Showing posts with label NYSC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NYSC. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

President Jonathan, you must rescue the NYSC Members


Some NYSC members on national service for INEC during the 2011 Elections

President Jonathan on the National Youth Service Corps Members: “will do what is right” including Professional Mental Health Counseling

Our world has a long history of election violence but what makes the April 2011 Nigeria election violence distinct is the reported horrifying death of some National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members.

How many of them actually got slaughtered, severely disfigured, vanished in the bushes or yet to be found remain unknown given our fragile intelligence and forensic power but we know that a good number of service corps members died in various riots across the predominantly Muslim northern States.

As young men and women serving in Nigeria’s National Youth Service Corps, a mandatory yearlong service, doing their civic work, little did they know that some of them will fall victim to deadly rioting that tailed the presidential election in particular.
As part of their calling they were helping to run polling stations but most of these corps members happened to be of the Christian and Southern stock resulting in their been murdered, set ablaze, raped and maimed.

These victims reportedly fell to the hands of angry Muslim mobs who saw themselves avenging against the Southern Christian President, Goodluck Jonathan the declared winner of the presidential vote of April 16th, 2011.

There is no doubt that the government will financially compensate many victims, and the families of the sacrificial victims or the dead, as well as give official recognition to the victims.

But what is needed now and more than ever is putting in place crisis-based psychotherapy or counseling plans.
As soon as possible, we need professional form of mental health care assessing for brief and longer-term therapy for the possibly traumatized victims, their children and families.

Please note that this is not ‘Oyibo (White people) thing’ or plan as depression and anxiety knows no boundary when it comes to race, ethnic, religion or gender.

We will all agree that many victims of this huge and sudden trauma should not be alone to bear the psychological problems of these torturous and ferocious acts. The ones that are fortunate to be alive, and their families will need practical, insightful and humane way to deal with these traumatic worries.

Immediate crisis-based programs manned by competent psychologists, counselors, and clinicians across various regional human and social services agencies should be set up for the care of victims and their families as well as relatives.

In traumatic matters as it relates to this regional violence, feelings of irritation, apprehension, indecisiveness, hopelessness and other likes are expected and the successful management of these issues are essential.

The victims will gain greatly from counseling along with getting empathy, and a focus on the special needs of these vulnerable citizens will be helpful in the long term. The overall well being of these victims needs monitoring as many of them could be struggling with the effects of culture shock as many were reportedly victims of forced confinement, fire traumatization and explosive suffering.

The front line counselors and clinicians across what could be called or set up as Crisis Drop- in- Centers should be ready for and open to tolerance as they will be seeing persons with responses of all types which could include self-blame, fatigue, uneasiness, acute stress, insecurity, gloom, confusion and loss.

The federal and State governments should be aware that these violent occurrences will cause many non-Muslim northerners living in the north to possibly remain in a state of heightened anxiety both at work, school and in the marketplace. As such, their concerns about more violence should also be followed with various forms of actions like group counseling sessions, inter-community relations counseling, and a short tem neighborhood security or policing in highly sensitive areas of the North.

~ By John Oshodi

John Egbeazien Oshodi, Ph.D., DABPS; FACFE; is a Licensed Clinical/Forensic Psychologist; Diplomate of American Board of Psychological Specialties; Fellow of American College of Forensic Examiners (For Psy); Former Interim Associate Dean and an Assistant Professor of Psychology, Broward College - North Campus, Coconut Creek, Florida.



Sunday, April 24, 2011

The Lamentation of an NYSC Member



The Lamentation of an NYSC Member

What do we do? Is there possibility of free and fair? Every one raises an eyebrow, over what? A situation that is overlooked! I cannot help but cry for my nation. What a nation! I sleep and wake with the thought of how to make it better, free from all manners of catastrophe. But can I do it alone? How can me when even those that are supposed to lead for an onward match to sensitization and success are nowhere to be found. You deny your subjects their right, making unfulfilled promises year in year out. When can we truly realize these? I ask. Imagine a society free from social crisis. Whereby meaningful employment is made available at all levels both for graduates and non graduates. Providing food for all, especially for the poor, less privileged, handicapped and the destitute as well.

A stable and reasonable transport system,

Good roads maintenance, proper and effective education at all levels with sound practicability.

I cannot imagine myself in an island as an islander to make me understand no man is an island, yet you make me an island. What a contradiction.
I put it to you even if we are called to serve it does not in any way make you have the right to use and dump us, leaving us to our own fate. It indeed turns out fruitless.

Imagine a world whereby everybody is a master, what would be our fate? A question you need to answer.

Whether I am compelled or not to serve you, I shall serve you. Does that make me less human? No! Yet you make me and my entourages feel so bad.

