The Green Chamber has transformed Nigerian Peace Corps (NPC) into a paramilitary and security agency of government under an Act. Peace Corps, as the name implies, has remained very peaceful, law abiding and resolute in all its dealings since its inception, which explains why it approached the 8th National Assembly.
The National Commandant of Nigerian Peace Corps, Dr. Dickson Akor salute His Excellency, the Honourable Speaker, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara, the Principal Officers and the entire members of the House of Representatives for the final passage of a Bill for an Act to Establish the Nigerian Peace Corps. He also comended the patience and perseverance on the part of all officers and Men of Peace Corps National, has today been rewarded.
Read how Nigerian Peace Corps Bill triumph at second reading and public hearing below:
At second reading in the House of Representatives, the bill enjoyed the overwhelming support of lawmakers, who debated vehemently in its favour. It scaled through the second reading, even though a few lawmakers opposed it, the bill was referred to the Hon. Jagaba Adams Jagaba’s-led House Committee on Interior, for further legislative actions. No doubt, the Nigerian people are very much interested in this bill because of the promises the Corps has for young Nigerians, who are presently, doing wonderfully across the nation under the Corps as a private organisation. However, the only groups in Nigeria that practically, do not seem to like this organisation are the DSS, NPF, NSCDC amongst a few others, who have taken it upon themselves to oppose all efforts to establish the Corps under an Act, for totally pecuniary reasons and none other else.
On that day of its public hearing, precisely, Wednesday April 13, 2016, at the Reps’ Committee on Interior, these agencies did not hide their gang up and conspiracy to stop the Corps, but the Corps was triumphant because the Nigerian people, including some of those working in these organisations, are supportive of the Corps’ course. You needed to see how a huge number of young citizens of all cadre, qualifications and ages, came out en mass, well kitted in the very intimidating official uniforms of the Corps, taking over the large sitting capacity hearing room at the House of Reps, which could not even contain them, as several of them were asked to go back to the office or wait in their buses. You could see the enthusiasm on their faces, as they arrived the venue, with the hope and prayer that all those who came for the public hearing would speak in favour of the Corps.
In an address by the National Commandant, Dr. Dickson Akor, he spoke passionately on this dream, advocating life for this youth dream called the Nigerian Peace Corps. You cannot but agree with him that currently, Nigeria is investing so much energy and resources in fighting the menace of insurgency, militancy, kidnapping, vandalism armed robbery, political thuggery, drug trafficking, prostitution financial and other heinous crimes. Akor believes that these vices constitute social challenges that have far reaching consequences on the nation’s economic development and security. From reports, it is clear that every year, the country records over 900, 000 Nigerian graduates from both secondary and tertiary schools, with less than 10 percent having access to gainful employment.
The fate of the larger portion of other percentage often ended up in these vices, which Akor said, informed the vision of the Peace Corps to see how to engage these youths and take them away from crimes. He said that it was founded as a uniformed youth organisation, with the mandate of harnessing and redirecting the productive energies of Nigerian youths towards socio-economic development in Nigeria. Akor told the committee also, that presently, the Corps has over 113, 822 staff officers and 78, 247 registered volunteer Corps members across the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT. As a legal organisation, the Corps is said to enjoy the recognition of the Federal Ministry of Education, Federal Ministry of Youths and Sports Development, the Nigeria National Commission or UNESCO and had since ben accorded a Special Consultative Status by the United Nations Economic and Social Council, ECOSOC.
Akor submitted that there were more reasons in Nigeria to transform the current Peace Corps of Nigeria into a more acceptable government agency, the Nigerian Peace Corps, considering promoting the culture of peace among young persons and building positive virtues such as patriotism, religious tolerance, community works, volunteerism and general service to humanity amongst others. Establishing the NPC by an Act would benefit the country immensely, especially in ensuring social stability, educational development and economic well being of members. Apart from remarkably impacting the lives of young Nigerians, Akor said that the Corps has the capacity of keeping over 800, 000 under its employ presently, and that most of the youths that were trained and empowered shared amazing testimonies of transformation Like it is said that the sky is wide enough for all birds to fly, Akor told the committee that notwithstanding the highly commendable records and performances by various security agencies and social works establishments of government, at both federal and state levels, there are still existing gaps in terms of social services, gap between government and the governed, which must be bridged as a matter of urgency.
