NYSC members: Taraba Governor wants one year of military training

Taraba State governor, Darius Ishaku, wants members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to spend an additional year in service just for military training in a bid to address Nigeria's insecurity crisis.

Nigerian graduates are mandated to enroll for the one-year scheme, accepting job postings across numerous sectors in the country.

Many critics have over the years called for the scrapping of the programme, calls that have grown louder due to insecurity that has plagued many parts of the country in the past few years.

However, Ishaku said in a televised interview on Wednesday, July 7, 2021, that corps members need an extra year just focused on military training.

"(This is) so that anybody who graduates as an NYSC person can know how to handle a gun, can know how to defend himself, just like it is done in other countries like in Israel, Lebanon and other places," he said.

Taraba State governor, Darius Ishaku, says any serious government could end insecurity in three months [Twitter/@dariusdishaku] Pulse Nigeria

The governor said the Federal Government must be proactive in tackling insecurity, and ensure law-abiding citizens are equipped to protect themselves against aggressors.

He suggested that residents of vulnerable communities at border areas must be trained in weapons handling so that they're not completely defenceless against attacks.

"You can't leave human beings like that — at the whims and caprices of somebody who moves with an AK-47. This is wrong," he said.

Many rural parts of Nigeria, especially in the northern region, have been attacked relentlessly in the past few years, with thousands of deaths recorded.

Ishaku said the insecurity crisis is politically-motivated and 'more than political', and must be effectively dealt with by the Federal Government in charge of security and law enforcement agencies.

The governor said a serious government could end insecurity in three months if it was committed enough to safeguarding lives and property of citizens.