WHEN the regime of Gen. Yakubu Gowon established the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in 1973, it was essentially meant to revolve around some key pillars, notably service delivery, so its invasion by fake corps members who have been discovered in their numbers is a serious setback for the scheme and must be arrested urgently.
The recent detection of non-graduates who were mobilized to the orientation camp by some fraudulent elements in some Nigerian universities had sent shocking waves across the broad-spectrum of the population. In a rather bold move recently, the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) demobilised 54 purported graduates that were illegally mobilised for youth service by the University of Calabar.
The Director-General, NYSC, Brig.-Gen. Yusha’u Ahmed said in a statement issued in Abuja by the Director, Information and Public Relations, Mr. Eddy Megwa, that this is in line with the scheme’s continuous efforts to prevent unqualified graduates from getting the NYSC certificate of national service.
The NYSC helmsman, who said that the demobilised candidates would be prosecuted accordingly, notedthat another 19 candidates among them that initially registered online for mobilisation have been prevented from service, while four certificates of national service for other culprits were not produced by the scheme.
In our findings, this is in addition to the earlier 101 certificates that were recently voided by the scheme, making a total of 178 illegal corps members caught in the web of deceit within the period.
Beyond this incidence that appears so nauseating and rather worrisome, what seems to have emboldened these impish merchants and their cohorts, is the apparent lack of institutional mechanism that ought to check such fraudulent activities that has ultimately brought shame to the nation’s educational institutions
While there were few cases of fake corps members in the past, it has however, taken a rather disturbing dimension , as the NYSC leadership recently uncovered what appears to be a cartel operating from behind the scheme that usually mobilized all manner of people, even bread seller to the Orientation camps without the basic minimum requirement.
Like a festering sore, refusing to heal and causing severe pains and discomfort, the level of corruption in Nigeria has deependand exacerbated to a ridiculous level so much so that even a roadside bread vendor is being mobilized to the NYSC orientation camp for only God knows why.
Indeed, we are taking a lot of things for granted as a people; the most predominant is our obsession with ways to cut corners; this so because people don’t to work hard anymore but bent on leveraging on any flip on the part of government to their ultimate personal benefit , which appears to be playing out in several government establishments.
Ordinarily, we are not surprised at the bizarre turn of events, given the emerging realities in our country today; our youths are absolutely walking the same odious path that our elders had shown them, that retracing their steps have even become difficult to contemplate.
Ideally, several courses in the various universities in the country run for four years except for Medicine, Law and Architecture but we found it strange that our youths cannot afford to endure this brief period in the ivory tower to acquire professional knowledge and legitimately earn certificates rather choose the dishonourable path and ultimately end in disgrace.
In our estimation, a lot of persons may have been parading fake certificates in their various places of work and even in the political space to the discomfiture of the Nigerian people, which is the way to go if this great country must move forward.
Going forward therefore, we advocate a stronger interface among the university authorities and relevant agencies of government. It is a dent on the nation’s image, for a great nation like Nigeria to find itself at this ridiculous junction.
As a way of restoring our global image, there is also the need for a continued public enlightenment campaign appropriately designed to purge Nigerians of that inclination towards certificate as the sole determinant of everything in the country and embrace skill acquisition as an essential alternative.
In this direction, we urge the government and relevant authorities to wield the big stick. It should sanction anyone found culpable in this drama of the absurd.
