Nigeria Times

By Thomas Uzah

In 1964, the then American President, Mr. Lyndon B. Johnson in a pithy address to the International Labour Press Association glorified the place of the worker in public life; “You are a part of the conscience of our society. You are always goading. You are never satisfied with the job that is partially done. You are always working and calling for the further advancement of working people, and you speak from a point of view. You speak on behalf of values.”

This position amplifies the dire need to evolve favorable conditions to carter for the welfare of the worker in order to ginger his productivity and excellence in the workplace. But it is often overlooked by employers and leaders in most instances.

However, the leadership of Associate Professor Shuaibu Ibrahim, a serving Brigadier General of the Nigerian Army and the current Director General, National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has marketed itself differently.

In appearance, Gen. Ibrahim is unassuming; but his personage is an embodiment of multiple military and administrative talents. He is governed by a doctrine of excellence anywhere he finds his feet and believes in making the best use of all human resources. But good enough, he knows there are unavoidable obligations, any leadership desiring of better results from workers must fulfill.

Therefore, from the outset, Gen. Ibrahim began to tinker with ideas the scheme would adopt to support the Federal Government in funding its operations by thinking outside the box to remain strong and relevant. And to achieve this , the NYSC boss knew, the scheme must inescapably place extra premium on welfare of both staff and corps members. “I appeal to our corps employers to take care of the welfare of members; mentor them,” he appealed soon after his appointment.

Consequently, Gen. Ibrahim deliberately attaches extraordinary premium to all who tastes his leadership anywhere. And in NYSC now, it is an entirely new and exciting experience for staff as well as corps members. As NYSC boss, Gen. Ibrahim has prioritized the welfare of workers and youth corps members to heights hitherto unknown.

The scheme is rated one of the best performing federal government agencies today, because a motivated staff leaves nothing to chance in the performance of their official functions. It is natural that when the worker is motivated to work, he goes the extra mile excitedly.

And Gen. Ibrahim has capitalized on this weapon, by his undiluted and undistracted attention to issues of welfare and remunerations. Timely payment of salaries and legitimate allowances ignite the ambience of a workplace, anywhere in the world. Even the Holy scriptures admonishes that a worker deserve his wages.

Salary payment defines everything in a working environment. It motivates, stimulates, increases productivity and encourages teamwork for excellence. Gen. Ibrahim’s leadership of the NYSC has made it his sacred obligation.

And since, Brigadier General Shuaibu Ibrahim is aware of these salient motivational doctrines, which propel productivity and triggers a convivial working environment, he is dispensing a leadership that bows to these demands at all times.

It is unarguable that in Nigeria today, issues of salary payment have been a thorn in the flesh of most government establishments. And the problem seems to exacerbate with the sudden scourge of Covid-19 pandemic, which has dealt a serious blow on global economies.

Even with the increasingly less funds in circulation, Gen. Ibrahim has insulated NYSC staff from this nightmare through prompt payment of basic and lawful entitlements. Quite pleasurably, Gen. Ibrahim has withered the storm in NYSC very conveniently.

By his relentless efforts, the Director General has been able to catapult the NYSC to a comfortable pedestal through investment initiatives. These investments have generated internal revenue for the NYSC, which partly funds the scheme’s operations. The NYSC Director General has registered the strong presence of the scheme in poultry farms; hundreds of thousands of hectares of rice plantations and milling as well as feed mills in different parts of the country are signposts of his remarkable leadership.

Added to it, Gen. Ibrahim has supported the scheme’s funding by resuscitating previously abandoned NYSC water and bakery factories to consolidate on its investment profile. With the returns yielded by these investments, coupled with the federal subventions to the agency, payment of salaries and allowances of staff have been prompt and ceaseless. His favorable disposition to salary payment has earned him the epaulet “Mr. Alert” in all NYSC offices across the nation.

