Featured by Matthew Otabe
For thousands of young Nigerians, the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) represents a defining transition into adulthood and an opportunity to contribute to the development of their country.
But for some prospective corps members and their families, the journey to a place of national service can now come with a troubling question: How safe is the road to the place where service is supposed to begin?
The concern is not about the relevance of the NYSC scheme. The programme remains an important national institution, bringing together young Nigerians from different backgrounds and deploying them to communities across the country. Rather, the growing concern is whether its operational model is sufficiently responsive to changing security realities.
Families should not have to wait for a kidnapping, attack or other security incident before authorities recognise that a particular route or destination has become too dangerous for corps members.
Every deployment involves a responsibility. Once young Nigerians are directed to travel to particular locations as part of a compulsory national programme, the government also assumes a duty to take reasonable steps to protect them along the way.
That responsibility becomes even more important when deployment involves long-distance journeys through areas where insecurity has been reported.
The continued operation of the NYSC should not mean maintaining every aspect of its existing system irrespective of circumstances.
Security conditions change. Routes that were considered relatively safe yesterday may become vulnerable tomorrow. Communities that were accessible may suddenly become difficult to reach. Such realities require an operational system capable of responding quickly.
This is why the Federal Government needs to establish a clear and measurable security threshold for NYSC travel and deployment.
Where adequate security protection can be guaranteed, movement should proceed.
Where credible security guarantees cannot be provided, long-distance deployment should be suspended or reviewed until the necessary measures are put in place.
Such an approach would not amount to abandoning national service. Rather, it would represent an effort to make the programme more responsive to the realities confronting corps members and their families.
The burden on families
For parents and guardians, the prospect of a son or daughter travelling hundreds of kilometres to an unfamiliar location is already accompanied by natural anxiety.
That anxiety becomes more serious when the journey involves routes associated with kidnapping, armed attacks or other forms of insecurity.
Families should not be forced into a situation where they have to independently determine whether a government-approved deployment route is safe enough for their children.
Nor should it take an unfortunate incident before authorities begin asking whether adequate security arrangements were in place.
The system must be proactive rather than reactive.
Security assessments should form part of the deployment process, with regular reviews of travel routes, orientation camps and places of primary assignment.
Service without unnecessary risk
Young Nigerians have a role to play in the development of the country, and the NYSC has for decades provided a structured platform for that contribution.
But patriotism should not be measured by a young person’s willingness to expose himself or herself to avoidable danger.
Corps members should be able to undertake their responsibilities knowing that the government has taken reasonable steps to protect them.
The objective should therefore be clear: national service must not become a journey into unnecessary danger.
Where security conditions deteriorate, authorities must have the flexibility to modify deployments, provide secure transportation, postpone movement or adopt alternative arrangements.
The first obligation of a government that requires citizens to participate in a national programme is to protect those citizens.
The NYSC can remain an important instrument of national integration while its operating procedures are adjusted to reflect contemporary security challenges.
Preserving the scheme should not mean preserving practices that may no longer be appropriate in certain circumstances.
The choice should not be between national service and safety. With proper planning, risk assessment and security coordination, both objectives can be pursued.
Young Nigerians should serve their country.
But they should not have to risk their lives simply to get to the place where that service is supposed to begin.
Otabe is the Publisher of FirmNews
