Palpable fear now grip parents, guardians whose children and wards are currently serving the mandatory one year National Youth Service following the disclosure by the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu to employ corps member as ad-hoc staff in the forthcoming general elections
Professor Mahmood in a meeting with the NYSC Acting National Director, Christy Uba at the weekend in Abuja, disclosed that corps member would be deployed to remote areas to mount the different polling units in such areas.
A parent, Peter Igboanugo described the INEC’s decision as mental torture to parents because of the peculiarities associated with the conduct of elections in Nigeria.
Igboanugo who noted that the country is already tensed, said that there’s no guarantee that the forthcoming elections would be violent free, adding that history shows that certain remote areas as in the south west, south south and even south East are violent pruned during elections.
In this guise, he posited that deploying a youth corp member to such areas would be tantamount to suicide mission, and urged the INEC chairman to review the offer by restricting their services to cities where security of life would be guaranteed.
A single mother, madam Olamide Adedayo said two of her children are currently serving at Ogun state and queried the decision of INEC chairman.
“I cannot even risk have my children miles away from on election day. Government may have assured Nigerians that this election would be violent free but nobody can predict what may happen at the end of the day. Hence, I will want to have my children around me on that day. But the election they can return to their duty posts,” she said.
A Lagos based businessman, Robinson Obiora noted that with the already poor security situation in Nigeria, it would be foolhardy for a parent to allow his child to engage in such volatile exercise irrespective of the pay.
“One cannot afford to expose his child to such obvious danger. After working so hard to the child through school, next you allow him or her to embark on such senseless journey of serving motherland. Not this time,” he said.
But an officer at the NYSC who would not want his name in print, argued that the service has been flexible as most corps member decide their preferred city of postings, adding that most Youth Corps Member are currently closed to their parents and guardians as it would be needless to entertain any fear in their places of primary assignments.
It would be recalled that the New diplomat reported the meeting between the INEC chairman and the NYSC Acting National Director on the proposed plan to deploy Corps Member to polling units across the nation.
The reason for employing Corps Member as ad-hoc staff was premised on the deep technology deployed by INEC to checkmate rigging.
Uba who requested for increased allowances of the Corps Member, also insisted that adequate security personnel be drafted to the polling units to guaranteed the safety of Corps Member.
