Afenifere to FG: Crackdown on terrorism, overhaul NYSC scheme

By Adeola Badru

IBADAN—THE pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, yesterday, raised concerns over the rising wave of kidnapping and terrorist attacks across Yorubaland and other parts of Nigeria, warning that the situation has reached alarming proportions.

Afenifere, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr Jare Ajayi, lamented that incidents of terror, including kidnappings, are now occurring almost daily in different parts of the country.

The Yoruba body said: “Before now, reports of incidents of this nature used to be from other climes. But these days, the horrendous incidents are also occurring in Yorubaland of Oyo, Ogun, Ekiti, Ondo, Kwara and parts of Kogi.

“We are deeply concerned about this, just as we are uncomfortable with the sacking of communities, kidnapping, killing, livestock rustling, arson and maiming of people in some other parts of the country, particularly in Plateau, Benue, Niger, Nassarawa, Katsina, Borno, Bauchi, Kaduna and the Federal Capital Territory; to mention a few.”

On the need to overhaul the NYSC programme, he said: “Afenifere first made this call as far back as 2021 when some youth corps members were attacked by bandits. Recent happenings impel us to reiterate our earlier call in this respect.

“No Nigerian or anybody else deserves to be kidnapped or killed extra-judicially.

“Youth corpers deserve special treatment because of their peculiar nature. For this reason, if the scheme could not be suspended, a modification should be brought to it in such a way that participants would be mobilised to serve in their respective states or states of residence rather than having to be posted to states far away from the areas they are familiar with.”

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