Jul 29, 2017

Nationwide Commotion As The Unstoppable Senate President, Bukola Saraki, Scraps NYSC, Shocks Nigerians Worldwide


The Senate President, Bukola Saraki-led 8th National Assembly, has scrapped the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, Decree from the 1999 Constitution, under review.

The development came up in the recent Senate review and consideration of 33 Bills for passage.

The Bills are contained in the report of the Joint Committee of the National Assembly on the review of the 1999 Constitution.

Many Nigerians have expressed concerns on its consequences in the lives of youths and national development.
Ene Ede, Gender Advisor, National Democratic Institute, NDI, said the development would allow the democratic process to become more participatory, inclusive, accessible, and responsive to the needs and aspirations of the people.

“My problem with Nigeria, is that sometimes people can take advantage of lapses in processes.

“Altering the Constitution to delete certain decrees can mean various things. My fear in this is that, it may be taken advantage of.

“Imagine if someone is not in support of gender equity, and then he decides to suggest something that is against women, how do you now balance this.

“We are also suffering from religious and ethnic bias in this country, so the most important thing for me is inclusiveness.

“If the process is transparent, inclusive, accountable, gender sensitive, responsive to the needs and aspirations of the people and driven by the people then, it is good”, Ede said.

Abdulrazak Salawu, the NYSC, FCT Coordinator, said deleting the decree guiding the NYSC from the 1999 Constitution, would expose the scheme to unnecessary dangers.

Salawu said it was because the NYSC decree was in the Constitution that allowed it to be sustained through the years, making it grow and evolve in its activities, including addressing youth unemployment.

Salawu said altering the Constitution would give room for individuals and groups to ‘toy’ with the mandate and guiding principles of the scheme which had sustained it.

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