In same manner, the welfare of corps members has been given top priority. Gen. Ibrahim wasted no time in implementing the New National Minimum Wage of N33,000 (thirty-three thousand) as monthly allowance of serving corps members. He boosted the monthly allowance of corps members with an additional N3,000 (three thousand) to serve as incentives to corps members and encourage personal savings. He operates on Lailah Gifty Akita’s the doctrine that “If people are paid well, there should be no poverty.”

To the NYSC boss, it does not matter whether it is staff or corps members, but salary and monthly allowances bank alerts come before the end of every month. Each time he visits NYSC office anywhere in Nigeria or even during media outings, corps members endearingly address hm with the sobriquet “Mr. Welfare,” for his rare and uncommon attention to their comfort.

Gen. Ibrahim has recorded his name as the only Director General of the NYSC who has lobbied State Governments and employers of the services of corps members to pay them additional monthly stipends. He has successful blighted the doctrine of discretionary payment of stipends to serving corps members through gentle persuasion of employers.

And his concentration on the welfare of both staff and corps members goes beyond timely meeting of their financial obligations alone. He has also demonstrated a relentless commitment to their health welfare in same measure. For instance, at the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic in Nigeria, Gen. Ibrahim ensured the monthly allowances of corps members were paid without the usual clustering for clearance in order to forestall the spread of the disease.

He stated in a public statement that the; “…payment of monthly stipend for the month of April shall be effected without the usual gathering for clearance, in keeping with the rule of social distancing. It is equally imperative to add that there shall not be clearance for the month of May, 2020. The system shall generate automatic clearance for everyone.”

Conversely, Gen. Ibrahim instantly complied with the directive of the Presidency by enlisting all serving corps members into the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). He does not hesitate in approving medical bills and has expended huge resources on critical health needs of corps members by footing medical bills where necessary.

Therefore, it is understandable that Gen. Ibrahim is feted with epaulets such as “Mr. Welfare,” or “Mr. Alert.” And it streams from a genuine heart of excitement from those he has the mandate to lead. The unalterable truth is that Gen. Ibrahim has changed the fortunes of the NYSC amazingly. He is indeed, a national asset both in intellect and capacity to do things differently.

Uzah PhD is Head of Department, Mass Communication, Kwararafa University Wukari.

By Charles Ibekwe

Nigeria’s national parliament is not expected to function like a house of comedians. It ought to be a serious chamber and a progressive think-tank for Nigerians. It is supposed to be populated by men/ women of integrity, foresight and very knowledgeable legislators mandated to make good legislations for the progress and development of Nigeria.

Unfortunately, and glaringly too, the nation’s parliament has been overrated in recent times. Specifically, the House of Representatives is fast earning for itself a notorious reputation of an assemblage of idle and retrogressive minds. Even street comedians should have a better sense of humour.

The House of Representatives is habituated in doing everything possible to assail and assault the sensibilities of Nigerians they have been elected to serve. About a week ago, an opposition legislator, Hon. Awaji-Inimbel Abiante (PDP Rivers State), proposed and sponsored a bill to repeal the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Act. This bill seeks to abrogate Section 315(5)(a) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).

The proposed bill has passed the second reading in less than a week, It is an indication of its advanced stages of getting the nod of parliament to proscribe the NYSC, a noble youth scheme, which has been in exsistence since 1973.

The defunct Military regime of Gen. Yakubu Gowon (rtd) was goaded into launching this scheme in 1973 to bridge the schism and pervasive air of distrust and hatred among Nigerians in the aftermath of the Nigerian civil war of 1967 to 70. From the intendment of the Gen. Gowon’s military administration, the NYSC initiative was crafted and designed as a significant part of his 3Rs policy of Reconciliation, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction to heal the nation.

Furthermore, the NYSC is structured to foster national unity, integration and a better understanding of the disparate entities of the country’s plurality. It also has the mandate to engender a greater and deeper understanding of the ethnic, linguistic, religious, and socio- cultural compositions of Nigeria in youths, frequently referenced as leaders of tomorrow. Suffice it to say, no positive relic of the Gowon administration has surpassed the reality and goodies of an NYSC scheme.

