The House of
Representatives on Thursday passed an order suspending further drafting
of fresh graduates to Plateau State to participate in the National
Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme in the state.
This order came in
the wake of the devastating violence that claimed hundreds of lives in
a neighbourhood of Jos, the state capital, last Sunday.
The legislative
resolution, the second in the week after the massacre, also called on
the management of the NYSC to re-deploy serving corps members in
Plateau to neighbouring states, even as the government attempts to
restore peace to the area.
Saving the people
“I am not a
pessimist,” said Ekperikpe Ekpo, a member from Akwa Ibom state, who
sponsored the resolution. “But we cannot say as of now, total peace has
returned to Jos. We have to find a way to save these people in the
event of reprisal attacks.”
The resolution will empower calls from Nigerians who have asked that youth corps members be re-assigned from Plateau state.
However, a few
members of the House of Representatives, mostly from the affected
state, opposed the proposal. They complained that such an order will
imply a failure of the government and a total breakdown of law and
order in Plateau state.
Leo Dilkon, who
represents Pashkin, Kanke and Kanam Local government areas of the
state, said the crisis was concentrated around Jos, and it will be
undue punishment on the rest of the state if the youths are withdrawn.
Support for motion
But the motion
gathered rapid support after the mention of several cases of slain
corps members in several parts of the north including Grace Ushang,
whose murder in Borno State last year drew international condemnation,
and three members of the scheme who died during the December 2008
fighting in Plateau State.
In the aftermath of
such deaths, the government has been advised to reconsider the
continued relevance of the scheme and the NYSC has been urged to
restrict its posting to certain states.
After the killings
of last Sunday, the NYSC Director General, Maharazu Tsiga, reportedly
announced that his office will reassign serving members from the state
pending the restoration of normalcy.
Lawmakers said
although they are aware of the decision, they will push for a
legislative resolution to compel the director general to act fast.
“I will be
surprised if anyone will oppose the fact that the situation in Plateau
poses a clear and present danger, said Patrick Obahiagbon, who
represents Oredo in Edo state. “Whether there are newspaper reports
that they will be redeployed or not, we have to rise up and make it
known that this parliament says no. We cannot send our brothers and
sisters to go and pay the ultimate price.”
Women in black
Meanwhile, hundreds
of Plateau women clad in black dresses and placards showed up at the
premises of the National Assembly, where they held hands, singing
sombre songs to protest the latest killings.
The women, who said
they will seek the intervention of the United Nations (UN) if they fail
to get justice from the Nigerian government, called on the acting
president, Goodluck Jonathan, to remove the current General Officer
Commanding the 3rd Armoured Division of the Nigerian Army, located in
Jos, Plateau State, who has been accused of negligence as the crisis
erupted.
“We want a change
of the security chiefs in Plateau State, they have not guaranteed any
security on us, we have lost confidence in them,” the group’s
spokesperson and its secretary general, Zipporah Kpamor, said.
The women also
accused the Chief of Army Staff, Abdurahman Danbazzau, as well as the
Bauchi State government of complicity in the mayhem in Jos.
“If the FG cannot stop the premeditated genocide and ensure peace in
the state, then we will be compelled to go to the United Nations (UN)
for intervention on the matter,” Ms. Kpamor said.
