Yemi Bamidele
31 December 2008
The Federal Government will compensate the families of the three slain members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in the recent Jos mayhem, Director General of the NYSC Brigadier-General Yusuf Bomoi announced in Ibadan yesterday.
While saying that the deceased would be duly immortalized for posterity, the Director General who paid a condolence visit to the aged parents of late Leke Akande, one of the deceased, said even though human lives could not be quantified in terms of naira and kobo, "whatever NYSC will do is to show and make the point that we are equally pained by the untimely deaths of the three youth corpers."
Bomoi, who was accompanied by the Oyo State NYSC Coordinator, Mrs. Abosede Aderibigbe, also said the families of the deceased were not alone in the pain which he said had hurt virtually every peace-loving people in the country.
To this end, he said, the NYSC authorities had already acceded to the demand from the Akande family that a younger brother to late Leke Akande, who is presently serving in Osun State be re-deployed to his home state of Oyo to enable to him get closer to the ageing parents.
"What happened is something that is beyond the imagination of all of us that are mortals. But the only thing the Corps could do is to pray that God Almighty should take the souls of the departed into His bosom so that they will have eternal rest. The management of the NYSC will sit down and decide on how best to immortalize the distinguished patriots in whatever ways possible", he said.
Responding, the 84-year-old father of late Leke Akande, Pa Josiah Akande, called on the authorities to ensure that there is never a repeat of such a carnage and brutality in the country.
"It does not paint Nigeria well to the outside world," Pa Akande stated urging the NYSC Director General to ensure delivery of his address to the President.
According to Pa Akande, who received the NYSC team in the company of his 70-year-old wife, Madam Wuraola, "If Yar'Adua is to have a successful tenure of office, it is not with this type of carnage and brutality."
"The future of Nigeria lies in our youths. How do we ensure the safety of all these young men endowed with good potentials who will lead Nigeria tomorrow? You have to do something about it. There should never be any repetition of this type of carnage and brutality. Put yourself in my position today with my age. This type of thing happening within ourselves in Nigeria, and we are calling ourselves one entity. Is this the way and manner to ensure one entity in Nigeria?", he said.
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