It is not only logical but appropriate as well that at a retreat organised for the Senate and House committees on labour and employment, the other day, the Nigerian Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) declared its ambitious plan to enhance its operations by extending insurance coverage to National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members. According to its managing director, Oluwaseun Faleye, it is the agency’s strategic goals to increase corporate registrations by one million annually as well as declassifying the NSITF as a revenue-generating agency.

Indeed, the NSITF initiative to include Corps members who are currently excluded from the provisions of Section 84(2) of the Pension Reform Act 2014 in the insurance scheme as a matter of priority, is desirable, at least, from the point of view that it could give Corps members some sense of belonging, confidence and stimulate their patriotism in serving their fatherland.

For sure, this is where honesty and probity come in. Also, as Faleye noted, it is a critical step in ensuring that all segments of the Nigerian society are adequately protected under the NSITF scheme. Moreover, corps members have been regularly exposed to hazards, violence and even death in the normal cause of their service to the nation. It is on record, for instance, that some of them were caught in the midst of election violence; some were kidnapped and went through harrowing experiences while going for national service or in the course of their primary assignment. While some lost their lives untimely.

For ages, the youth particularly, Corps members have been inundated with hopes of being the future leaders without clearly defined goals and objectives to address challenges facing them. No doubt, without coordination, most youths have been trapped in the unemployment market and successive governments have failed to address the issue properly. This is sad.

While it is commendable for the NSITF to think in such direction of insuring corps members because they carry the burden of unforeseen risks and dangers in their quest to serve the nation, the idea should be pursued to its logical end, and not allowed to evaporate midway. A cursory survey of challenges facing our Corps members would reveal an influx of sundry dangers that lucks around them while serving the country.

For example, in spite of their individual academic achievements, anxiety and determination as fresh graduates to pursue their dreams, Corps members are exposed to travelling on the myriad of bad roads across the country to areas they are posted to serve. In this instance, many of our youth Coppers have lost the lives or are badly disabled and could no longer chase their dreams or fend for themselves as a result of road accidents. Many fall the victim of either being robbed or kidnapped on their way to the NYSC camps. Again, the same unwholesome darkness falls on most Corps members during election as they become victims when political thugs attack polling centres where they are posted. Certainly, no country would progress when its youth are constantly faced with such ugly challenges.

For this laudable plan to succeed, certain basic things must be put in place. In as much as Corps members remain by far one of our most important and dependable development assets and by extension, the ‘future leaders’, it seems improper that we should put them on harm way while on errand for the nation. Rather, they deserve adequate protection.

Therefore, the security agencies must be seen to perform their duty in securing lives and property across the country. The security agencies must be very proactive to preventing crime and criminality in the country. The absence of adequate security in the country has seen many Corps members chose where they believe is safe for them to serve, instead of their originally posted areas of primary assignment.

It must be noted that, the insurance scheme for Corps members is only one part of the equation to encourage the NYSC programme. The other part relates to government agencies to ensure peaceful environment and social sustainability of the scheme to provide adequate coverage for Corps members.

Again, a pertinent question needs to be asked with regards to the proposed insurance scheme. Time out of work means time out of insurance scheme. Knowing that insurance scheme ideally endures over a long period of time, yet the Corps members service is but for one year. How does the scheme hope to achieve its aims considering the short period of engaging the corps members? Specifically, having regards to the above, it is therefore necessary to ponder if the NSITF would continue to provide insurance benefits for Corps members during period of unemployment after their youth corps service is over.

In any case, the insurance scheme should not be masqueraded to mean that all is well with Corps members once the scheme is given a green light by the federal government. In this regard, the government of the day should not claim to have solved Corps members problems as a result of the insurance scheme. Therefore, other areas of lack, like accommodation and health challenges facing corps members during their primary assignment should be adequately addressed too. No amount is too much for theproposed insurance scheme to cover cases of disability or loss of lives.

Most importantly, the insurance scheme when operational must be seen to be transparent, it must be consistent and enduring so that Corps members and Nigerians, particularly parents of Corps members, can have the assurance and confidence that there is a reward serving fatherland.

Above all, ghost names in whatever circumstance should not find its way in the insurance register. This will help to strengthen the agency and ensure long-term financial sustainability and effectiveness. (The Guardian Editorial)

•File photo of NYSC members

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