Ironically today, Hon. Awaji-Inimbel Abiante and his cahoots in the Green Chamber want Nigerians to believe the NYSC scheme has outlived its usefulness. And more offending, these lawmakers have committed scare public funds to sponsor its scrapping in the nation’s life.

But more profoundly senseless are the reasons advanced by the lawmakers for embarking on this unpopular action. Sponsors of the bill for the scrapping of the NYSC are arguing that the scheme deserves a “death sentence” because the objective of the NYSC Act in promoting national unity and integration have been disfigured by compromised national insecurities, in some geopolitical zones in the country, as reflected in the pervasive threats of terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and violent clashes among other national malaises.

It sounds hollow! Whilst the national threat of insecurities is real; the most infantile reasoning is what Hon. Awaji-Inimbel Abiante and his clan of cheer clappers, backbenchers and nitwits in the Green Chamber. It is not discernible in any conceivable way how scrapping the NYSC is a substitute or remedy to curing the nation’s insecurity pandemonium and scourge.

And determined to push a self-serving and nonsensical argument beyond the threshold of absurdity, the sponsors of the NYSC repeal Act questioned the rationale for the overdependence of private and public agencies for jobs and roles that these agencies should ordinarily have engaged the serving corps members in gainful employment. The legislators frowned at the poor remuneration, from employers’ who hire the services of corps members, only to discard them after the mandatory one-year service scheme.

From the periphery, one is tempted to believe, the Reps members are truly concerned that Nigerians earn poor wages and remunerations’ which has saliently echoed in the parliamentary discourse on scrapping of the NYSC. Yet, this is the same parliament which turned down President Muhammadu Buhari’s a mere N55,000 (fifty-five thousand) proposal for new minimum wage for Nigerian public servants. Rether, it approved a paltry N33, 000 (thirty-three thousand). There should be a limit to hypocrisy.

However, the national parliament has not told Nigerians the real reasons they want the NYSC scrapped. But it is extremely poor outing for the Green Chambers which has pleasurably declined increasing the budget of Nigerian Military in the age of insurgency and still grappling with approvals for bills to establish community policing to complement conventional security to suddenly turn around to be so concerned by insecurities and feels scrapping NYSC scheme is the antidote to securing the lives of Nigerians.

There can be nothing so farcical than this! The flimsy excuses they have adduced for attempting to scrap the NYSC speak volumes about their incapacity to really comprehend the problems of Nigeria and the best ways to assist the executive arm of government resolve them.

Despite the security threats, to blanketly argue that NYSC members are denied employment by private and public establishments because of the near-free labour they offer while serving the nation is absolutely false. While it is utopian to think every corps member should be reabsorbed by his or her place of primary assignment, many lucky ones have had the opportunity to be returned after service since the inception of the scheme.

There are immutable records that corps members who have performed creditably or excelled in their places of primary assignment have gained employments by various establishments. The NYSC scheme has by far too many benefits to the participating youths and the nation for anybody to think of scrapping it.

These benefits have not faded and cannot be eclipsed in the psyche of Nigerians in the manner contemplated by the Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila-led House of Representatives. It is inappropriate now that the country is in dire need of national unity for the peaceful co-existence of Nigeria’s younger generation.

It is fair to assert that the mandate of the NYSC has not been fully utilized over the years. But the NYSC’s current leadership led by Brigadier General Shuaibu Ibrahim is performing wonders with these young Nigerian graduates. His overhaul and repositioning of the scheme which has expanded opportunities of self-reliance and employment for ambitious Nigerian graduates is exceptional.

The incumbent NYSC Director General has either launched or reinvigorated the hitherto dead training and investments ventures of the scheme. The NYSC’s Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development Programme, the one month’s practical skills training in the orientation course content for corps members during camps has assumed a pride of place.

Many young Nigerians have used the skills acquired during the orientation camp and savings in the course of service to establish private businesses or investments. Is this a scheme some Reps members are plotting to scrap at a time the FGN is scouting for every window to tackle the massive youth unemployment?

