Not a scam – The Nation

•The N4,000 NYSC charge should be included in its budget in subsequent years

Sometimes the line between fairness and tyranny is so thin that one is overshadowed by the other. Such seems the case in the enduring furore over the charge of four thousand Naira to National Youth Service Corps members to pick up their call-up letters.

The narrative, often dwarfed by any other voice, is that the NYSC top brass has decided to filch the hapless corps members of the sum of money. They earn in each of their twelve months of service the sum of about N18,000. This is a paltry sum by any standards. Corps members know that this sum hardly affords them a place to lay their heads. The elite among them are those who come from well-heeled homes or who enjoy support systems from family, family friends or who serve in companies with liberal packages. These are few. The corps members are made to believe that their country expects a sense of service from them and not luxury. Four thousand Naira is therefore a huge sum for any corps member to pay for any service.

In a nation where the governing and political elites are perceived as alienating, a climate of cynicism and doubt overwhelms this community of young Nigerians. So the directive from the NYSC top brass that they pay N4,000 seemed not only exploitative, but also cynical.

But the story was not well-received because it was not properly understood. The NYSC says it is not compulsory that corps members should pay the sum. It is a convenience policy. Those who prefer not to pay would be required to travel from their various homes to their universities to pick up their letters. That had in the past created logistical barriers. Intending corps members have to travel, in quite a few cases, long distances to pick up the letters. In such cases, it may even be more expensive.

For instances, a student of the Obafemi Awolowo University who is domiciled in Sokoto would have to undertake the long-distance sojourn to Ile-Ife. Under the new arrangement, he or she would only need to spend money – that is, N4,000 – to obtain a scratch card and obtain the same document. It will clearly cost the student a lot more than N4,000 for a return journey to Ile-Ife in Osun State, a journey that would include costs like feeding and overnight stay in addition to transportation.

On the other hand, a student of the University of Lagos who resides in Yaba which is in the same district with the university has no reason to pay the money. The student can walk to the institution and pick up the document free of charge within an hour or two.

The NYSC has said that it introduced the measure without any budgetary allocation. So, in order to ensure the convenience of the corps members it propounded the idea. It is working with a private firm, whose infrastructure will facilitate the access to the scratch cards. This is a good idea. But the NYSC should ensure that in subsequent years, the agency incorporates this policy into its budget. This will avoid the upheaval that the measure has inspired.

Given the high scale of corruption in the country, government officials should understand it is not enough that you are just but you must be seen to be just, especially if it concerns charging the citizens sums of money. The NYSC N4,000 charge is not extortionate, but young Nigerians have lived to see exploitation all around them. Their teachers did it in obtaining class lecture notes, in passing their tests and examinations and accessing a few other routine entitlements. They also witnessed the recent tragic episode of the immigration job scam. Hence they saw NYSC charges in that light.

The NYSC authorities clearly don’t seem in this instance to join that corrupt wagon. They, however, should incorporate it into their budget next year.