Fear of Boko Haram griped NYSC Corpers posted to Northern Nigeria

Due to the incessant bomb blasts in the northern part of the country, some graduates from Rivers State, who were recently posted on compulsory National Youth Service Corps scheme(NYSC), have vowed not to

serve in any of the crisis prone areas.

Bearing in mind the activities of the Boko Haram sect, who claimed responsibility for the continued bombings in Abuja and some northern parts of the country, the newly mobilized Batch ‘B’ corps members said they would not be able to serve in the area as expected.

One of them, who preferred not to be mentioned, explained that with his level of awareness, it would be an open risk for him to travel to the North for service.

The newly mobilized corps member, who said he was posted to Adamawa, said it was better for him to wait till next year when the Boko Haram menace would have subsided before embarking on such journey.

He said, “The truth is that I cannot travel there now. Some of my friends that were posted to some states in the northern part of the country are also expressing the same fear.”

It was learnt that some of the newly mobilized corps members, who were posted to the North, had declined on health grounds.

But an official of the NYSC (prefers anonymity) told SUNDAY PUNCH that it was wrong for the mobilized corps members to entertain fear.

She pointed out that the NYSC Director-General, Brigadier-General Maharazu Tsiga, had promised them of adequate security during the one year programme.

While the Batch ‘B’ corps members are expected to resume at the camp on July 5, those posted to Akwa Ibom will resume at the camp in Nsit Atai Local Government Area on July 8, 2011.

Speaking with newsmen in Port Harcourt on Thursday, the Rivers State NYSC Coordinator, Mrs. Josephine Okuonghae, explained that any graduate mobilized by the scheme was expected to resume at the camp in any part of the country.

Okuonghae explained that the necessary security arrangement had been put in place to ensure that corps members serving in the north and other parts of the country were safe.

She added that she had interacted with the State Security Service and the State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Suleiman Abba, on the issue of security since she assumed duty as the state coordinator a few days ago.

She said, “If a person gets his call-up letter, he is expected to go to the state he is posted. We have done a lot of sensitization and assured corps members of safety.

“Since I came to this state as the state coordinator, I have visited the SSS and the State Police Commissioner. We are working together to ensure the security of corps members serving here.”