Apr 28, 2011
Who will be a voice for the youth corps members? #ProtectTheCorpers
Hello,
We all know that at the moment, almost everyone is upset at the spate of avoidable deaths of youth corps members across the country. It did not start today – from natural disasters to rape and murder, ethno-religious crisis to post-elections violence, these young men and women serving their country find themselves easy targets to be killed and maimed – and not just in the north.
Yes, we are angry now but 1) How much longer will that anger last before we all go back to our merry lives and forget all about this? 2) How will anger actually lead to any solutions unless we do something?
The government has promised compensation for the families of those like Ukeoma AikFavour and Obinna Okpokiri who lost their lives, but this is not enough. Their deaths should not be in vain – it should lead a fundamental change in the way that the youth corps scheme is implemented.
The Future Project (which runs The Future Awards), in partnership with the National Youth Council, AIESEC, SleevesUp Nigeria, Friends of Aik, Paradigm Initiative Nigeria and the EnoughisEnough Nigeria Coalition has decided to take up this cause.
We are aware that many initiatives have been undertaken in the past – but we believe it is time to move from anger and protest and to make this a broad-based national campaign. It is also a fine opportunity for us to put our hard won democracy to work – to move from protest and activism to advocacy and productive democratic lobby.
So, over the next nine-months, we are implementing a solution-oriented approach that involves 1) Engaging government on a policy level to restructure and reform the NYSC in order to protect corps members in the interim and then to completely overhaul the scheme in the long term so that it is actually useful to the nation. 2) Supporting this Policy Engagement with a wide-ranging public and media campaign to ensure pressure is sustained on the government.
Starting from tomorrow therefore, we are activating a #ProtectTheCorpers campaign that will involve both online and offline strategies to engage the authorities, the media and young people.
The strategy is simple –
1) We are gathering 100, 000 signatures for a petition that is going to the Presidency with a 7-point demand (see demand below) to restructure the scheme and protect the corps members.
2) Request an urgent meeting with the Minister of Youth and the Director-General of the NYSC to implement immediate action points.
3) Begin an aggressive lobby at the legislature, especially the Senate and House Committees on Youth, towards include the deletion of the programme from the section of the Constitution and placing it as an Act of Parliament with a revamped structure, as recommended by the Senate Spokesperson, Ike Ekweremadu.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
1) Read the demands below and sign the petition on www.thefuturenigeria.com/protectthecorpers – and get at least 20 of your friends, family and associates to sign the petition.
2) If you have any direct influence with any legislator who can help with introducing and facilitating this bill, please get in touch with us at info@thefuturenigeria.com.
3) Use the #ProtectTheCorpers Hashtag on your Twitter and Facebook Accounts Daily, Use the Avatar/Display Picture on Your Facebook/Twitter/BBM Accounts and Send this Message To All Your Contacts.
4) Support this initiative with resources or donation to sustain the publicity and lobbying drive over the next 9 months (our working time-frame). Send a mail to info@thefuturenigeria.com titled SUPPORT.
5) Join the ProtectTheCorpers group on Facebook as well as the ProtectTheCorpers group on Yahoo.
6) Send us an e-mail on info@thefuturenigeria.com or call us on with any suggestions or how you can or want to help.
7) Visit www.thefuturenigeria.com/protectthecorpers for more information.
7-POINT DEMAND TO #PROTECTTHECORPERS
1. Hotspots – Identify violence-prone “hot-spots” states and/or districts and ensure that corps member posting to these areas is voluntary. This voluntary posting must also come with an institutionalised incentive.
2. Emergency Fund – Institute an NYSC Contingency Fund that is easily accessible in pre-crisis and crisis situations.
3. Decentralisation – The command structure of the NYSC should be devolved in terms of accommodation, welfare, wages and security to avoid red tape during times of crisis. State governments should be primarily responsible for welfare as well as security – including immediate evacuation during conflict.
4. Compensation – Corps Members posted out of their states of residence should be beneficiaries of a comprehensive life insurance policy as a compensation structure in time of unavoidable loss.
5. Data Management – Digitise the database of corps member with location, contact information and total number per state. This is to ensure easy pre and post-crisis accessibility and tracking.
6. Representation – Institutionalise an alternate platform for corps members to interact with administration on welfare and security. This structure will interface directly with the Corps Commandants at state level and the Director-General at federal level.
7. Full-scale Reform – Constitute a National Youth Service Corps Reform Committee that will recommend full scale structural and policy reforms for the scheme and make binding recommendations to the Federal Government to be implemented into a National Youth Service Act.
Click here for more information
WHY CORPERS?
1. Because they are in their locations compulsorily – they have no choice, they have to complete the programme to start off their lives. In essence, they are sitting ducks for violence.
