The journey to national service should not become a journey into danger. Yet, for some Nigerian graduates, that is increasingly becoming a troubling reality.
On October 1, prospective corps members travelling from Ibadan to orientation camps in the South-East and South-South were abducted after two buses were attacked along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in Imo State. The police confirmed the incident, while subsequent reports identified 19 prospective corps members among those abducted. Several victims were later rescued.
The incident raises a question that Nigeria can no longer afford to ignore: what happens when a programme that young graduates are required to undertake exposes them to serious security risks?
The National Youth Service Corps was established to promote national unity and development by deploying young graduates to different parts of the country. For graduates covered by the NYSC law, participation is compulsory unless they qualify for exemption. The law also requires prospective employers to demand a Certificate of National Service or exemption certificate before employing eligible graduates.
This makes NYSC more than a one-year programme that graduates may simply choose to undertake or ignore. For many young Nigerians, it is effectively a gateway between university and the formal workforce. A graduate may complete a degree but still need to complete national service before pursuing many employment opportunities.
That reality makes the security of corps members a matter of public concern.
Nigeria’s security challenges have increasingly extended to the highways that connect its states. Corps members and prospective corps members have been caught up in kidnapping incidents in different parts of the country. In August, corps members were among passengers reportedly abducted in Kogi State while returning from their orientation programme.
The problem, therefore, is not simply that some graduates are being kidnapped. It is that young people are being required to travel, sometimes over long distances and through unfamiliar territories, to fulfil a national obligation in an environment where insecurity remains a significant concern.
This places a responsibility on the government and the NYSC management to continually reassess the safety arrangements surrounding mobilisation, transportation and deployment. National service requires movement across the country, but that movement should be accompanied by adequate security planning, particularly along routes where kidnapping and other violent crimes have been documented.
The government cannot eliminate every security risk faced by corps members. However, it can strengthen coordination between NYSC, security agencies and transport operators, improve risk assessments for major routes and ensure that security considerations form part of deployment and transportation decisions.
There is also a need to reconsider the assumption that obtaining an NYSC certificate should come at any security cost. National service is intended to contribute to national development, not to make young graduates collateral victims of Nigeria’s security crisis.
For a country that expects its graduates to spend a year serving its communities, protecting those graduates should be considered part of the responsibility of the state. Young Nigerians should not have to choose between fulfilling a national obligation and protecting their lives.
The question is therefore not whether Nigeria should continue to have a national service scheme. It is whether the country is prepared to make that scheme safe enough for the young people it requires to participate in it.
The price of serving Nigeria should be a year of service. It should never be the risk of losing one’s freedom or one’s life.
EduTimes Africa, a product of Education Times Africa, is a magazine publication that aims to lend its support to close the yawning gap in Africa's educational development.