Insecurity: NAPTAN seeks state-of-origin posting of corps members

Mr Adeolu Ogunbanjo, Chairman, Board of Trustees, National Parent-Teacher Association of Nigeria (NAPTAN), has urged the Federal Government to critically review the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme.

Ogunbanjo spoke in an interview with our reporter on Tuesday in Lagos.

Ogunbanjo said that the call followed an attack on two buses conveying prospective corps members and other passengers on the Owerri-Onitsha Road, near Umunoha in Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo.

Recall that the prospective corps members travelling from Ibadan to their orientation camps were reportedly kidnapped on Oct. 1.

Ogunbanjo described the latest abduction of corps members as disturbing, frustrating and increasingly worrisome.

He said that travelling long distances had exposed corps members to security threats, while parents endured anxiety, financial pressure, and uncertainty whenever their children travelled for national service.

The NAPTAN BoT chairman said that graduates should be allowed to do national service within their respective states of origin.

“Abduction of corps members is becoming rampant and disturbing because these young Nigerians are exposed to abuse, trauma and serious danger daily,” he said.

Ogunbanjo said insecurity had undermined NYSC’s objectives, including fostering interaction among graduates from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds while contributing to community development nationwide.

He said that poor welfare and work conditions had compounded corps members’ difficulties, noting instances where organisations rejected corps members or did not provide adequate support for them.

According to him, the financial burden of transporting corps members to far places is enormous on parents.

He said that only about four or five per cent of parents could afford to transport corps members via flights while the majority would travel by road, facing risks.

“The situation has become troubling that parents now resorted to fasting and prayers, with some reportedly developing health problems over their children’s journeys.

“Our children are at risk daily; parents and corps members live in fear.

“This is becoming unbearable and needs a practical step to stop. Government should  permit national service within corps members’s states of origin.

The NYSC, established in 1973 to promote national unity, deploys Nigerian graduates across states for service, skills development, community engagement and cultural exchange.