Creative Thinker

NYSC and the Antics of Delta State Govt

NYSC AND THE ANTICS OF DELTA STATE GOVERNMENT

 
The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) is a paramilitary scheme established by law on the 22^nd 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

Follow: @mediambassador

          

      

Int'l Day for Elimination of Violence Against Women

COMBATING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AS THE WORLD MARKS THE INT’L DAY FOR ELIMINATION OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

     
Today Wednesday November 25, the global community is commemorating the International Day for Elimination of Violence against Women. From November 25 – the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women to December 10 – the Human Rights Day, the sixteen (16) days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence Campaign is a time to galvanize action to end violence against women and girls around the world.

      
A woman can be defined as a female human being. In the same vein, violence is defined as a behaviour involving physical force or emotional maltreatment intended to hurt, damage, or kill someone/something. On the other hand, a society is an organization of people who have the same or similar interest/aim; the overall people in a particular area or locality can also be referred to as a society.

      
Undoubtedly, no society in existence can be said to be complete if a woman is yet to be found in it, regardless of its nature or size. We can testify to this fact by considering how a woman came into the world. Of course it is no longer news that having created man, God the creator thought it wise to form a woman from the rib of a man; this was so because God realized of what benefit a woman would be to a man in any society/arena he finds himself.

      
A family for instance – a nuclear family precisely, which remains the smallest society on earth, can never strive successfully or attain to its anticipated height if a woman is missing. Realistically, a family cannot be formed in the first place if a woman is nowhere to be found.

       
And along the line having created or formed a family with the help of a woman, if she eventually dies, the affected family will live to suffer the vacuum her eternal demise has created. This implies that, psychologically, no widower can boast of being a happy man, especially a situation where the late wife left some kids behind.

       
Sometimes even when the widower has gotten married to another woman, provided the late wife left some indelible footprints behind such as the kids or that she was made up of some irreplaceable features, he shall remain in an unending emotional trauma until he is being compensated with one thing or the other by the Almighty.

        
Ab initio, the womenfolk has been considered to constitute the integral part of the wider society. It is obvious that a social gathering or union cannot achieve an effective and efficient goal if the women are not carried along.

         
It might sound a bit controversial but the truth remains that nature had ordained woman to be the most attractive being in any society she happens to be a member or a part of; this is the reason whenever a social group of people intends to pay a courtesy visit to a certain office holder, if they fail to include at least a woman among the delegate, the said outing might end up being fruitless. Why? Simply because the presence of a woman has a natural tendency of arresting the heart of any man irrespective of what the man in question is made up of.

       
The political terrain is not left out. Surely, any man occupying a political position would boldly testify to the fact that his beloved wife is the reason he is striving assiduously and successfully. Suffice it to say that, a woman is indeed in charge of any leadership position even when her impact seems invisible. The   advisory role, both morally and otherwise, a woman plays in the life of a political office holder who happens to be her spouse supersedes whatever advice or counsel he receives from his employees/appointees, or friends and well-wishers, as the case may be.

       
Considering the church, which is an institution as well as one of the oldest societies across the globe, there is no need reiterating the fact that its sustainability from the onset has been possible owing to the effort of the womenfolk. A woman has been proven to be more pious than a man; this is why she remains the engine room towards the uplift of our children’s spiritual lives. And we are all aware that someone or a family whose spiritual life is porous is apparently living like a tree without a single root. Due to the fact that a woman is closer to the church than a man, the easiest way to conscientize a married man toward the uplift of a church is by winning the heart of his wife, since it is obvious that a woman has the key to a man’s heart.

       
Frankly, the role of a woman both in her immediate and wider society cannot be overemphasized. From the aforementioned facts, it can be pinpointed that without a woman, the children cannot be properly raised, be it morally, academically, religiously and what have you. Similarly, without a woman, a man’s social, political and emotional life shall remain incapacitated and in shambles.

     
Acknowledging this fact, it is noteworthy that as Nigeria joins the rest of the world to commemorate the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, it is our civic responsibility to ensure that women or girls whom are ubiquitously vulnerable owing to their nature are duly respected as well as safeguarded with a view to strengthening our respective societies and the nation at large. We can contribute our individual quotas by always being conscious of the fact that women are obviously the backbone of any existing society.

     
It is estimated that about thirty-five percent (35%) of women worldwide have experienced either physical and/or sexual violence by a non-partner at some points in their lives. However, some national studies show that up to seventy percent (70%) of women have experienced physical and/or sexual violence from an intimate partner in their lifetimes.

     
Violence against women is a human rights violation; it is a consequence of discrimination against women both in law and in practice, and of persisting inequalities between men and women. Unarguably, violence against women/girls impedes progress in many areas of human endeavour including poverty eradication, curbing contagious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, strengthening peace and security, thereby crippling nation building.

     
Surely, violence against women and girls, which continues to be a global pandemic, is not inevitable; thus, prevention is possible and essential too. Everyone has a responsibility to prevent and end violence against women and girl children, starting by challenging the culture of discrimination that allows it to exist.

     
Similarly, there’s also a compelling need for our legislators to enact a strict and formidable law that would holistically address any form of violence against the members of the womenfolk. The proposed law ought to ensure that anyone at all levels found guilty of any violence against the said group to include rape, battering, female genital mutilation, subjection into prostitution, and what have you, is thoroughly penalized or meant to face a capital punishment. There is no better time than now. Think about it!    

     

COMR FRED DOC NWAOZOR

Follow: @fdnnwaozor