Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps, Brig.Gen Shuaibu Ibrahim, says corps members are part of the national defence policy of Nigeria and can be called up for war if need be.
The DG said this on Channels Television’s ‘Sunrise Daily’ programme on Wednesday while reacting to moves to scrap the NYSC scheme, which is compulsory for all Nigerians who graduate before the age of 30.
He said, “Corps members are on reserve. They are part of the national defence policy of this country. So, where there is serious war, our corps members are educated, they are knowledgeable and they can be trained. You see the drill and so on.
“You can imagine within the short three weeks in the orientation camps, the corps members are moulded. They are like soldiers. You see female corps members blowing the army horn, playing with the military band.
“So, if not for the knowledge, where are you going to mobilise such young Nigerians to train them quickly to put in their best for the country? So, corps members are on reserve. They are also part of the national defence policy.”
On whether the scheme is concerned about the safety of the corps members he said, “NYSC is concerned about the security of corps members and that is why they had been advised not to move around at night.”
Ibrahim argued that the NYSC had become more important than ever in the face of the rising calls for secession.
He also stated that he had advised corps members not to travel outside the state or the country without the permission of the state coordinator.
He equally said that corps members had been encouraged not to travel after 6pm and that they are free to sleep at any corpers’ lodge while travelling.
Speaking further on the importance of the scheme, he said that it had accounted for a lot of inter-marriages.
“For most of our females, the history of their marriages can be traced to their service year because they meet their fiancées during their service year. I have had cause to attend such weddings and the NYSC supports such weddings,” he said.