THE MINIMUM WAGE SHOULD BE IMPLEMENTED NOW FOR SERVING NYSC MEMBERS

The 2011 Batch B corps members passed out on June 16, 2011 after the National Youth Service rendered to their fatherland for 365 days amidst fears, assault, and intimidation. It is victory at last for the surviving corps members who went through the rigours of rugged terrains in the nooks and crannies of the nation.

The "endangered species" have had their own bit of how terrible the state of the nation has been despite the transition to Democracy and the huge expenditure on 469 individuals that make up the nation's National Assembly. This is not to say that much has not been said on what to do to really foster national development and youth empowerment in Nigeria. When the president announced the new minimum wage of N18, 000 last year, many of us had thought that the implementation would start with the first allowance we would get while in the Lagos camp. We had that hope dashed when we collected our first NYSC allowance, which was N9, 675 for those in the Lagos camp because N100 was deducted as bank charges. Now with the Batch B corps members' exit from the NYSC programme, should we continue to wait endlessly for the implementation of the new minimum wage for the National Youth Service Corps members?

The frantic efforts of some of our members to get projects done with their subsequent hard-earned peanuts have been limited drastically due to inflation in the economy. We have to struggle to be cleared each month despite the irregular payments made into our bank accounts. If the Federal Government will not deny the numerous youths that went through hard times to defend the unity of the nation in the general elections, then the minimum wage should be implemented for all youth corps members alongside its implementation for all Federal Government workers.

Written by Ayo Osho.