Extortion In NYSC Orientaion Camp, Okada, Edo State

Extortion In NYSC Orientaion Camp, Okada, Edo State

According to a Nairalander

My relative was posted to Edo state for the 2019 Batch B orientation course, and since the day she reported on camp, it has been one tale of extortion to the other.

She reported to the camp on Wednesday, June 19 and after scaling through the processes, was forced to cough up 5,000 naira for a medical certificate. She had gotten an official medical certificate of fitness from Isolo General Hospital which was signed and stamped on the hospital’s letter headed paper by the examining doctor, but when she presented this certificate to the screening officials at camp, they rejected it saying it was ‘fake’. How can it be fake when the doctor’s name and the hospital’s contact details are indicated, she argued. To paraphrase her, she was told to either get a ‘genuine’ certificate from their ‘approved’ clinic in Okada or fvck off. Having no other choice, she and a legion of prospective corp members went to this so called ‘approved’ clinic to process the certificate at the cost of 5,000 naira. Incidentally, this clinic is a private hospital. Her government issued certificate was rejected in favour of one issued by a privately owned kangaroo mushroom ‘hospital’.

Now, the incident which incensed the entire nuclear and extended family and inspired this post happened yesterday. During a camp programme, some call up numbers were called in the hall and hers were among them. Afterwards, the hapless corp members whose numbers were called were unceremoniously bounced out of the hall and told to assemble at the camp coordinator’s office.

At the office, the camp coordinator, hereafter called CC proceeded to ask her, quote, ‘meaningless questions’ before accusing her of deliberately refusing to pay “empowerment programme fee.’ There is a skill empowerment/acquisition programme which was organised for the corp members on camp, and from my own understanding of how this based on experiences from my own service year, this programme is either voluntary or free of charge. The CC said the programme is for her own good and if she didn’t pay, she will not be deployed to her PPA. He made this threat to the other corp members too. The supposed fee is 10,050 naira, to be paid in cash.

Now, unless the system has changed and corp members now have to pay for the programmes on camp (I doubt this though but I stand to be corrected). The mind boggles that NYSC officials are going to this length to extort money from these young people and you can just imagine how much they are making.

2000 corp members (I am making a conservative guess).

10,050 per corp member. Let us not forget the insidious shenanigans with the medical fitness certificate.

Do the math and the answer will illustrate if Nigeria can ever be free from corruption.