Political jobs under President Muhammadu Buhari were simply jobs for the boys and even persons who were seen selling recharge cards in Kaduna but related to the President through extended family networks, were appointed into key decision making positions.  Others got theirs as pure bonanza.

Then, the sharing of the ministerial slots was marred by bribery scandals. Some who are now ministers allegedly paid heavy bribes to key members of the cabal in the Presidency to win a seat to represent their states in the Federal executive Council.

In the area of crass opportunism and incompetence, one of such misfits include such ministers as the one who has been holding forte at the ministry of Labour and productivity.

It is not to my knowledge that money exchanged hands before he got his appointment as alleged in some media quarters especially when the late chief of staff to the President was alive. Ngige, may not have paid but is one of those who got their appointments as bonanza.

But Chris Ngige is such a big public burden and is rated lowest in the performance index by many experts. But one fact I know is that truly, he is unfit for such a huge National task.

His name is Chris Ngige who happens to be the only sitting governor (as he then was in Anambra State during the administration  of President Obasanjo) in Nigeria’s political history that was kidnapped by armed political thugs of his so-called political godfather in cohoot with the police which were commanded by an Assistant inspector General of Police who hailed from Kogi State.

Chris Ngige as the then embattled governor of Anambra state was reportedly kidnapped and locked up in the toilet because the estranged godfather wanted him to sign his resignation letter in lieu of him not paying him monthly payouts by duress for not emptying the state’s treasury into the godfathers till. He said the godfather Chris Uba wanted him to swore an oath at the Okija shrine but he reportedly declined. Chris Uba denied.

The man Chris Ngige has also become very notorious as the cabinet level minister of Labour and productivity under whose watch due to crass incompetence, hundreds of thousands of University students sat at home for one year due to industrial dispute between President Muhammadu Buhari and the Academic Staff Union of Universities.

He is also the notorious minister who unilaterally register two other unions in the Universities as a strategic approach to weakening the strength of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

So, I wasn’t really surprised to read in one of the National dailies that this character who for eight years has been the minister of Labour couldn’t bring up and win the negotiation for increased wages for public service workers including corpers of the NYS  scheme,  but he was quoted as tasking the incoming administration to address that issue. This man has no shame.

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, shamelessly said that the incoming administration of the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, should review of the current minimum wage of N30,000 currently obtainable in Nigeria.

I must state here that the management of the National Youth Service Corps may be constrained somehow and probably handicapped statutorily regarding the increment of allowances for corpers because basically, increment of public service allowances and wages are the mandates of the Salaries and Wages commission which is domiciled within the Presidency.

So, the NYSC Management that would have naturally like to pay these corpers living wages, can’t do more than what the Central government provides for them.

I will cite a typical example. But the NYSC Management needs to push up the issue of comprehensive adjustments of the allowances of corpers to meet up with contemporary economic demands and then the central administration through the Salaries and Wages commission can actualise these improved allowances for corpers. This slave wage paid to NYSC Corpers constitute gross violations of the fundamental rights to the Dignity of the human person and is almost like subjecting them to servitude which is absolutely unconstitutional.  These human rights provisions are replete in the chapter 4 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria of 1999, as amended.

Not too long ago, a senior director in the NYSC alluded to the fact that some government agencies are subjecting NYSC Corpers to mistreatment that is certain way below how a human being in the 21st century should be treated. I want to say that the senior official we will soon quote, made strong points that find support in the Universal Declarations of Human Rights.

This person under reference above is the Coordinator of National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Anambra State Mrs. Yetunde Baberinwa, who was recently in the media during a function coordinated by her office to urge employers of youth corps members in the state not to treat them as cheap labor.

She made the call during the corps employers workshop titled “Optimizing the NYSC/Corps Members Partnership for National Development in the Contest of the New Normal” held in Awka South local government of the state.

She said the scheme frowns at the under-utilization and unfair treatment of corps members by their various employers and it is not acceptable.

She said that corps members are not to be paid on commission but on an agreed monthly allowance not less than N10,000 to motivate them and argument the Federal Government allowance.

She said the scheme frowns at the under-utilization and unfair treatment of corps members by their various employers and it is not acceptable.

She said that corps members are not to be paid on commission but on an agreed monthly allowance not less than N10,000 to motivate them and argument the Federal Government allowance.

She also warned employers of corps members against authorizing their travel permits without approval from the scheme.

She said travel permit is to be recommended on corps members request to NYSC through their local government inspectors.

Speaking to Journalists on the side line of the program, the principal of Willie Obiano Secondary Enugu-Aguleri Anambra East local government, Mr. Amaobi Joseph, said the corps members sometimes are difficult to manage.

He said some of them travel out of the state without permission and knowledge of the school management.

He said, “Some of the corps members are truant, they sneak out and come in at their well. It is difficult to control them because some of them are living outside the school premises. When you try to punish them, it appears you are wicked, but we continue talking to them about the danger of their action.”

He also decried the dressing mode of some corps members, which he said are indecent and poor.

He said, “Some of them will come in with half naked dress and when we tell them to go and change, some will see it as punishment, most, later appreciate this.”

Reading the above, especially the side of that Secondary school principal in Anambra state, conveys the impression that most of the government agencies engaging corpers see them as slaves and talk down on them. Why should a school principal be justifying the clear mistreatment of corpers by highlighting such nonsense issues as the mode of dressing of corpers? How does the mode of dressing relate to their wellbeing and welfare whilst working under government agencies including teaching in schools?

 In some places, these corpers aren’t even supported with some impress whereas in others even in Abuja,  the corpers are given as little as N10,000 monthly as stipend.

In the Federal ministry of Women Affairs in Abuja, the directors perpetually deny corpers of any stipends and so these youngsters depend on the N30,000 allowance paid to them by NYSC to survive. Most Federal ministries, parastatals and departments of the federal government, siphon the stipends approved in their in-house budgets to service the corpers and support them in little ways.

But how? How can an average person support his or her survival with the paltry N30,000 allowance per month? This is the lowest form of crudity and wickedness.

Imagine the kinds of dangers these youngsters serving their nation go through and especially those of them who work as Adhoc staff during elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission.

The corruption-ridden INEC most times even shortchange these young citizens of their financial entitlements even after making them go through the risks of conducting elections in Nigeria that are often volatile, deadly and violent.

For instance, the National Youth Corps members, who worked as Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Adhoc staff within Oshodi-Isolo Local Council in Lagos State, recently decried poor treatment meted to them by INEC officials before and after the Presidential and National Assembly  election.