INTERVIEW: I’m scared of being kidnapped during NYSC – Nigerian graduate
As she awaits her National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) call-up letter, Goodness Obedi, a Mass Communication graduate of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), is excited about the career opportunities and connections her service year could offer. However, fears of kidnapping, unsafe postings and the financial burden of travelling to distant orientation camps have left her uncertain about the experience ahead.
Her concerns come amid reports of attacks on prospective and serving corps members travelling across the country. On October 1, 2026, 20 prospective corps members travelling to orientation camps were reportedly abducted in Imo State. They regained their freedom a week later, reportedly after a ₦6 million ransom was paid. In August, 15 serving corps members returning from an orientation camp in Bayelsa State were also abducted in Kogi State before security operatives rescued them.
Obedi, who hails from Ebonyi State and resides in Enugu State, graduated in the 2024/2025 academic session. While she looks forward to the opportunities that could follow NYSC, she is concerned about being posted to an unsafe area or assigned work unrelated to her degree.
She says she would seek redeployment rather than risk her safety in an area she considers dangerous. She also wants NYSC to match corps members with organisations related to their fields of study, increase the monthly allowance and stop posting young graduates to areas affected by insecurity.
In this interview with CRISPNG, Obedi discusses her fears, her expectations for the service year and the changes she believes NYSC should make to protect corps members and improve their experience.
CRISPNG: As you wait for your NYSC call-up letter, what are you looking forward to most, and what worries you most?
Goodness Obedi: What I’m looking forward to most is the opportunities and connections that come with the programme. I’m also looking forward to getting a job after my service year, as many graduate job opportunities require applicants to be serving corps members or to have completed NYSC.
My biggest worry is the kidnappings that happen on our roads whenever prospective corps members are travelling to their respective orientation camps, and how little the government seems to care.
Even the media, in my view, gives more attention to other national issues than to insecurity and threats to people’s lives.
Inasmuch as I have faith that God will protect me, this is Nigeria, where virtually anything goes and no one questions it. I’m worried and scared that I might become a victim of a failed and dysfunctional system.
Another worry is being posted to a place or Place of Primary Assignment (PPA) where I cannot practise what I studied in school. I didn’t study Mass Communication to end up as a JSS 1 Social Studies teacher in a village.
NYSC should learn to match people’s PPAs with their degree qualifications. That would provide a foundation for practising what we studied and prepare us for our careers after four or five years at university.
CRISPNG: How have reports of kidnappings affected your willingness to accept a posting to an unfamiliar part of Nigeria? Would you seek redeployment if you considered the area unsafe?
Goodness Obedi: It has really affected me because I don’t even want to go far from my area.
It is only a foolish person who sees danger ahead and walks right into it. I can’t risk my life to serve a country that doesn’t give a rat’s ass about me, especially with the growing concerns about kidnapping and insecurity.
I’d rather seek redeployment or wait for the next batch. If I’m posted to an area I consider unsafe, seeking redeployment is not even up for debate.
CRISPNG: Would a distant posting be worth it if transportation and living expenses consumed much of your allowance?
Goodness Obedi: Unless the place offers opportunities and connections that would help me grow career-wise, I won’t even consider going in the first place. The truth is, it’s not worth it.
Nothing is certain. No one knows where they will be posted, and the ₦77,000 monthly allowance is nothing to write home about for a graduate trying to establish a life in today’s Nigeria.
So tell me, why should I go through the trouble of travelling far, only to spend the little allowance the Federal Government gives me on transportation and basic needs? When I’m not the prodigal son.
CRISPNG: How important is it for your PPA to relate to your degree, and how would you feel about a posting outside your field?
Goodness Obedi: It is highly important and extremely essential. In fact, that’s how it should be.
Anything other than this is sheer wickedness and a lack of consideration, in my books.
What is the point of studying a particular course if I end up somewhere I cannot use what I learnt? How am I expected to gain the necessary experience in my field and build meaningful connections for my career?
I’ll feel very bad and unfulfilled if, as a Mass Communication graduate, I find myself in a school or some random PPA instead of a media-related organisation.
CRISPNG: What does NYSC mean to you at this stage of your life, and what changes would you like to see for your batch?
Goodness Obedi: This service means nothing specific to me because I started adulting at a very young age.
Some of us did not have the privilege of luxury or dependence. We learnt independence and everything that comes with adulting because of what life threw at us at a young age.
That being said, I hope NYSC posts people according to their courses of study. I also hope our allowance is increased to at least ₦100,000.
Most importantly, something should be done to stop the barbaric act of kidnapping that has become normalised in the country.
It’s heartbreaking to see prospective corps members struggle to raise money, prepare to travel to their respective orientation camps, only to be kidnapped. Their families are then left facing demands for ridiculous sums of money to secure their release.
Finally, NYSC should stop posting people to danger zones.
Life is too precious to be used as a pawn in the game of Nigerian politics. The authorities know the states where killings are on the rise. They should mark them as red zones and refuse to post anybody there until the insecurity is properly addressed.