You deny us the comfort that belongs to us. No accommodation, yet you call us a national/federal figure, when we are not the partakers of the national cake? We do not ask for much, a little accommodation, meaningful employment and all that need to be allocated to us just like you get your allocation allocated to us.
The truth of this matter is that there is the possibility of a free and fair positive change in our nation, Nigeria.

When you know your onions, dot your i’s and cross your t’s, you came across as a leader and reconsider the considerate, take proper actions, then we can boast of a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and not “National Yeye Service Corp (NYSC)” carrying out their duties with every credibility.

Nigerians, we are the genesis of our problems:

Stop the marginalization; refuse to be corrupted, so there can be true fairness, for a positive change. Brace up and be liberated or remain a second class citizen.
This is what you need to do. Play your roles with all diligence and credibility, so that we can have a better Nigeria, free from all manner of unnecessary liabilities.

May God help us.

~ By Geraldine Ijeoma Alozie

About the National Youth Service Corps




HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE NYSC

The NYSC scheme was created in a bid to reconstruct, reconcile and rebuild the country after the Nigerian Civil war. The unfortunate antecedents in our national history gave impetus to the establishment of the National Youth Service Corps by decree No.24 of 22nd May 1973 which stated that the NYSC is being established "with a view to the proper encouragement and development of common ties among the youths of Nigeria and the promotion of national unity".

As a developing country. Nigeria is further plagued by the problems attendant upon a condition of under development, namely; poverty. mass illiteracy, acute shortage of high skilled manpower (coupled with most uneven distribution of the skilled people that are available), woefully inadequate socioeconomic infrastructural facilities, housing. Water and sewage facilities, road, health care services, and effective communication system. . Faced with these almost intractable problems, which were further compounded by the burden of reconstruction after the civil war, the government and people of Nigeria set for the country, fresh goals, and objectives aimed at establishing Nigeria as:

(a) a united, strong and self reliant nation:
(b) a great and dynamic economy;
(c) a land of bright and full opportunities for all citizens; and
(d) a free and democratic society.



Tuesday, September 15, 2009

The Corruption and Strangulation of Nigerian Youth by the NYSC




The Corruption and Strangulation of Nigerian Youth by the NYSC


Youths obey the clarion call
Let us lift our nation high
Under the sun or in the rain
With dedication and selflessness
Nigeria is ours, Nigeria we serve
.

This is the first stanza of the National Youth Service Corp(NYSC) anthem.

Looking closely to the words of the anthem, it exhibits the willingness of the great Nigerian youth who invariably would become the future leaders of our country to obey the call to serve his fatherland selflessly, but that’s not the case.

What is now obtained is the corruption of the mind of the great Nigerian Youth. How, you may ask? I will tell you. You may be aware of the fact that money changes hands and favors are obtained to influence the posting of the prospective corps members to what is called the “STATES OF MILK AND HONEY” where there are better opportunities in the sense that the availability of white collar jobs are higher than in other states. These most sought after states include Lagos, Abuja, Rivers, and Bayelsa, but this is not the end. After securing the posting to any of these so called “milk and honey” states, more money changes hands and more favors are granted to post the corps members to lucrative companies, such as banks or oil companies that pay well. The ideology is that the more you have, the better your placement. This is a country that is breathing fire and brimstone on corrupt practices, but embedding it knowingly in the minds of the future leaders of the country.

One may ask why the craze for better employment opportunities? The answer is simply the inability of the scheme to pay corps members sufficiently. The monthly allowance of a corps member is N9, 770 (about $90) only. If you get lucky to get posted to an organization that pays sufficiently, you may get from N8, 000 – N40, 000, excluding the allowance from the Federal Government, but if you are unlucky, you get stuck with the regular N9, 770. From this meager allowance, you are expected to feed, transport and accommodate yourself, because most of the employers do not provide accommodation and to worsen the case, this petty cash allowance is not even paid on time.
Let us break this down logically. You are posted to teach at a school in Ojo suburb of Lagos state and this is your first time in Lagos and no form of accommodation is provided. You are lucky to have a friend that resides in Ikoyi, but he daily transport fare is N500 and approximately N10, 000 monthly. How are you expected to feed, bathe, clothe and transport yourself to the NYSC Secretariat, pay the small levies imposed and other activities??? It often makes one wonder if its self-service or government imposed slavery?

This is a very serious issue that needs looking into.
Accommodation and transportation are important things that are very necessary for a corps member during the service year and the government should look for ways to lessen the burden of corps members.

Nigerian Youths do not deserve to be subjected to this form of physical, psychological and social trauma. It can be authoritatively said that the government is nurturing a corrupt and mentally broken-down youth in Nigeria.


By AI, A NYSCorps member serving in Lagos, Nigeria.
October, 2008.

Editor’s Statement: Nigerians Report is committed to reporting the truth without fear or partiality for the common good of humanity.

Every evil begins with a lie and the only way to get rid of evils is to expose all the lies of the devils in our midst no matter their rank and file without apologies or regrets.