One of the main focus of the Buhari Presidency now is on diversification into agriculture to guarantee food security. Gen. Ibrahim has not only revamped moribund NYSC farms nationwide, which cultivates tens of thousands of hectares of lands , but has partnered and is still partnering agencies like the National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA); Leventis Foundation Nigeria and the British American Tobacco Nigeria Foundation among hordes of others.

These organizations’ and agencies have offered serving corps members the rare opportunity of trainings as soil doctors and extension services workers; agricultural best practices and agro-allied linked ventures. These have the potential of spiral effects on agricultural activities in various communities across the country.

There are other ways envisaged by Gen. Ibrahim to assist the FGN tackle massive youth unemployment through the NYSC. A parley has reached advanced stages with relevant stakeholders to formally establish a legislation-backed NYSC Trust Fund. It is designed to source its funding from a percentage of profits of mega companies operating in Nigeria to among other things, financially empower passing out corps members for financial independence and private investments to become employers of labour, instead of employment seekers.

Just recently, at the 2018/2019 President’s National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) honours award ceremony, President Buhari offered automatic employments to ex-corps members in the Federal Civil Service. Others benefitted from scholarships to pursue post-graduate studies up to doctoral level in any university in Nigeria. These were ex-corps members who excelled in the four cardinal training programmes of the Scheme.

These are some of the benefits the Reps who sponsored the repulsive bill seeking to scrap the NYSC are tactically trying to deny Nigerian young graduates. It is sufficiently poor reasoning and an inexplicable daydreaming. Already, patriotic analysts’ are trumpeting that the haters and adversaries of President Buhari in the National Assembly are trying to set another trap for him with the idea of scrapping NYSC. It would generate massive criticisms of his failures again. Mr. President must be wary of the black sheep tacitly, but assiduously working to ruin his administration.

The sponsors of the repugnant bill on NYSC are the undisguised enemies of the Nigerian youths.They are the same parliamentarians who kicked against the idea and funding of President Buhari’s youth and the less privileged empowerment initiatives’ under the National Social Investment Programmes (NSIP). They are back again, in another garments and Nigerians must rise up to secure their country from these saboteurs.

Ibekwe is a public affairs analyst and wrote this piece from Enugu.

By Atim Atedze

The National Youth Service Corps ( NYSC) has come of age so much so that the institution’s gains cannot be quantified in the country’s socio-economic life. So much has been written and said about the scheme regarding its contribution to the country’s socio-economic development.

And this is where it stands in commemoration of the 48th anniversary of the existence of the NYSC and what it represents as an institution designed to promote national unity amongst the teeming youthful population in the country. The NYSC was created to reconstruct, reconcile and rebuild the country after the Nigerian Civil war. One of the objectives of the NYSC is to contribute to the accelerated growth of the national economy.

After the Nigerian Civil War ended in 1970, as part of the “3R” program—reconstruction, rehabilitation and reconciliation—the government created the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to bridge ethnic and religious divisions in Nigeria and foster the spirit of Nigerian nationalism. General Yakubu Gowon, the military head of state, created the NYSC as one of many ways to achieve national unity in Nigeria. The program is a mandatory one-year service to the country after completing a first degree for youths below the age of thirty. Participation is a prerequisite for admission into graduate schools and employment in Nigeria.

The question that thus arises is, has the NYSC been successful in achieving its primary objective of “developing common ties among the Nigerian youths and promoting national unity and integration?” For all its faults, the answer is still yes. By posting “corpers” to unfamiliar places to interact with people from different backgrounds, the NYSC brings together Nigerian youths from diverse socio-economic and ethno-religious backgrounds. This helps bridge the ethnic and religious divisions in the nation by providing exposure to other ethnic groups, which is a positive step towards building a stronger nation.

