HURIWA condemns attacks on NYSC after handbook controversy

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, has criticised the backlash aimed at the management of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) over instructions contained in its handbook on how to prepare for ransoms in the event of abductions.

According to the HURIWA, this backlash which has led to calls for the scrapping of the programme are over-the-top and unfair, considering the legacies of the NYSC across the country.

This was contained in a statement signed by the HURIWA National Coordinator; Emmanuel Onwubiko, on Monday.

Onwubiko expressed worries that the programme “is battling cocktails of lies, half-truths and speculations orchestrated to sow seeds of doubts and anxiety in the minds and hearts of Nigerians.”

The statement read, “On Thursday, September 23, 2021, a page purportedly containing the advice for the corps and staff on reaching out to the family and friends when plying such routes that the NYSC described as ‘high risk’ had flooded the social media.

“The handbook, which is titled; ‘Security Awareness and Education Handbook For Corps Members and Staff,’ on its page 56, purportedly advised both corps members and staff travelling on ‘high-risk’ roads to alert their family members, friends and colleagues to have someone on hand to pay off the ransom that could be demanded in case they are kidnapped.

“Luckily, the proactive managers of the NYSC have also ably provided responses to this scandal by elements who are assiduously working behind the scenes to sacrifice NYSC to appease their instincts”.

Read also: NYSC denies manual advising corpers to keep ransom for kidnappers

Furthermore, the HURIWA lauded the NYSC management for debunking the reports, tagging them as the antics of naysayers who are bent on sowing discord among Nigerians.

“This is because educational institutions and certificate-awarding professional bodies such as the NYSC have been platforms some politicians manipulate to forge certificates to meet essential conditions of qualification and eligibility to hold public office.

“Much as Nigerian politicians dread the disgraceful outcomes of certificate forgery upon discovery, the habit is still pervasively endemic in the polity. The hapless ones have been caught, time and time again. But others have escaped or still dodging the eagle eyes of the law and have continued to roam the corridors of power with mercurial elegance.

“That is the mystery and credibility of NYSC which dubious characters today are finding it extremely difficult to penetrate or manipulate to their favour. And there are many such veiled violators of the sanctity of the NYSC in the corridors of power who are dead scared of the next action which might consume and throw them out of their juicy positions. So, they have waged war against NYSC’s continued existence,” the statement read.

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