2. Because they are undergoing a special service for the country, and so deserve the country’s special attention.
3. Because they are young – and the future of the nation.
Let’s ensure that we put our government under pressure immediately after the elections. This is a good place to start making our democracy work! Those ‘corpers’ cannot die in vain.
#ProtectTheCorpers. #ProtectTheFuture.
Following the post election violence that led to the death of corpers who had no idea of what they had sign up for, What happens next to the NYSC program?”
UPDATE 1
Please note that the petition-signing process has officially come to a close.
The call for signatures for the formal petition to be forwarded to the Presidency and the Ministry for Youth Development was brought to a successful close on Monday, May 30 after the petition was brought to the attention of the President at his pre-inaguration meeting with young Nigerian leaders and groups on May 24, 2011.
The coalition extracted a commitment from the President to speed up the process of reforming the youth corps scheme amid a directive to his Minister for Youth Development who was also present at the meeting.
The #ProtectTheCorpers initiative is now focused on pooling together a think-tank that will work to develop a reform blueprint that will ensure the safety and security of youth corps members as well as restructure the scheme completely to restore its value adding capacity to young people and to Nigeria.
However, you can go ahead and sign this petition to add your voice to the on-going reform process, as well as to get updates on NYSC issues and related activities. For direct information requests, please email protectthecorpers@thefuturenigeria.com or info@thefuturenigeria.com.
UPDATE 2
The Federal Government for acceding to the first of its seven demands for short-term measures to guarantee the safety and security of young Nigerians under the National Youth Service Scheme.
The number one demand was for the government to “Identify violence-prone “hot-spots” states and/or districts and ensure that corps member posting to these areas is voluntary. This voluntary posting must also come with an institutionalised incentive.”
In news reports on Friday, June 10, Gabriel Ibe, the Oyo State Coordinator of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), announced that the NYSC management will no longer post corps members to crisis prone areas in the country. He made the announcement in Ibadan.
The NYSC official also revealed that each state coordinator has been so directed and the directive will take effect with the next deployment of corps members on July 7. This he did while acknowledging that “the security and safety of lives of corps members had been the major challenge of the scheme in recent time.”
This is heartwarming news. The campaign continues.
Join the debate/conversation on our facebook group and page.
Page: http://www.facebook.com/TheFutureAwards
Group: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_178612905520711&ap=1
Yours-for-change
The Future Project, Nigeria.
www.thefuturenigeria.com/protectthecorpers
[[petition-1]]
i think NYSC need to be reformed in order to protect the future of the nigerian youths and the future of Nigeria for the betterment of Nigeria.
Lets do things d right way!
We deplore the recent killings and demand that something be done about it
Just want to say to the originators of this website that this is a great initiative and I pray this sends a signal to our government in order to effect a positive change.
I’m Unencouraged by the recent attacks directed at Youth Corpers. The government is not paying enough attention.
serving ourgreat country Nigeria is also part of educational process, so i think NYSC should not be completely scrap out instead it should be reform.Great Movement. On the run.
I sincerely believe the NYSC scheme is just a waste of time and tax payers money…it should be cancelled as what’s the purpose of serving for one year bearing the risks and still remain jobless after the exercise? If these youths were not killed would the nation have noticed the sufferings of these corpers. What of those sent to remote villages that contract diseases or ailments? Except the govt is ready to change the lives of these youths after they serve their country then I believe it should be abolished.
Scraping NYSC is not the solution to this animalistic act, but government must be responsible at all level and security is one thing that you can’t take for granted; let every corps remain in their state.
The issue with the NYSC is the selective nature of the postings,it is only the children of the poor that are posted to useless and violence prone states, while the children of the rich serve in their father’s house. my boy Aik as i was informed cried for help and did not get help. All Northerners will perish in hell and may the so called Nigeria police be consumed by fire for their stupidity and follishness. If it is in the South the Joint Task Force will level a whole town but in the North all those bastard and fatherless urchins kill and get away with it.
I am so sad to the extent that if I see an opportunity, i will kill all Northerners. NYSC should be scrapped immediately as we all told the country we are taking a big risk using corpers as election officers.As a matter of fact we should privatise the country as our current leaders are too weak and senseless, what have they done to arrest those who perpetrated the violence on innocent citizens …. nothing as usual.
I was sent here to sign a petition, but cant see any petition on this page!!
