Published

4 hours ago

May 3, 2024

Editor

A student of a public secondary school, Government Secondary School, Omu Aran, Kwara State, Olukayode Victor Olusola, scored 362 marks in this year’s Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME, to be among the contenders for the highest scorers in the examination.

Though the Registrar of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, JAMB, Prof. Isaq Oloyede, organisers of the exam, had said the Board would not announce the highest scorer to avoid last year’s experience of confusing claims, Olukayode’s score is celebratory, as it is among the highest in recent years.

He scored 95 marks each in Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry and 77 in English Language.

His exploit is coming against the backdrop of the poor performance of candidates in the exam in which 1.4 million scored less than 200 marks out of 400. The exam was taken by over 1.8 million candidates

Also, Olukayode’s excellent performance is coming at a time when confidence is greatly eroding in what public schools have to offer and some private schools are boasting of being the most expensive in the country.

Olukayode was born in 2009 and hopes to study Electrical Electronic at the University of Ilorin, Kwara State.

His mother, Beatrice Tosin, while giving all the honour to God, also praised the studious and hard working nature of her child.

News

Group Mulls Legal Option To Stop IOCs’ Divestment From N’Delta

Published

4 hours ago

May 3, 2024

Editor

A human rights organization, ‘We The People,’ has said that it is considering legal options to hold international oil companies responsible for the massive environmental degradation from their operations in the Niger Delta for the past seven decades.

The organization said the move became necessary following the rush by the IOCs to abandon their onshore operations for deep offshore activities currently called divestment.

Executive Director of ‘We The People,’ Ken Henshaw, stated this during a Legal Roundtable on Oil Company Divestment, held in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.

Henshaw said the roundtable was aimed at galvanizing experts on the environment, legal system, the media and civil society organizations to proffer legal options to hold the IOCs responsible for the years of environmental carnage in the Niger Delta before they are allowed to embark on what many have described as the criminal flight of oil multi-nationals.

According to The PUNCH, he noted that it would be difficult to hold the companies accountable for the pollution of the region caused by their operations once they leave the shores of the country, hence they needed to be tackled to take responsibility for their activities.

Henshaw stated, “Since 2020 to 2021, many international oil companies that have operated in the Niger Delta for nearly 70 years have all started selling off their assets, Agip is selling to Oando, Shell is selling to Renaissance Energy, ExxonMobil is selling to Seplat. They are selling off these assets and the players taking over these assets are indigenous companies.

“We think that this is a real problem in the sense that we are not sure of the chances or opportunities of holding these companies accountable when they leave.

“We all know that the extraction of crude oil and gas has created different levels of problems. Routinely, gas has been flared for almost 70 years, routinely oil spilled for almost 60 years and this has caused serious ecological damage and also damage to the health of the people. It has made their fishing and occupation not viable.

“So after 70 years, we are simply saying that there is a need for us to assess the extent of negative impacts created by oil extraction and place liability and responsibility where liability and responsibility should be placed.

“We are simply asking through this meeting, what are the legal options available to hold these companies accountable?”

Delivering the keynote address, a specialist in Petroleum and International Law and Policy at the University of Port Harcourt, Prof. Ibiba Worika, urged the Federal Government to exercise restraint in ratifying the oil companies’ assets divestment.

Worika advised the government to ensure that companies address the historical pollution and other environmental concerns in the oil-rich region before being allowed to leave because the people will be at the receiving end.

He said, “For us here in the Niger Delta, the divestment of IOCs is something that basically we are likely going to be at the receiving end, our environment has been essentially despoiled over the years due to decades of oil and gas exploration and development and historical pollutions have never been addressed by the oil majors or the government, and unfortunately, our communities are left alone to deal with this.

“The question is, should these oil and gas majors be allowed to divest their assets and just walk away, without addressing the historical pollution and other environmental concerns?

“I don’t think that would be fair, I think that the Federal Government should exercise restraint on giving its approval so we can have a round table discussion where these concerns can truly be expressed and let’s see what it is that can be done to address these concerns.”

Worika added that should the government fail to do the needful soonest, civil society organizations in the Niger Delta would be left with no other option but to institute legal action against the Federal Government and the IOCs.

He insisted, “I have not heard of any instances where a local government area or a state government took it upon itself to sue an oil major for and on behalf of the communities. I have not seen that, but we still have them sharing the revenues from oil and gas exploration from all these communities.

“If this is not done then I fear that we may have to institute legal actions ahead of the divestment, restraining both the Federal Government and the oil companies concerned from divesting until these matters are looked into, much more approximately, and of course remediation, as well as compensation packages are arranged for the communities.”

On his part, a former Commissioner for Environment in Bayelsa State, Iniruo Wills, said the blame for unending environmental pollution in the region should be on political leaders, such as governors, ministers and senators from the region, who he accused of abetting the pollution of the environment.

Wills, who is an environmental advocate, alleged that the political leaders have allowed the trend to continue because of pecuniary benefits.

He said, “Some of us are surprised that no state government in the Niger Delta is doing anything serious about abating the pollution in the region. So this is an opportunity to call on the individuals, I don’t like fiction or ghosts, but individuals like you and I, who are holding the offices, have the authority needed to do something.

“Some of them are in Abuja, Abuja is too far, we are in the Niger Delta, who are people in the Niger Delta that we the people have put as our gatekeepers to defend us, to defend our territories, such as the governors? So the kind of pollution and other environmental hazards that we have been singing about for 50 to 70 years are continuing, not just because of the people in Abuja or the oil companies.

“It is because somebody or people who are governors, senators, or ministers of petroleum from the Niger Delta have refused to do anything about it.

“As of this moment that we are speaking, if pollution is continuing in Rivers State, it is because Governor Siminalayi Fubara does not consider it a priority. If it is continuing in Bayelsa State, it would be because Governor Duoyi Diri does not take it as a priority.

“The day that one governor in the Niger Delta considers that this thing is a danger to his people and he is going to deploy the full weight of his executive authority and resources to deal with it, this madness will come to an end.”