The scheme also aids social integration by providing opportunities for cross-cultural interaction that has led to inter-tribal marriages, helping to reduce inter-ethnic stereotypes and suspicions prevalent during the period after the war. The scheme further serves as an employment buffer by offering employment to recently graduated youths. Some places of deployments retain the “corpers,” thereby aiding economic integration in the country. Likewise, NYSC fosters a sense of patriotism among Nigerian youths; participation is regarded as obeying the clarion call to serve the fatherland. This position still stands and needed given the prevailing circumstances where the country has witnessed sentiments along ethnic and religious lines.

I know some would argue that the scheme has outlived its usefulness; some would also say that the scheme’s objectives ought to be rejigged to reflect the realities of the time in the country. These positions are valid and at the same time invalid because the proponents of the above stated have narrowly missed how the NYSC has evolved over the years to be that engine room for the socio-economic development of the country.

As an aside, the NYSC is what every young Nigerian graduate looks forward to yearly. I dare say that most parents and guardians also have a sense of fulfilment when they see their children and wards kitted in the NYSC khaki uniform. To say it brings joy and a sense of pride would be an understatement. The corps members themselves relish every moment during their participation in the scheme.

The NYSC of yesterday is not the same as the NYSC of today in the sense that a lot has changed. The NYSC of today has evolved into a skills and entrepreneurship development scheme where corps members are availed the unique opportunity to contribute their quota to the country’s development. For example, the NYSC has a Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) programme in place to facilitate access to requisite skills and resources necessary for successful entrepreneurship.

The SAED programme is targeted at young Nigerian graduates deployed for the one-year mandatory service and designed to be implemented during the required camping exercises (in–camp) and throughout the service year (post-camp). Corps members will be encouraged to learn in-demand industry skills, position themselves to become value creators, and leverage career and business start-up opportunities.

The SAED programme, in my opinion, supports the federal government’s aim to catalyze economic transformation through the promotion of entrepreneurship and self-reliance, particularly among youth. While corps members are encouraged to start a business in any field of their liking, SAED emphasizes twelve vocational skill sectors, including within the agri-food sector, tourism, construction, information and communications technology and education. This, we must admit, wasn’t the case many years back, and this tells us that the NYSC is evolving to meet the peculiarities of time.

Also, the welfare of corps members has been prioritized by successive administrations. If we do not know, the monthly allowance paid to corp members goes a long way for many families. This is where I commend the present Director-General of the NYSC, Brigadier General Shuaibu Ibrahim, for his numerous innovations in the scheme over the years, which in my opinion, is a function of leadership.

Brigadier General Shuaibu Ibrahim has redefined the concept of leadership through his sterling performance at the NYSC. And today, the NYSC is robust in its programmes and impactful in its contributions to national development.
A good example of his sterling leadership is signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the National Cereals Research Institute (NCRI), Badeggi, Niger State, on the training of Corps Members and Staff on modern farming methods. This is indeed brilliant given the vast potentials for wealth creation in the agricultural sector.

The NYSC DG was also recently commended for ensuring the improvement of staff and corps welfare, involvement of Corps members in COVID-19 Interventions, active participation of corps members in National assignments, especially election duties, Skills Acquisition, resuscitation of NYSC Ventures and enhancement of security network for corps members among others. And many more innovations too numerous to mention.

As the NYSC clocks 48, all relevant stakeholders must continue to extend their support to the scheme for optimal performance. The peculiarities of time require this, and it consequently beholds on well-meaning Nigerians to make the NYSC impactful in the country’s socio-economic development. I say hurray to NYSC at 48.

Atedze wrote this piece from Lagos.

By Idoko Ainoko

Wonders, as they say, shall never come to an end. I was taken aback when I stumbled on a news item on Sahara Reporters alleging that the immediate past Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, during his time in office entitlements under the Uniform and Boots Allowance and Scarce Skills Allowance approved by President Muhammadu Buhari since November 2017 have not been paid by the army authorities, then under the former Chief of the Army Staff, Lt Gen Tukur Buratai (retd.).

Initially, I struggled to make sense of the story, which forced me to read carefully until the end. But I could not get the import of the story. Instead, I was confronted with a poorly written story laced with mischief and intended for character assassination. And my conclusion was that there was no sense in the story.

