Nigerian actress Kate Henshaw has urged for the abolishment of the annual National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) program.
She said this due to its failure in ensuring the safety of corps members.
She expressed her discontent with the program on her Twitter account. This was in response to the news of eight corps members being abducted in Zamfara State,
Kate stated that the program’s integrity has been compromised, and it no longer offers the positive experience it once did.
She emphasized the lack of security for corps members during their travels and proposed that the program should be discontinued.
Recalling her own experiences of traveling to her assigned state via both road and air, the actress highlighted the significant safety measures that were in place during her time.
She argued that the program has consistently exposed graduates to risks and dangers, thereby justifying her call for its cancellation.
Her tweet read,
“When I served in the North, it was a very memorable experience. Travelling from Bauchi by road to the airport was safe & then flying to Lagos just with my NYSC ID card, which also got me rebate on my ticket. It’s time to SCRAP this idea since corpers can’t travel within this country without LET OR HINDRANCE! Stop putting the lives of young people at risk with moribund ideas. Security is a priority & needs to be sorted totally, not technically.”
This development occurred after a group of eight individuals, who were traveling in an Akwa Ibom Transport Company (AKTC) bus from Uyo to Zamfara state for their one-year national service, fell victim to the incident.
Among them, three of the corps members managed to escape from the kidnappers.
Eddy Megwa, the Director of Press at the NYSC Headquarters, confirmed that the abducted graduates were on a night journey to their assigned orientation camp when they were taken captive by armed assailants.
Despite this information, Kate Henshaw remains firm in her opinion that the program should be discontinued.