In the part of world where I wasborn, “bread and buttered”, people inuniform or “khaki” are always looked upon with fright, though mostly not lovedbut in some magnitude respected. These uniform-wearing personalities range fromthe most dreaded Nigerian Army, the less-known Navy, the lowly-respectedubiquitous Nigerian Police, to hard-looking Men O’ war and some ferocious securityagents guarding Banks, residential buildings or Private-owned properties. Oncethey are in uniform, they tend to make their authorities known and as well commandrespect from everybody under their jurisdiction. Ironically, another set ofpeople fall into the khaki uniform-wearing category, but in there own case, theyare not feared, but loved, esteemed and sometimes looked upon as a role model.
As a kid,one of the things that motivated me to keep going to school and loving it wasthe presence of some stunning khaki-wearing “big” people – which I later got toknow as “youths” – around me. Mama told me there and then that the only raison d'êtrethey are radiant in these beautiful apparel is because they faced education“against all odds” and have scaled through the “higher institution of academiclearning”. Being just three years old and in Primary One explicates why it wascomplicated for me to comprehend the “against all odds” and “higher institutionof …” parts. The only odd ahead of me was to ensure that Kuti Tope, the girl whocame up second last term doesn’t steal my first position and being first in aclass of thirty–two was higher than the highest institution, left to me. Yet,these gorgeous sights and their almost flawless eloquence swept me off my tinyfeet and I was head over heel in love with the uniform and the present glamorousand celebrated state of the “wearers”. So, while some kids cry to school, some slothfulones being flogged for refusing to go to school, I on the other hand alwaysleap for joy whenever it is time to go and snivel when I am running late orcan’t go at all, probably due to ill-health or holiday.
Myardor to be handsome and my obsession with the khaki uniform were the necessarydrives I needed and got to spark up my craze for education, young as I was. My infatuationand admiration for this well-respected khaki uniform soared higher in the early90s when my uncle came home with the uniform – a long-sleeved khaki shirt,white round-neck T-shirt, a khaki trouser, a face cap and a military-like boot-which I later stole. Quite unfortunately, I couldn’t wear it because, in size,it was bigger and I don’t choose what I wear, Mama does.
Thepride of every parent is to see their wads become successful and respected inthe society. In my village, aside from studying to become a Doctor, a Lawyer oran unspecified Engineer, nothing else seems to make parents prouder than seeingtheir progenies in these prestigious khaki-uniforms. This uniform is no otherthan the NYSC uniform. NYSC? - a one year scheme where youths after graduatingfrom higher institution of learning at home (Nigeria) and some from overseasundergo to serve their fatherland. I was supposed to be a part of the scheme inany of the Batches A, B or C in the 08/09 session but due to the untowardsituation of ASUU strike couldn’t. In 09/10 session, I missed Batch A due toanti-GOD antics and agonizingly missed out of Batch B due to the terriblesituation of things at my department. All these circumstances did not in anyway influence my soon-to-be-unleashed sarcasm on NYSC scheme. This is just ananalysis of NYSC from my own view not because of my situation of beingexempted. With that already clarified, I should move on.
NYSC,according to the general definition, National Youth Service Corps is a schemecreated in a bid to reconstruct, reconcile and rebuild the nation after theNigerian Civil war. The unfortunate antecedents in the country’s nationalhistory gave impetus to the establishment of the scheme by decree No.24 of 22ndMay 1973 which stated that the NYSC is being established “with a view to theproper encouragement and development of common ties among the youths of Nigeriaand the promotion on national unity”. Ironically, the man who initiated thisscheme never went to a higher institution; he was a military man and from thererose to power. Rumours attributed the inclusion of the paramilitary aspect ofthe scheme to the fact that the then Head of States was heavily criticized fornot being a “graduate” which seems easy to him and for the so-called graduateto have a feel of what becoming a military man entails, he established thescheme in which for first three weeks called “orientation”, Corps members - asNYSC members are being called - undergo backbreaking paramilitary trainingactivities willy nilly.
NYSC, usingone of my self-made definitions, National Youth Suffering Corps started rightthere from the orientation camps. Corps members are forced to undergo strenuousparamilitary training while “drilled” if messed up. These sufferings continueafter leaving the orientation camp, though in another dimension. The lucky oneswith all the string of “connections” attached are posted to luxurious governmentand private sectors like Banking, Oil and Gas, Insurance, Health institutionsand other lush departments while the rest, a staggering 97% are sent intodifferent towns, villages and rural communities for no other purpose than - TEACHING.
