If it is true that Nigerians do not need the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificate for appointment into ministerial and, ipso facto, other public offices at the federal, state and other levels as a court of competent jurisdiction has in unquestionable wisdom delivered in a landmark judgment, it is now crystal clear too that the NYSC has outlived its usefulness and relevance to the lives of the youth and elderly of contemporary Nigeria besides being a mandatory clog that sadly denies qualified citizens job opportunities.
The Federal High Court, Abuja, presided by Honourable Justice Taiwo Taiwo in the case of Folakemi Adeosun v The Attorney General of the Federation (FHC/ABJ/CS/303/2021) ruled on Wednesday, 7th July, 2021, that the applicant does not need the NYSC certificate for appointment into public office at both state and federal levels.
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The judgment is clearly at variance with the NYSC law, which stipulates that the one year-long service is compulsory for all Nigerians who graduate from university or equivalent institution and is less than 30 years of age.
Section 13 of the NYSC Law states that eligible Nigerians who skipped the service are liable to a sentence of 12 months imprisonment and/or N2,000 fine, while the certificate is a mandatory requirement for public and private job placement. It is therefore, considerably irrational that it is not necessary for public office appointment.
Considering how ‘youth corpers’ have recently become the targets of terrorists, bandits, kidnappers, assassins, robbers and election riggers’ unrestricted killing fields of “unknown gunmen”, I, Sebastine Ebhuomhan, a journalist at the forefront of global media activism and holder of NYSC certificate, hereby appeal to President Muhammadu Buhari and the federal government to immediately scrap the NYSC and cancel its mandatory requirement for securing public and private jobs.
Furthermore, I am imploring, through this medium, qualified, knowledgeable, capable and patriotic lawyers, social scientists, activists, the media etc. to immediately begin concurrent moves pursuant to the scrapping of the NYSC.
Sebastian Ebhuoma lives in Abuja
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