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Extend NYSC to Two Years- Ishaku

The Governor of Taraba State, Darius Ishaku, has said the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) should be extended to two years, and members are exposed to military training. This, he said, will help the country combat insecurity.

The governor stated this during his appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday.

NYSC was designed by the Nigerian government in 1973 to encourage nation-building among graduates and runs for a year. Contrary, the governor, in his opinion, noted that an extension of the duration would help to equip graduates with self-defence techniques, especially at a time like this when national insecurity is now rife.

“The NYSC I will say should be two years. One year for compulsory military training and the other year for the social works that they are doing now so that anybody who graduates as an NYSC person can know how to handle the gun and defend himself,” he said.

“Just as it is done in Israel, Lebanon, etc, you must engage your citizens to be proactive. When you cannot provide security, you must allow the people to protect themselves.”

Ishaku, who also reacted to insurgency and banditry ravaging the northeast and northwest regions of the country, noted that he has continually inquired from security agencies which the sponsors of the criminal elements are.

However, the governor replied in the affirmative if the issue has political undertones.

Nigeria has been witnessing series of security threats ranging from terrorism, banditry, militancy, cultism, among others, in several parts of the country.

The Islamic State of West African Province (ISWAP) split from the jihadist group Boko Haram in 2016 and has since become a dominant threat in Nigeria, attacking troops and bases while killing and kidnapping passengers at bogus checkpoints.

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