Correspondent, Lagos
The aftermathof the post election violence of the April 2011 Presidential election, still remains fresh in the minds of many Nigerians, as 10 innocent corps members were massacred by irate youths in North East. It will be recalled that despite assurances by government of their safety before, during and after the election, the unsuspecting corps members were murdered in cold blood at their respective corpers' lodges by heartless rioters who said they were protesting against the results of the presidential election. Police authorities claimed that the youth corps members, whose numbers could not be officially ascertained, were killed at different locations in Bauchi State that included; Giade, Itas\Gadau, Katagum and Alkaleri local government areas while participating in the conduct of the presidential election as electoral officials on April 16 of the same year. However, as the nation, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) firm out arrangements for the involvement of serving corps members as ad hoc staff in the elections four years after the bloodbath, Nigerians have expressed doubt over the ability of the government and INEC to avoid a repeat of the 2011 massacre. Speaking with Daily Independent online from her base in the United States of America (USA), founder of LUCINMA Women Development Centre, Lagos, Dr. Princess Mokolo expressed doubt over the capability of the concerned security agencies to provide adequate safety for the corps members as INEC's ad hoc staff.
She cautioned NYSC against exposing the young graduates to dangers of coming face to face with criminals who are waiting in the wings to unleash terror on innocent Nigerians, saying that that are clear evidences that adequate security cannot be guaranteed for corps members.
According to her, "History has shown that we do not have sufficient security coverage in place to guaranty their safety. These are people's children and we must be proactive in recognising the expected volatility of the environment.
"They should not be a part of the process until such a time when we can prove as a nation that we can guaranty their safety during their entire youth corps experience. Too many corps members have shed their innocent blood for our land," she added.
Acknowledging the roles corps members are expected to render during the mandatory one-year service in any part of the country other than their state of origin unless otherwise decided, Deputy Vice Chancellor, Distance Learning Centre(DLC), University of Ibadan (UI), Professor Oyesoji Aremu explained that it implies that corps members are expected to be engaged in national assignments like elections.
Nevertheless, Professor Aremu explained that what is most paramount during election or no election period is the safety of lives of the corps members.
The professor of Counselling and Criminal Justice was quick to submit that where this is not guaranteed like it did happen in the general elections of 2011, then the involvement of corps members in volatile states should be re-appraised.
According to him, "The reappraisal here means that the authorities of NYSC which serves as loco parents should protect the corps members by not deploying them to where their safety is not guaranteed. And should the authorities feel otherwise, needed intelligence and security should be provided before, during and after the elections.
"Corp members should also be eagle-eyed and be wary of suspicious activities before, during and after the elections. And as much as possible understand the geography through profiling of the place(s) where they are asked to render electoral services," he advised.
He added, "NYSC authorities should also put in place proper communication with corps members during the elections and above all, parents should monitor their wards,"
A concerned parent and Auditor with a private organisation, Brother Muyideen Subair warned the government, INEC and NYSC against a repeat of the ugly incidences of April 2011 presidential elections, saying that the lure of the scheme giving credibility to elections in the country is not enough to sacrifice the lives for the service of fatherland.
Apparently enraged by the growing rate of graduate unemployment in the country, Subair argued that the politicians in whose interest the resources of the country are being invested in democracy should also reciprocate good gestures to the youths for refusing to accept inducements from politicians to rig elections.
He said, "Government should step up efforts at creating additional jobs for the young graduates instead of using them to gain underserved ratings and paying peanuts for daring to turn down offer of inducements by politicians.
"It is unfathomable that political class use these sets of Nigerians as cheap labour to propagate good governance that has remained elusive to the country. I want to sound a note of warning that excuses will not be sufficient to expose the lives of young women and men to the irrational conducts of political thugs who are waiting in the wings to take advantage of the least opportunity to unleash mayhem in the country and on innocent citizens," he added.
He urged corps members to be at alert and be sensitive to situations that could lead to harassment by reporting promptly to security officials, saying that communities where trouble is brewing should be vacated by corps members under security escorts.
Speaking on insurance cover for corps members especially, Subair queried the insured amount per head by both the INEC and NYSC, saying that the process of insurance remains an arrangement still shrouded to many Nigerians and the corps members too.
Though NYSC is yet to disclose the exact number of corps members that will be involved in the February 2015 elections, its Director-General, Brigadier-General Johnson Olawumi has however assured Nigerians of the safety and participation of the young Nigerians in the elections.
Speaking on the participation of corps members in the elections that had given the exercise some measure of credibility, the DG at the inauguration of orientation for the Batch 'C' 2014 corps members in Ikare-Akoko area of Ondo State, said the organisation had learnt from the mistakes of 2011 and would be ready to allow corps members to participate in election duties.
The NYSC boss was confident that there are adequate security measures already put in place to protect the lives of the corps members.
Emphasising that the challenges of the past will not deter the scheme in the deployment of corps members for election duties, the DG added that the decision to deploy corps members for the exercise was that of the federal government, saying the agreement with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over the issue still stands.
Olawumi explained that Nigerians had realised that since the youth corps members started participating in the elections of the country in 2011, the results had been acceptable and commendable by the people.
In his words he said, "The decision for corps members to take part in election was taken by government and for the simple reason that they are well dispersed all over the nooks and crannies of the country and I want to state categorically that since corps members have started taken part in elections in Nigeria, our elections have continued to gain credibility.
"The agreement between NYSC and INEC is still there and what that means is that corps members will take part in 2015 elections all over Nigeria whenever election will be held as long as there will be election, they be part of it.
"However, I must state clearly that we are not sleeping, we are learning from our past mistakes, we have studied what happened in the last general election and we have put measures in place for the safety and security of corps members", he added.
Assuring Nigerians that there will be no reoccurrence of the post election bloodbath and safety of corps members, the INEC Chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega explained recently that his commission had put in place security measures to protect members of the NYSC and other ad hoc staff that would be deployed for the 2015 general elections.
The commission stated that a lot was also being done to address logistic problems before the next general elections.
Delivering a paper titled, 'The 2015 general elections: Conversations with Nigeria's Female Stakeholders' organised by the Nigerian Women Trust Fund at the Electoral Institute, Abuja said the commission had met with the NYSC management to compile the addresses of all NYSC quarters in order to guard against a repeat of the 2011 post-electoral violence during which some corps members were killed in Bauchi State.
Recalling that the corps members deployed for the 2011 elections were attacked in their various quarters, he assured them that the commission "will be providing security to the NYSC camps before and after elections, and adequate security will be provided for the ad hoc staff that will be deployed during the periods."
He said, "We give assurance that preparations by INEC for the 2015 general elections are proceeding in earnest. Learning from the experiences of 2011, especially regarding the need for early preparations, the commission has undertaken the task of fundamental restructuring of its bureaucracy, established new policies to guide its work and embarked on far-reaching planning of its operations through a strategic plan, an election project plan and an election management system; these are vigorously being implemented."
It will be recalled that, though the President who announced a compensation of N5 million each for families of the slain corps member in May 2011, his promise to punish the killer youths from Bauchi State is yet to be fulfilled four years after the massacre.
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