The NYSC scheme is a compulsory National service required of every Nigerian graduate, we SERVE the nation, so shouldn’t the nation take proper care of us, provision, safety?? The scheme as it is now is barely achieving anything, an extreme reform is therefore way past necessary to ensure that the goals for which it was established in the first place are still met. I’m personally very angry about all the recent killings of corpers and the government/nation’s reaction to it. Futhermore, young people are still being posted to areas where there is conflict, is it that the government and people in charge do not see this? Is this fair??
i think the reform should be targeted towards developing Nigerian youth in military training, full military training than it is at the moment, as it is in the developed nations of the world. after this, as many of them who wish to remain in the barrack after the programmed should be allowed while those who wish to change bearing should also be allowed. if this is not adopted,may be the corps should be allowed to pick the state of choice of their primary assignment preferably their region to save lives.
I wholeheartedly support this initiative and more, its timing. It will serve as a litmus test to check the care, attention and respect this unanimously voted-in goverment has for these matyrs, the corpers and youths of this country. I must warn this issue MUST not be protracted -as is always the norm- and must be solved as quickly as possible. I think involving the state government might be bureacreatic and might give-way to some unwanted negatives and should be reconsidered if possible.
please the nysc has to be scrapped i donot see the need for all the nysc suffering and at the end you end up joblesss…..no please scrapp it!
Ukeoma Ikechukwu
I am most touched by the example of Ukeoma Ikechukwu who according to his Facebook profile [1] attended National High School in Aba and then the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, he hails from the South of Nigeria but was on national duty and INEC service in Bauchi State in Northern Nigeria for the elections.
He was declared missing soon afterwards and confirmed dead earlier today; that is the sad story of our nation, people who serve her risk being served to her in all sorts of circumstances.
Mr. Ukeoma Ikechukwu whilst I do not know him must however not go unsung and unappreciated even by those who remotely have a connection to him because he embodies the promise of a Nigeria we seek and yearn for exemplified in a number of postings on his Facebook page.
His favourite quote talks about the value of character, an inestimable virtue and many trade away for selfish gain – When wealth is lost, nothing is lost. When health is lost something is lost but when character is lost all is lost.
Stand for God and my nation
What is most touching is the last post he made to Facebook [2] in the early hours of the 17th April, 2011 and this should stand as a testament to the man for all posterity.
“Na wao! This CPC suporters would hv killed me yesterday, no see threat oooo. Even after forcing underaged voters on me they wanted me to give them the remaining ballot paper to thiumb print. Thank God for the police and am happy i could stand for God and my nation. To all corps members who stood despite these threats esp. In the north bravo! Nigeria! Our change has come.”
He was a man who under threat and possible loss of life, pressed into the electoral malpractice of allowing underaged persons to vote who still found the wherewithal and courage to engage the police to prevent the egregious criminality of thumb printing the unused ballot papers.
In a land far from his comfort zone he had faith in the police and what they could do, despite the terrifying experience he was happy to stand for God and his nation and then commend his colleagues in this exercise for keeping firm in the face of these serious threats.
Then he wrote what was in the minds and hearts of everyone including many of those who attempted to suborn the process – Nigeria! Our change has come.
We shall remember him
Hope undiminished, service so selfless, Ukeoma Ikechukwu represents to all Nigerians, young and old the promise of a future that this democratic season offered.
In his short life, he has become a martyr to the cause of a Nigeria still striving to reach its potential, he has in his own small way buttressed the reputation of institutions handling the electoral process and he has given Nigeria an enviable name to be proud of.
I offer my most heartfelt condolence to his kith and kin and pray that his pure and graceful soul rest in peace.
In the words of our national anthem, it is important that the labours of our heroes past shall never be in vain. Let not the work of the many NYSC members like Ukeoma Ikechukwu be in vain, let not our quest for an accountable democracy be in vain, let not the quest for justice be in vain, let not the hope that he expressed come to naught.
Ukeoma Ikechukwu, I doff my hat to you, you will never be forgotten.
Ukeoma Ikechukwu i just read his story and it so touching that a tear drop from my eye. all i can say is MAY U NOT B FORGOTTEN AND MAY UR FIGHT FOR JUSTICE NAD CHANGE COME TO PASS. AMEN. REST IN THE BOSSOM OF THE LORD A GREAT SOLDIER.
Cancel NYSC pls
NYSC should simply be scrapped. Don’t see the point anyways, its not like anybody serves and comes back a better Nigerian. That’s for the ones that came back. The Nigerian University system is enough punishment as it is. Lert the foriegn students do it if they want. I already know how corrupt the country is why travel to another state to see trhe same thing from another perspective?.. *Bullocks.
I am fully in support of this great move, concerning the Nigerian Youth Service.
i read some comments here i feel like throwin up,
(Prince Adebowale Adeotoye) govt should secure corpers? wen has a naija govt secured anytin,u definitely living in fantasy land.some like mark and dem, sayin sometin should be don,wot,we should stop makin politically correct statements….wot should be don,condem and profer corrective measures. com-on people wake -up or is it wakey wakey! duhhh!