ELECTION 2011 IS OVER; RIP TO NYSC CORPERS WHO PAID THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE

The governorship and state house of assembly elections which held nationwide (excluding BAUCHI AND KADUNA states which was postponed by INEC due to security reasons) on the 26^th of April have come and gone.. As expected, the PDP still got the highest number of wins.

 The ACN swept the South-West with attention centered on Oyo state which was really dramatic. In Lagos state, Gov. Fashola had a landslide victory and his party (ACN) also swept the polls in the House of Assembly elections. However, the situation in states like Lagos and Osun where one party (ACN) won all seats in the state house of assembly is not too good for democracy, no single opposition in the house! This potentially means maximum protection for the governor, no internal challenge to policies and bills, the governor is almost unquestionable and party chieftains have more influence on the running of government and political appointments

The author of this blog highly condemn the perpetrators of post election violence in some states in the Northern part of the country, which led to the gruesome death of many innocent young Nigerians who were serving the nation in the name of NYSC. The nonchalant attitude expressed by the authorities towards the security of these innocent souls is regrettable. Just try to imagine the pain the parents, siblings, cousins, relatives, in-laws e.t.c of these souls would be going through. Yet, the culprits are free to roam the streets of the nation. No serious step was taken by the Chief Security Officer of this country (Mr. President) to curtail this crime to humanity. The sitting governor of Bauchi State, Isa Yuguda made the following statement in a press interview and I quote


   "As far as I am concerned, these corps members were destined to experience what they experienced during the course of their service to their fatherland because every new day is a new experience to each and every one of us as human beings. You cannot hold Yuguda or Bauchi State (responsible) for what happened to those corps members, because it was the responsibility of INEC to take care of them."

What a pathetic statement to make!

 I read the account of a retired cleaner who struggled to train one of her 7 children in school thinking it would bear fruits; the only trained child was one of the corpers burnt like a ram in Bauchi state. I pray God bring comfort to the families of these innocent souls who paid the ultimate sacrifice of their lives for this undeserving nation (call me unpatriotic if you like).

The NYSC scheme should either be eradicated or massively overhauled, this NYSC was setup after the Nigerian Civil War and then I could say it was relevant, it no longer is! It is my earnest hope that one of the Senators you voted would deem it wise to sponsor a bill in the ‘house’ to bring an end to people’s suffering in the name of Service to one’s fatherland.