![](\"http:\/\/arewa.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Islamic-group-reacts-as-NYSC-moves-to-expel-female-Muslim-corps-member-from-camp-for-refusing-to-wear-trousers.jpg\")
<\/p>\nA female Muslim corps member yesterday refused to use the conventional knicker at the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) camp at Iyana Ipaja, Lagos State.<\/p>\n
The NYSC authorities have allegedly initiated the process for decamping her and she may be sent out of the camp today, (Wednesday).<\/p>\n
It will be recalled that two female Christian youth corps members were also expelled from the NYSC camp in Ebonyi State on Saturday, for the same reason.<\/p>\n
Both the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) have since condemned the expulsion.<\/p>\n
MURIC called for the immediate review of the NYSC training camp activities to allow female corps members whose creeds forbid them from wearing knickers to freely and willingly partake in the activities.<\/p>\n
MURIC said, \u201cNYSC has placed military options above moral issues. It is affecting young ones in both Christianity and Islam. This is capable of destroying the moral fabrics of our society. What kind of leadership is NYSC trying to produce for the nation?<\/p>\n
\u201cIs it a God-fearing leadership that will give the nation good governance or one that has no fear of Allah that will embezzle the people\u2019s funds, abuse power while in office and deprive the citizens of basic infrastructural facilities?<\/p>\n
\u201cNYSC should go into retrospection. What has it achieved in more than three decades of its existence? What has been the impact of its training on the youth? Our streets have been taken over by an army of jobless graduates. Yahoo yahoo is the order of the day.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur graduates are heavily militarized. Cultism, kidnapping and ritual killing are their hobbies. Materialism is their religion. They are in a hurry to get rich. Meanwhile, Nigeria holds its breath and trembles.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut NYSC can do better if it pays attention to morality and vocational training instead of concentrating on physical fitness, climbing obstacles, crawling under barbed wires and other military exercises like marching, military parade, etc. Of what use have these activities been to the graduates? Of what use have those activities been to national development?<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is the purpose of teaching graduates how to march on parade when they are not expected to continue military drills after camp? Why are we training them to cross obstacles and crawl under sharp objects when the training does not include the use of arms? Corpers finish up the one-year ritual without knowing how to cock a rifle or how to halt an advancing target for identification. It is sheer window-dressing.<\/p>\n
\u201cNYSC camp modus operandi is as irrelevant as it is distractive. As far as we are concerned, physical training for graduates in present-day Nigeria is peripheral. It is their moral training that is tangential. It is a misplacement of priorities. A nation that has been dragged behind by corruption, a nation whose growth has been retarded by immorality cannot afford to ignore warnings coming from the altar and the minbar.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe organization suggested the way forward, adding, \u201cWhat does NYSC or the nation as a whole stand to gain from decamping corps members for irrational and flimsy excuses?<\/p>\n
\u201cThe effect is counter-productive. It wastes the efforts of serious-minded graduates while Yahoo Yahoo and cultist graduates multiply on our streets. What\u2019s in a short knicker and what\u2019s in a long skirt? NYSC is killing flies with a sledge-hammer.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe way forward is to de-emphasise physical and pseudo-military exercises. NYSC handlers should turn attention to the reorientation of our young graduates during camping.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany of them are cynical about Nigeria. NYSC can partner with the National Orientation Agency (NOA) in this regard. Lectures and interactive sessions on patriotism will go a long way to give corps members a new mindset. Motivational speakers should be on call.<\/p>\n
\u201cBesides, the period should be used for vocational training. This will change our young ones into entrepreneurs and reduce the number of jobless youths.<\/p>\n
\u201cLeadership retreat is another angle that should be considered. Our young graduates need to begin to see leadership as service to humanity. The camping period can also be used for anti-corruption campaigns. Ideologues of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) may come in handy here.\u201d<\/p>\n
MURIC rubbished NYSC\u2019s rationale for the choice of short-knickers for corps members in camp.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe argument that corpers need short knickers for military drills does not hold any water at all. We have been able to prove that those drills are unnecessary. Corpers are not soldiers. Neither are they members of uniformed organisations.<\/p>\n
\u201cTheir stay in the camp is ephemeral, sometimes three or four weeks. 99.999% of them may never put on any uniform again in their lives. What then is the purpose of laying so much emphasis on drills, crossing the obstacle, climbing nets, jumping over heights and ascending walls? Has the Third World War started?<\/p>\n
\u201cNigerians should shine their eyes. Those military exercises were introduced at the time because NYSC was started by the military. They added all those irrelevant aspects because those are activities best known to soldiers. But we should review the camping activities now that we are in a civilian regime.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe, therefore, appeal to the National Assembly (NASS) to take an urgent look at activities in NYSC camps with a view to reviewing them as discussed above. This is a democracy. The NYSC decree should be radically reviewed by the NASS. The Ministry of Internal Affairs is also advised to study the matter and bring it to the attention of the presidency. We call on the leadership of CAN to join us in the call for a review of the modus operandi of the NYSC training camp.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn our closing remarks, we reject NYSC\u2019s excuse for insisting on using short knickers. We assert that corpers do not need any exercise that cannot be done with skirts. We call for the introduction of re-orientation lectures, leadership training talks and anti-corruption campaigns to replace irrelevant military drills. We also advocate vocational training for corpers in order to turn their attention to entrepreneurship rather than remaining wild goose chasers of non-available white-collar jobs.\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Muslim Rights Concern, MURIC has added a new twist to the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC\u2019s short knicker furore, berating the scheme for allegedly sacrificing morality on the altar of militarization. A female Muslim corps member yesterday refused to use the conventional knicker at the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) camp at Iyana Ipaja, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":167574,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1,3,2677],"tags":[4866,9636,13257,13588,10822,3736],"class_list":["post-167573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-more","category-news","category-religious","tag-crime","tag-expels","tag-islam-group","tag-muslim-members","tag-nysc-members","tag-religious"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arewa.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167573","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arewa.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arewa.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arewa.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arewa.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=167573"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/arewa.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167573\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arewa.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/167574"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arewa.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=167573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arewa.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=167573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arewa.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=167573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}