"Help, NYSC has turned us to liars!!"

Please Enekem , please I want you to help me post this, its a call out to NYSC that someone posted in a group I joined. NYSC is turning us to big liars, parents are thinking their wards did not graduate, neighbors are giving us side eyes like we are dropouts all because we have given them over 5 different dates that we are going to camp and we still not in camp.

I have a complaint against the NYSC organization. I am a prospective corps member (PCM) of NYSC batch A 2016. It is no longer news that the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) is set out to frustrate and degrade the lives of youths and graduates in Nigeria.

On 8th of February online registration commenced for the 2016 NYSC Batch A orientation course scheduled to commence on the 2nd of march, after the registration however, NYSC time-table was changed and orientation camp postponed to 30th of march and subsequently 1st of April, most of us tendered our resignation letters to our employees as we were assured the date was not going to be tampered with again, few days to the anticipated date, the course was postponed yet again to the 27th of April to print our call-up letter on the 21st of April and no excuse whatsoever was given.

Yet all prospective corps members waited patiently.

The due date (21st of April) finally arrived to print our call up letters, admist confusion and tension PCM's were unable to print out their call-up letters only to be informed 24hours later by NYSC that not all corp members were in stream 1; and that 27th of April was scheduled for stream 1 corps members and 21st of May was slated for stream 2 corps members.

Most Prospective corp members got an unusual message, 'because you are not in stream 1, you will be notified when to print your call-up letter'. Others got the message 'you are to print your call up letter for the 13th to 21st of May 2016'. In other words 21st of May was the new date slated for Batch A stream 2 corp members, that is; one month after Batch A stream 1 printed their call-up letters.

Yet again stream 2 PCM's waited patiently.

Few days ago stream 1 passed out from camp and the due date for printing call up letter for stream 2 arrived (13th of May), NYSC sent random messages to some corps members informing them to start printing on the 14th of May, and few minutes later were resent a message 'sorry, you cannot print your call-up letter, you will be informed when to print your letters in due course'.

No formal update has since been published by NYSC on their site to explain the reasons for the unusual procrastination, corp members who haven't gotten messages have since been in denial by NYSC. On the 14th there was an update on NYSC social media account notifying us our letters will be ready later that day but yet again it was another empty promise.

This is 16th of May and there is still no press release or official statement by NYSC for us to go ahead and print our call-up letters. NYSC has denied rumours of postponement, but rumours reaching batch A stream 2 corp members is that Batch A stream 2 is now Batch B to leave in July or November which will be 5-9months after we are supposed to be in camp for the scheme.

NB: We have patiently waited for NYSC till date, some of us since 2014. We are unable to get decent Jobs to sustain ourselves and our families or further our studies because we do not have NYSC dispatch certificates, youths have been forced to stay idle, wasting precious time waiting for the scheme, so many resigned from their petty jobs all because we were eager to serve our fatherland.

How long will we continue to wait? IT IS EITHER WE ALL (BATCH A STREAM 2) CORP MEMBERS LEAVE ON 21ST OF MAY or OUR DISPATCH CERTIFICATE IS ISSUED TO US or WE ARE DEPLOYED TO OUR VARIOUS STATES OF DEPLOYMENT WITHOUT ORIENTATION CAMP AND GIVEN PLACES OF PRIMARY ASSIGNMENT if funds are insufficient. 

The hardship in Nigeria is unbearable and it will be utmostly (sic) inhumane to punish the youths and leaders of tomorrow by promising them to continue waiting for an incompetent organization and a failed scheme that is not in the best interest of Nigerian youths.

We can no longer wait for NYSC to determine the course of our future. We use this medium to call on all Nigerians and youth advocates to tell our story to the world #letnigeriahearourcry #NYSCbatchAstream2 #NoPostponement #ReleaseOurCallupLetter