Parents under the umbrella of the Parent-Teacher Association of Nigeria have called on the Federal Government of Nigeria to scrap the National Youth Service Corps if it cannot ensure the safety of corps members across the country.
The National President of the association, Haruna Danjuma, made the call while reacting to growing security concerns affecting young graduates participating in the mandatory national service programme.
Speaking in an interview, Danjuma said many parents were increasingly worried about the risks corps members face, including kidnappings, killings and attacks reported in several parts of the country.
“On behalf of parents, we are not happy with what is happening. It is painful to lose a child. It is not easy to train a child from birth until they complete university and then at NYSC, the child gets kidnapped,” he said.
He stressed that since participation in the programme is compulsory for graduates, the government must take responsibility for their safety.
“We have said it repeatedly that the government has the responsibility of ensuring the security and welfare of all Nigerians. Since they engaged these young graduates in the scheme, they must ensure the safety of our children,” Danjuma said.
He suggested that governors and state security agencies should be required to formally guarantee the safety of corps members before they are posted to their states.
“The Federal Government should ensure that governors and the security architecture of each state sign an undertaking guaranteeing the safety of corps members before they are deployed there,” he added.
Danjuma warned that if adequate protection cannot be provided, the programme should be discontinued.
“If you cannot protect the lives of these children, then scrap the NYSC because the value of the scheme is already defeated if the children are not safe,” he said.
Also reacting, the Executive Director of Amnesty International Nigeria, Isa Sanusi, said the concerns raised by parents were legitimate.
Sanusi criticised the management of the NYSC for allegedly leaving families to negotiate with kidnappers without adequate institutional support.
“The concerns of the parents are absolutely right. There is no way someone would train his child up to that level, send him to NYSC, only to end up paying ransom,” he said.
He added that stronger security measures must be introduced to prevent corps members from being posted to areas facing security threats.
“The current security situation requires measures to ensure that nobody is posted to areas where there are security threats. NYSC should not shy away from its responsibilities and leave parents to struggle with payment of ransom,” Sanusi stated.
The renewed concerns follow the case of Musa Abba, a graduate of Federal University Gusau, who was abducted on January 9 while travelling to Sokoto to resume his national service.
Abba, who is from Gusau, was reportedly beaten in a video released by the abductors after his family failed to raise the ₦10 million ransom demanded for his release.
Reports indicated that his family even held a burial ceremony for him on March 5 after believing he had been killed, before another video later surfaced showing him alive but in a weak condition.
The incident has renewed national debate over the safety of corps members as cases of kidnappings and attacks continue to be reported in different parts of Nigeria.
