NPowerists: Don't cry!

The veteran volunteers of National Social Investment and Empowerment Programme, N-Power has been pouring public outcry on the unmerited disengagement by the President Muhammadu Buhari led federal government by the end of July, 2020. The batches A and B are living in perpetual fear and panic over the uncertainty the future hold for them. 

It is unarguable that Nigeria governments always use and dump her employable graduates after milking their nutrients and energy through various frivolous empowerment schemes launched over the years, which include: 

Youth Enterprise with Innovation in Nigeria (YouWin), Youth Initiative for Sustainable Agriculture (YISA), Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Program (Sure-P), Graduates Internship Scheme (GIS), Youth Empowerment and Development Initiative (YEDI), Africa Youth Empowerment Nigeria (AYEN) and now the National Social Investment and Empowerment Program, N-Power, which mostly ended up enriching only few Nigeria political leaders and their sycophants.

The impetuosity attitude of Ms Umar Sadiya Farouq is well displayed in her various public outings and statements pertaining batches A and B disengagement, which she has been unleashing arbitral decisions mercilessly on these veterans who have meritoriously discharged their assigned duties in various Primary Places of Assignment (PPA) for over two years into the internship programme, but ended up treated like outcasts who are begging for little stipend that most Nigerian politicians and their followers use as recharge card for their girlfriends and sometimes relatives.

NPower volunteers 

It is testament to the fact that first and second phase of the N-Power scheme have boosted the manpower and quality of service to various sectors of our nation’s economy with the careful engagement of these resourceful, resilient and intelligent young Nigeria graduates who have been in the forefront rendering services to Nigerians and her government. 

Just like the popular NYSC national anthem “Youths Obey her Clarion Call, let us lift our nation high, under the sun and in the rain, with dedication and selflessness, Nigeria is ours and Nigeria we serve”. 

When it is time for Nigerian government to appreciate the selfless services by these veteran volunteers, the government is rather planning to pay them evil for good, with cruel exit plans and packages that unknown to them as beneficiaries. What an undeserving punishment and maltreatment melting on volunteers at this time when world leaders thinking of sustaining and creating more jobs for her citizens.

Taking a cynical look at the impact of the volunteers’ service to nation building is undisputable, which the country has gained a comparative advantage or edge over so many countries in the world in terms of educational competition, healthcare services and agricultural revolution.

Sadiya Farouq, Humanitarian Affairs Minister 

There is an old adage that says, “A prophet is never honored in his/her own country”. This is vividly seen in the faces of Nigeria graduates who have revived the nation’s economy through agriculture, education, health, taxation, etc. The government has never honored the tremendous contributions made by these volunteers but only sign-praised them in the pages of our national dailies, broadcast stations and the social media platforms. 

No wonder why there is an increase in the rate of brain drain syndrome among young Nigeria graduates who are rendering valuable services to other countries in detriment of her motherland, because her motherland became unbearable, full of evil, lack of motivation, denial of opportunities to excel in their chosen field of study after spending four years studying and passing through hardship in acquiring quality and quantitative university education, only to be rendered useless by the Nigerian government.

It is high time the Nigeria National Assembly should wake up from their deep slumber and put on their thinking caps as lawmakers who have been elected by the Nigeria populace, especially youths who have attained the age of 18 years and above as required by law to cast their votes in ballot boxes, to make laws that will address the volunteers’ plights. 

This voting age bracket were promised by APC led federal government during one of her campaign promises to the N-Powerists that the permanency of the National Social Investment Programme lies on their hands, which the volunteers take it upon themselves without contemplation as a business of reelecting President Muhammadu Buhari for second term after defeating his closest contender and business mogul, former vice president Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, during the last year 2019 presidential election.

Without mincing words, the alarming rate of unemployment among graduates in Nigeria is a contributory factor to insecurity, armed banditry, kidnapping, suicide, crime and criminality, and massive initiation into yahoo business or activities that has largely sabotaged our economy in the financial sector mostly carried out by young intellectuals. 

These promising young youths concluded that people in authority have failed them woefully in their campaign promises to the electorates; therefore they will do everything humanly possible to earn a living.

It is high time for all well meaning Nigerians to lend voices to the plights of these disadvantaged N-Power beneficiaries in giving them permanent job by the federal government, which will be glorified even by our unborn generation. Does it mean that these veteran volunteers are not employable by Nigerian government? 

If the government continues with its planned exit without giving these disadvantaged Nigerians a permanent job, which the government said while inaugurating the scheme was to create employment and uplift 100million people out of poverty in ten years, but the scheme will end up creating poverty and insecurity in time to come.

The size of federal government social intervention programmes are still small compare to the poor population in Nigeria and disengaging this 500,000 beneficiaries soon, is a gross violation of her promises to Nigeria electorates, and Nigeria according to economy analysts will go into another round of economy recession occasioned by novel coronavirus pandemic. 

Graduating N-Powerists to already over bloated labour market is worrisome to economists and analysts, which the government should need to have a rethink on their futuristic exit plan designed for her youths.

That is why N-Powerists should not cry again rather submit our endless collective prayers and petitions to God the creator of heaven and the earth to send us our savior to address our plight, because there is hopelessness in the hands of the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, Ms Umar Sadiya Farouq and her team. Don’t cry because there is no one to console you!

It is time the veteran volunteers should brainstorm and think as intellectuals being known for to channel their grievances to the appropriate authorities through various medium of communication for them to unveil what is contained in the almighty transition programme because graduates who have been in federal government payroll for years and throwing them back to the street will be disastrous for a well meaning government. 

It is not an abomination to employ these set of graduates who have no alternative means of survival, not transitioning them to government entrepreneurship scheme again. This is the simplest and easiest thing any well-thought-out government can do to her teeming unemployed youths in trying times like this, when unemployment becomes household name for countries like ours.

Benaebi Oyinbrakemi Destiny, is a journalist and N-Power beneficiary. He sent this piece from Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.