Just recently, news filtered in that the Benue State University (BSU) has been suspended from mobilizing its graduates as prospective corps members for the mandatory one year youth service scheme, by the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC). Joshua Egbodo takes a look.
Hard felt ban
The NYSC, it was learnt did not deem it good enough to attention of authority of the institution to whatever infractions it may had spotted, leaving both the prospective corps members and the management of the university in confusion, even as the management later offered to launch investigation into what may have led to the ban.
Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Msugh Kembe, was quoted in a media report to have expressed shock over the development, which he had no prior notice of.
“The NYSC did not inform the management of the institution of its decision before executing it. The organisation did not inform us that it had issues with the current list of prospective corps members from our university.
”On the second of October this year, the Dean of Students reported to me that they could not upload the names of prospective corps members from the university on the NYSC portal.
”The management of the university then detailed the Liaison Officer to write a letter to find out why the university could not upload its list of prospective corps members on the NYSC portal”, he noted.
Forced explanation
After much pressure, the NYSC was reported to have issued explanation on its decision, citing age falsification and other data manipulations for ineligible graduating students to be mobilized, a matter the VC explained was being investigated to ascertain who was complicit in the alleged infractions.
However, while that was on, the Benue State secretariat of the NYSC, was last Thursday, barricaded by angry students of institutions of higher learning in the state, including BSU itself, the University of Agriculture, Makurdi, and Fidei Polytechnic, Gboko, to protest the ban. The later institutions were reportedly also affected by the restriction.
The students, who were captured chanting solidarity songs, were carrying placards with inscriptions such as “NYSC Free BSU, UAM, FIDEI Students”, SAVE BENUE GRADUATES”, “NYSC IS OUR RIGHTS AS GRADUATES”, “GIIVE US OUR RIGHTS, NYSC”, “NYSC WHY,” “STATE AND NATIONAL ASSEMBLY COME TO OUR RESCUE”, among several others.
A leader of the protesting students, David Pine while registering their displeasure with the decision in an address to the NYSC State Coordinator, Mrs. Eno Herbert, called the Corps to rather identify and fish out those behind the alleged manipulation and falsification of data, rather than punishing those who had no hand in the said infractions.
Mrs. Herbert called for calm, assuring the students that their demand would be communicated to NYSC headquarters in Abuja.
“The exercise that is going on is not to punish any student and we on this scheme will not support any student being punished because these students are our children. But the student affairs officers that have done this and have brought hardship on the students will be punished,” she noted.
Succour from the House
Flowing with the demand of the students, the House of Representatives, also in a resolution on a motion brought under matters of urgent public importance by its Chairman of the Committee on Rules and Business, Hon. Emmanuel Orker-Jev, asked the NYSC urgently rescind the decision, to allow the students be mobilized for the youth service scheme.
“House of Representatives has asked the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), to rescind its decision to suspend the Benue State University (BSU) from further participation in the mandatory one year national service for Nigerian graduates”, he told the media after the day’s session.
Going into memory lane, he explained that the NYSC had in an explanation to its action, Wednesday, accused some students of the institution of falsifying their ages, well as providing wrong data in order to participate in the youth service.
But following a motion raised under matters of urgent public importance by Chairman of the House Committee on Rules and Business, Hon. Emmanuel Orker-Jev, members kicked against the blanket ban on the university, describing the action as akin to visiting the sins of a few on several innocent others.
Orker-Jev in his lead debate on the motion explained that while not justifying whatever the said students may have done as alleged, what was expected of the NYSC would be to have filter out the offenders.
“The action of the NYSC authority has brought untold hardship on many innocent graduates who have not been included in the allegations but are eager to serve the nation”, the lawmaker said, as he urged the House to intervene.
Deputy Whip of the House, Hon. Pally Iriase also faulted what he termed “a blanket ban” that will affect innocent students who have nothing to do with the alleged falsifications.
He, therefore, called on the NYSC “to fish out those students who may have committed the offences” and allow the innocent ones to serve their fatherland, as denying them may spell doom for their future, especially while seeking employment.
Hon. Edward Pwajok and Bukar Goni also expressed reservations on the action of the NYSC, especially as it affected many innocent other students.
Chairman of the House Committee on Youth Development, Hon. Segun Adekola however argued that the said fraudulent students may not have acted in isolation, but may have been aided by some internal institutional elements, noting that only a thorough investigation can unravel “what actually happened”, before blames could be apportioned.
Many analysts have agreed with the demands of the students and position of the House of Representatives, as according to them, it is most unlikely that the entire graduating students of an institution would be involved in such alleged manipulation of data.
To them therefore, what is reasonable for the NYSC to do is to fish out the culprits, name them with their collaborators, and punish them, while those eligible are mobilized for the national service scheme as required by law.
In the view of the House the management of the NYSC should subsequently give such matters serious consideration to forestall the possibility of taking what in the estimation of many could be harsh and unkind decision. They say any rushed decision could eventually be counterproductive and ultimately undermined whatever good objective such decision had been intended to produce.
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Many analysts have agreed with the demands of the students and position of the House of Representatives, as according to them, it is most unlikely that the entire graduating students of an institution would be involved in such alleged manipulation of data.
