Protest their deployment to violence prone states in the north
Some members of the Batch B National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), deployed to some crises-prone states of the northern part of the country, on Monday, protested the development at the headquarters of the NYSC in Maitama, Abuja.
The protesting youths barricaded the entrance of the secretariat and barred visitors from entering the premises. Security personnel deployed to the scene had a hard time calming the youths.
Some parents whose children were affected by the deployments were also at the scene. ?How on earth will they send our children to die in the name of service? When even the federal government has failed in protecting lives and properties of those living there they want to send our children there to die,? said Charity Omenai, a mother of one of the mobilised corps members. ?I won’t accept that and they must change the posting or we won’t leave here.?
One of the corps members, a graduate of the University of Port Harcourt who did not want her name published said: ?I am married with an eight months old baby. I applied with my marriage documents yet I was posted to Taraba State and we are much from my school with similar issue. We have demonstrated and registered our anger in our school as we were asked to come here and complain. We have complained but they are yet to answer to us.?
Reacting, the NYSC Deputy Director, Mobilisation, Emmanuel Adewuyi, asked the irate youths to first report at their various orientation camps and apply formally for redeployment and promised that the matter would be attended to.
However some of the youths refused to be pacified by Adewuyi?s statements, vowing not to leave the premises until their demands were met.
As at the time of this report, most of them were still at the premises and threatened not to allow workers leave the building.
?We have closed, but these protesting corps members blocked the gate,? said a staffer who did not want his name published. ?We can’t go out for now though the soldiers and security men are trying to clear them.?