Other stakeholders believe that the PCN has not asked for a difficult thing or even intend to ferment trouble, believing also that the Corps could conveniently close these gaps, by taking the youths away from vices and granting them employment in line with the policies of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC and President Muhammadu Buhari’s government. The Corps under its bill is proposing clear –cut mandates away from what the existing agencies are doing, and if any of the agencies feels that the Peace Corps is coming to encroach, may be making a statement that it abandoned its mandate and created the lacuna in pursuit of vain things.
The bill, when passed into law, would enable the Peace Corps to train and equip youths with the knowledge on peace education, conflict mediation, intervention, reconciliation and confidence building. The Corps would give distinct orientation to youths and engage them in the provision of essential services like involving members of the Corps in community services, census, immunization, sanitation exercises, , provision of refuse bins, assisting in planting economic trees, crowd control, neighbourhood watch to curb insecurity within the community, amongst others. It would involve in creating data bank and reservoir of trained, qualified, professional and non-professional youths for easy accessibility of manpower from the pool of well groomed youths anytime the nation needs their services for either permanent employment or ad-hoc manpower for national or international programmes.
The Corps would also have the mandaate to provide security for all educational institutions and checking all forms of examination malpractices and other vices prevalent in schools and colleges, as well as assisting the school authority in the maintenance and enforcement of school’s rules and regulations. It would organise holiday camps for students where they would be involved in less academic work, but more of games, creative work, martial art, citizenship and leadership training as well as other extra-curricular programmes. These are few out of about eight clear –cut mandates that the Corps is seeking as a paramilitary agency, with all being youth- based and focusing too on how to achieve reconciliation under the present security challenges of the nation, with a view to achieving the enduring peace and stability the nation is yearning for.
Having carefully peruse through the bill, one cannot agree less that none of the proposed mandates is offensive or conflicting with those of existing agencies. Rather, they are well packaged new ideas, certainly in tandem with the change agenda of this government It is surprising that a body like NSCDC, which came through this same route, after all it suffered from the police and is still facing threats of merger with police, could be crying foul that Peace Corps is encroaching into its mandate, when we all know that Civil Defence was primarily approved following need to protect state infrastructure, prevent and fight vandalism.
The NSCDC has not executed up to a quarter of its mandates since it came on board under the Olusegun Obasanjo-Peoples Democratic Party-led government. Rather, the NSCDC is deviating so much into other activities, while vandals take the day. Presently, the military has been drafted into protecting these installations, outside their mandate, because the NSCDC is demonstrating incapability. One could now see why the gang up to seize the ideas of a promising Peace Corps, perhaps, so that the other agencies could face NSCDC’s mandates, while NSCDC begins to face areas proposed by Peace Corps. For the entire security forces, there would be no more investments concentration in arms and ammunitions and military hardware by government, when they would be of no use. Why does a government spend half of the national budget in purchasing guns to kill its citizens, when that money could be channelled into useful ventures by those citizens? The Peace Corps believes that this gang up is not about mandates encroachment, but an encroachment on the national security budgets and resources as they stand presently, which would reduce when Peace Corps’ ideas begin to yield fruits. The gang up against Peace Corps has persisted, with these security agencies attacking members and offices of the organisation, even when competent courts have ruled that the body was not illegal and it is clear that their uniform is distinct and does not constitute security threats.
These agencies argued before Reps that Peace Corps should remain as a private guard company, which has been the pursuit of the NSCDC, to register and monitor their activities, which the Corps has always resisted, as not being a private guard organisation. Like it appeared in Reps, the Peace Corps bill is also advancing in the Senate, and one thing about this 8th Assembly is that it is interested in bills that would have immediate impact on the lives of the Nigerian people. Without trying to pre-empt them, both Chambers are considering the arguments on Peace Corps carefully and knowing that beyond a mere job creation move, it would promote societal virtues, the 8th House, including the Senate, would be interested in having this bill passed and transmitted to President Muhammadu Buhari for his assent. President Buhari is also very much interested in actions and people that would end vices and bring sanity to the Nigerian nation and its body polity.
Nigerian Peace Corps Bill has been passed to the presidency for approval as the Bill await the passage of Senate soon.
