BOKO HARAM: Hundreds of NYSC corpers in Brono rejects gov’t bribe to stay

Members of the National Youth Service Corps

Despite the monitory incentive the state government promised all serving corps member; Hundreds of Youth Corpers still went ahead to seek reassignment in Brono State (Which was ravaged by the Boko Haram mayhem). In addition to their monthly allowance, the state government promised ALL serving members as much as N100,000 (one hundred thousand naira) to N10,000 (ten thousand naira) monthly.


Two days ago, the terrorist group called Boko Haram released a voice recording of the kidnapped Dapchi school girl who wasn’t released because she refused to renounce her Christian faith. The national news media intentionally ignored it because it was a political trick and they don’t want to give them the attention they crave for (thereby encouraging such actions). She was kidnapped in Brono and as of today there is absolutely no hope for her release.

The voice message was addressed to President Buhari and we know it had political motive (by the capturers). Since the presidential elections is just a few months away, terrors activities are expected to reach their peak in the next few months as the cold blooded politician tries their best to score points with the misfortune of the victims of violence perpetrated by people who claims to be radical Islamic jihadist. In 2011, some Youth Corpers were beaten and burnt to death in Bauchi State during the riot that followed the announcement of the election results. The present president was an opposition candidate and to this day, he did not condemn the brutal murder of those corps members. So the threat are real.

So it doesn’t come as a surprise when it was announced that over half of the National Youth Service Corps serving in Borno State have been redeployed to other state for various reasons ranging from marital status, ill-health and of course; insecurity. These are the more aggressive once who had their wish granted as many more requested for redeployment but wasn’t convincing enough.

Borno State is one of those state in Nigeria that has been ravaged by the insurgency. Just 4 years ago, some local government areas were fully controlled and renamed by the terrorist, many of whom has been paid off greatly by the present government after the negotiation for the release of another set of secondary school girls; the Chibok Girls. The United Nations recently disclosed that a huge sum of money was given to the terrorist group to secure the freedom of those girls who had allegedly been in captivity for over 3 years. This is a group with links to ISIS.

Boko Haram terrorist

The irony of this whole thing is that the NYSC Coordinator in Borno State, Alhaji Rabiu Katsina, announced the redeployment of over 50% of those NYSC corps member assigned to Borno State in another safer state (because most journalist wouldn’t risk traveling over there despite the relatively low rate of insurgency attacks right now). This was a news conference in Katsina State held after the closing ceremony of camp for the 2018 Batch ‘B’ corps members (orientation exercise which lasted for 3 weeks).

According to him, out of the 1289 members sent to the state, 700 successfully gained re-deployment for various reasons. Stating that their request was granted based on compassion for their plight (especially female members that were married and had family in another state and those with health challenges). Coincidently, many married and sick university graduates were officially sent to Borno to serve and that had to be ratified. 

Apart from the standard monthly allowance officially paid to corpers by the NYSC, Alhaji Rabiu Katsina disclosed that the Borno State government has agreed to reward corps members who are doctors with N100,000 per month, paramedics (including nurses and physiotherapists) are to get N50,000 monthly, while all other corps member serving the state are to get N10,000 per month irrespective of their area of specialty.

He describes these payments as an incentive to encourage the serving corpers who have bravely undertaken the task to join the state government in its reconstruction and rehabilitation plans (despite the fragile state of security). At the height of the war on terror between the Nigerian State and the Boko Haram, over one thousand teachers in the state were systematically exterminated, civilians were killed at a rate of 30 a day and thousands fled to other states for refuge. The situation has since improved since the new Buhari led administration; however it is far from perfect.

The state Governor Kashim Shettima, who was represented by Alhaji Mahdi Gazali, welcomed the new corpers and assured them of peace. He claimed that peace has been fully restored to the state. Alhaji Mahdi Gazali  holds the position of Chairman of the NYSC Governing Board, Borno State.