Calls are intensifying for the Federal Government led by Bola Ahmed Tinubu to reconsider or scrap the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme amid rising concerns about the safety of corps members across Nigeria.
The growing pressure follows several reports of kidnappings, killings, and violent attacks involving participants of the mandatory national service programme in different parts of the country.
The National President of the Parent-Teacher Association of Nigeria (PTA), Haruna Danjuma, said the government must either guarantee the security of corps members or discontinue the programme altogether.
Danjuma explained that many parents across the country are becoming increasingly worried about the risks young graduates face during the one-year national service scheme.
Speaking on behalf of concerned parents, he lamented the emotional and financial burden families face when incidents occur during the service year.
“On behalf of parents, we are not happy with what is happening. It is painful to lose a child,” he said.
“It is not easy to train a child from birth until they complete university and then at NYSC, the child gets kidnapped.”
According to him, the government has a constitutional responsibility to safeguard the lives and welfare of all citizens, including graduates participating in the national service programme.
Danjuma suggested that before corps members are deployed to any state, governors and security authorities in those states should formally guarantee the safety of participants.
“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 said.
He warned that if the authorities cannot provide adequate protection, the continued existence of the scheme becomes questionable.
“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 added.
Also reacting to the issue, Isa Sanusi, Executive Director of Amnesty International Nigeria, said the fears expressed by parents are valid given the current security challenges across the country.
Sanusi criticised the management of the NYSC programme, accusing authorities of failing to take full responsibility for the safety of corps members deployed across various states.
According to him, it is unacceptable for families to be left alone to negotiate with kidnappers when corps members are abducted during their service year.
“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 stressed that the prevailing security situation in Nigeria requires stronger protective measures, including avoiding the deployment of corps members to areas with known security threats.
Sanusi further stated that the NYSC authorities must remain responsible for the safety and wellbeing of corps members throughout the entire duration of the programme.
“They mobilised these young people, so their security and wellbeing should remain the responsibility of NYSC until the end of the programme,” he said.
“For NYSC to leave parents to struggle with ransom payments while waiting to see if their children are killed is quite irresponsible.”
The renewed debate over the future of the NYSC scheme comes in the wake of the recent abduction of a corps member, Musa Abba, who hails from Gusau in Zamfara State.
Abba, a graduate of plant science and biotechnology from Federal University Gusau, was reportedly kidnapped on January 9 while travelling to Sokoto to begin his national service.
Reports indicate that the abductors demanded a ransom of N10 million for his release.
A video that circulated on social media allegedly showed the corps member being assaulted by bandits after his family reportedly failed to meet the ransom demand, further fueling outrage and calls for urgent reforms to the programme.
The incident has reignited nationwide debate about whether the NYSC scheme, which was originally designed to promote national unity and integration among Nigerian youths, can still operate safely in the face of Nigeria’s worsening security challenges.