However, I was constrained to pen this article because of the danger such bare-faced lies could have on the psyche of members of the unsuspecting general public. The story is absolute balderdash and a typical Sahara reporters style of maligning individuals and organizations in return for a plate of porridge.

This trend must stop as it is not in the interest of the generality of Nigerians but that of a select few who are bent on truncating our nascent democracy in fulfilment of their evil desire to set the country up in flames.

Having stated the above, it is essential to highlight the fact that in the annals of the Nigerian Army, never was there a time where the financial books of the Nigeria Army were subjected to rigorous scrutiny, than during the tenure of the former Chief of Army Staff. And he didn’t disappoint.

So, in my opinion, it is most despicable and an act of sheer wickedness for anyone or group to allege that monies and allowances meant for troops were not given to them under whatever guise. Just in case Sahara reporters and their promoters are not aware, under the Buratai leadership, it is on record that the Nigerian Army experienced tremendous infrastructural development that includes but not limited to the building of hospitals to cater for the medical needs of officers and soldiers, as well as their families, massive renovation of command secondary schools across the country, the establishment of the Nigerian Army University and also, the renovation of army barracks across the country.

I deliberately mentioned the above achievements to give us an idea of how the former Chief of Army Staff placed the welfare of officers and soldiers on a premium by undertaking projects that directly impact on their lives and that of their families. Since assumption of office, the former COAS on annual basis through his welfare programme evacuated over 70 personnel, spouses and retired personnel for medical treatment annually. He instituted a medical insurance for all category of officers and soldiers including treatment abroad.

The question thus is if a man with such foresight and disposition could embark on such projects, why would that same man cheat his troops? The narrative is not connecting, and it can only be misguided and meant for mischief purposes.

I also wish to state that with the successes recorded in the fight against insurgency, it would have been impossible for the troops to record such feats if their allowances are left unpaid for upward five years as alleged by Sahara reporters and their co-travellers. This new move by Sahara reporters is not only uncharitable; in my opinion, it is nothing but a distractive tool designed by the promoters of violence in Nigeria to cause a distraction so that they can have the time to regroup and wreak havoc in the country.

It is also a statement of fact that under the leadership of Lt. Gen Tukur Buratai, the Nigerian Army witnessed an enviable upliftment in its operational procedures and an emphasis on improved welfare for troops. So much so he was nicknamed the soldiers’ soldier. This same man would pass the night in the trenches with soldiers and eat from the same pot with them.

It is the same man that pays unscheduled visits to his troops on the battlefield. It is the same man that organizes feasts for soldiers during festive seasons in the theatre of operations and other parts of the country where operations are conducted. I can go on non-stop because here was a general that connected well with his troops at all times. And for the records, if the allegations peddled by Sahara reporters were true, there would have been no way the officers and soldiers would have kept quiet for that long.

I dare say it is not possible because the Tukur Buratai era in the Nigerian Army was characterized by transparency, accountability and improved fiscal policies that contributed mainly to the successes recorded in the prosecution of the war against terrorism and other acts of criminalities across the country. Under Tukur Buratai, the Nigerian Army opened its financial records for scrutiny under a Freedom of Information request by a group of civil society organizations. And as we all know, the outcome was a commendation for entrenching a fiscal discipline regime in the Nigerian Army.

At this point, I do not think I should go further because it’s unnecessary given the realization that this also is another campaign to discredit one of the best that has led the Nigerian Army to the best of his ability, and his records stand tall. Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai ( rtd) remains a legend. In the annals of the Nigerian Army, there has never been a time where the Chief of Army Staff connected effortlessly with his troops. And this is because he prioritized their welfare and not what Sahara reporters and their promoters want the unsuspecting members of the general public to believe.

At this point, I would advise those that are envious of the Tukur Buratai years in the Nigerian Army to do themselves well by coming to terms with the reality that Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai was an example in service to the country.

Ainoko wrote this piece from Kaduna.