ABUJA — The Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu, has strongly advised parents and guardians to ensure that prospective corps members are equipped with adequate transport fares before traveling to their designated orientation camps across the country.
Speaking during a media forum organized by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, Nafiu emphasized that insufficient budgeting frequently forces young graduates into precarious situations during their cross-country deployments.
“It is better for parents and guardians to provide extra transport money for their children to break journeys safely than expose themselves to danger,” the Director-General stated.
Breaking Journeys to Mitigate Night Travel Risks
The NYSC boss raised concerns over a recurring pattern where corps members exhaust their limited travel funds on a single leg of a long-distance trip. Lacking the financial means to secure overnight accommodation, many refuse to halt their journeys even after nightfall or when travel conditions deteriorate, exposing themselves to severe security vulnerabilities.
To curb these avoidable hazards, the scheme has re-emphasized its strict safety protocols for transit:
• The 6:00 PM Rule: Corps members are explicitly instructed to terminate active road travel by 6:00 PM. Once dusk approaches, they are expected to break their journey at a secure location and resume the trip the following morning.
• Early Preparation: Graduates are urged to initiate transit arrangements immediately upon receiving their official call-up numbers rather than resorting to last-minute, rushed movements that complicate personal safety.
• Night Flight and Transit Warnings: Traveling through unfamiliar corridors during late hours significantly increases vulnerability to commercial vehicular accidents, local banditry, and kidnapping networks.
Inter-Agency Security Corridors Established
To support safe transit, Brigadier General Nafiu disclosed that the NYSC Directorate has strengthened its strategic collaboration with Nigeria's core security apparatus, including the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigerian Army.
The joint security framework includes placing military and police escorts along routes traditionally flagged as high-risk, establishing dedicated highway patrols, and embedding intelligence surveillance along primary transit lifelines. In areas with challenging terrain, synchronized checkpoints have been reinforced to offer safe passage and rapid emergency responses for vehicles transporting prospective corps members.
System Automation Eliminates Posting Fraud
Addressing administrative concerns regarding the upcoming mobilization cycle, the Director-General issued a stern warning to families against patronizing racketeers or syndicates claiming to possess the influence to manipulate state deployments.
Nafiu clarified that the NYSC deployment mechanism is entirely automated, utilizing an unalterable algorithmic system generated through its centralized digital infrastructure. The system leaves no room for human intervention or external manipulation.
The scheme maintained that its strict policy regarding preferential human geographic placement remains unchanged and is limited only to two legally protected categories:
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Conjugal Status: Legally married women who provide verified marital documentation during the registration window.
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Medical Vulnerability: Corps members with long-term, verified health conditions requiring specialized care or proximity to specific medical infrastructure.
Outside of these statutory exceptions, all prospective corps members will continue to be distributed randomly across the federation to fulfill the scheme's foundational mandate of fostering national integration and unity.
Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu advises against night journeys, warns against deployment scams, and details enhanced security partnerships along mobilization routes.