What is unity without equity? Why not enforce military personnel- after surviving the nervous tension of hard military training and all - towrite JAMB or take professional courses for a duration of one year in whichthey will have to read over and over again, use whip to wake them at 3am,receive lectures from 7am – 5pm under harsh conditions and write exams too?
Orientation camp, after a while, areturned into a National Youth Sex Camp, where gays, lesbians, bisexuals andstraight people partner up to cool off the heat and strain of paramilitaryactivities by indulging in sexual frivolities - mostly unwarranted. STDS are easily dispersed and shared with “love”while some novice or “immatured” ones get pregnant and had to commit one of themost heinous crimes against humanity - Abortion. Leaving camp, some of these Corpsmembers still find it hard to “control” themselves thereby unleashing theirdragons on innocent young girls in their new neighbourhood or designated placeof work – mostly secondary schools. “Agunbaniro”–a Yoruba movie I watched the trailer few years back glaringly depict the true reflectionof the conducts of some of these randy characters.
Some Corpsmembers after the three weeks orientation are posted to hostile communities wherethere is little or no value for Western education thereby endangering theirlives with “suffering” instantaneously replacing the “service” they came torender. Some had to travel over 20km to get “reception” on their mobiles justto reach their loved ones. Electricity supply and all other social amenitiesand infrastructures, like in most part of the country, are not reliable ormight not even exist. Some kept suffering and smiling like a popular Nigerianartiste sang while some suffering and silent - an attribute of averageNigerians. With the little knowledge and experience I’ve garnered over timeabout making impact, no one can make any positive impact when under duress, indistress, experiencing abject poverty or suffering for no just cause thanserving or suffering for a fatherland that will cease to remember you once thescheme is over - if you are lucky to remain alive.
NationalYouth Struggling Corps you become the moment it dawned on you that the ethicalintegrity of being a graduate and being “independent” has been outlived as youstill have to call home demanding for much-needed financial relief because theones provided or promised by the government are overwhelming only on the Papersbut nothing to write about in reality. Corps members now seem more like burdensbecause the pride and relief, parents and guardians thought they had, have beensubstituted with grief, anxiety and worst of all unrest of the mind. It will bea total fallacy and sheer unpatriotism if I attribute these vices to anygeo-political zone of the country because it’s nothing short of a nationaltragedy striking from one part of the country and sparking on the other side. Ihail from and reside in the south-western part of the country so I can, withall axiom speak for and about my zone.
In some partof the South West, Corps members are not treated specially in any advantageousmanner as they have to pay through their noses for unaccommodatingaccommodations and spend all their savings on feeding because traders andmarket men/women alike always look at them as being “well-paid” because theyread it in the Papers. Exorbitant fees are being charged for any servicewhatsoever and had to undergo a lot of bargaining process before goods can bebought at the normal selling price. Just recently a traditional ruler wasalleged to have raped a Corps member serving under his domain. What is unity inbeing taken advantage of?
In some partof the North in the past few years, due to the low level of literacy or highlevel of illiteracy, Corps members have been killed, kidnapped and gruesomelytortured while carrying out the one-year youth service. The recent killings ofsome Corps members in Bauchi and Kaduna recently, have again brought thebeaming light on NYSC activities. In the event of that, some concerned groupsand individuals have been calling for the scrapping of the scheme while someare advocating a review of the Acts of Geo-political posting of corps members.While a review is necessary, I think we must not rush into any decisions fornow. We must, as a nation, not forget the ultimate price paid by the fallen Corpsmembers and all hands must be on deck to immortalize them as the fallen heroesthey became.
Going aroundeach day, seeing people running from post to post, from an herbalist abode to aprayer mountain, from a Prophet to an Imam and some making the necessary phonecalls to egoistically manipulate their NYSC postings - really got me worriedabout the bleak and vague future awaiting Nigerian youths. The part of me thatlove the khaki uniform died the day I saw the same uniform of a Corps member soiledwith his blood and the picture of another Corps member burnt to death with theNYSC uniform. Amidst tears I ask myself… Is the khaki uniform really worth itnow? Has it not lived past its glory days? Do kids, having watched Corpsmembers been treated like animals and slaughtered like chickens get motivatedthe way I was? These and many more questions are thoughts that flow through andsometimes flood my mind. No one need tell me the answers, they are boldlywritten on the images of slain Corpers staring me in the face on my Facebookpage.
To be continued…..
Adesuyi Lancaster Adesola ©2011
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