10th May, 2011
How do you tell the parents and loved ones of these lost souls that the children they have nurtured, worried over, fussed over, trained to make something of themselves, have departed this world in a very untimely and painful manner? It is one thing to hear that they were killed in an accident, but how do you expect anyone to come to terms with the savage manner in which these people had their lives stolen from them? Mind you, these were peopleâ€
I think the intentions behind the establishment of the NYSC scheme are honourable. It gives young people the opportunity to see how people from other parts of the country live, to foster a sense of unity and to drive home the fact that even though we speak different languages, have different cultures, eat different food, practise different faiths, we are all one people, bound together by geographical boundaries and our humanity. Indeed, I have met many people from various parts of the country who tell me that they know so and so place in another part of the country, simply because they served there. Most of them remember their service year with nostalgia, recalling how the local community had embraced them and made their stay an interesting one. For most of them, that is the extent of their interaction with that part of the country. They may not go back there again for the rest of their lives, but at least they have experienced life from the perspective of the people of the host community. The insight they have gained will stay with them as they move on to various positions of leadership and will help them to be more open and accepting of their brothers and sisters from all over the country.
I had a very interesting conversation with a friend from the Northern part of the country who lives in New York. When he found out I was from the Eastern part of the country he wanted to know the exact part. I was a little amused as I told him, really not thinking he would know the place. To my surprise, he proceeded to demonstrate that he knows my own village better than I do. He named some key villages, how to get there, named various points of interest, how the local government areas were divided, things that I didnâ€
The roads are so bad that you hear stories like the one about a bus conveying medical students to their areas of primary assignment which got into an accident and killed all of the people inside on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway. Apart from the risk of accidents, corpers must contend with the very real risks of losing their lives, needlessly, when they are sent to some parts of the country. The NYSC scheme cannot work in these volatile times. At the very least, if graduates must serve, let them serve in their own states. However, that would defeat the purpose of the scheme, which is why it must be scrapped, or put on hold for now until the political atmosphere is more stable. The government and politicians cannot play politics of murder with the lives of these young people who are the future of this country. They are not mere figures on a piece of paper or figments of the imagination. These young people had hopes and dreams for a better life, which have forever been quashed. If the pattern of such things in the past holds true, then this incident, just like many others, will be swept under the rug. But Ukeoma Ikechukwu, Obinna Okpokiri and the other lost souls will not be forgotten. May God grant them eternal rest, amen.
Figures on a piece of paper or figments of the imagination. These young people had hopes and dreams for a better life, which have forever been quashed.
•Akuna Ejim wrote this article for TheNEWS magazine.