NATIONAL YOUTH SERVICE SCHEME HAS FAILED THE YOUTH – OLULADE

The Lawmaker representing Epe Constituency II Hon Segun Olulade has criticised the handling of the National Youth Service Scheme saying the scheme no longer makes any sense and is unfair to the present Nigerian youths.

The Epe II Lawmaker said the scheme which was primarily established after Nigeria’s civil war to foster unity in the nation has outlived its purpose. Olulade noted that the scheme which was meant to encourage intercultural relations and patriotism to the fatherland no longer serve the purpose but rather has become a mere exercise and platform for meting serious injustices against the present Nigerian youth.

He noted that on no account must a young person lose his/her life for being a corp member, adding that the scheme is no longer dignifying as refugee camps are often better than orientation camps across the nation. The Lawmaker said there is no doubt that the ideology of the scheme was a good one in the beginning, but however, it is not a bad idea to review it holistically and conclude whether it is still useful or not.

Hon Olulade dropped this in his office as the world commemorates International Human Rights Day today. He was reacting to recent series of tragedies occurring at various orientation camps, leading to avoidable deaths of young people, especially in careless circumstances. He said young people have rights that must be respected under all circumstances.

“As a parent, it is painful to see a promising youth lose his/her life in deplorable circumstance as we are seeing in our orientation camps across the nation. It is also not dignifying to see corp members being treated like refugees at the orientation camps all in the name of a service scheme; this contravenes fundamental human rights of the concerned youth. The scheme presently represents attitude and character of a nation that has no respect for human lives and human dignity. It must be holistically reviewed and made better or scrapped if the Federal Government can no longer maintain a healthy scheme in this regard”, Olulade said.

Concluding, Hon Olulade said it is sad that the national Assembly is not seeing the matter as critical as it is. He said the issue surrounding national youth service scheme is more pressing than the separation of State/Local Government joint account which the national assembly now flexes muscle over.
Signed:

Hon. Segun Olulade
Lagos State House of Assembly

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