By AHMED 'LATEEF

The city of Ilorin, the Kwara State capital was thrown into frenzy on Wednesday as members of Nigerian Peace Corps stormed major streets, celebrating passage of the bill seeking establishment of the corps as a governmental institution. AHMED 'LATEEF stumbled on the jubilant crowd and filed this report.


Early Wednesday Morning, major streets of Ilorin witnessed unusual gathering of youths clad in white round shirts, trousers and combat boots to match. One and after the other, they arrived and assembled at a spot, a stone-thrown distance from the gate of Queen Elizabeth Secondary School. 

Upon their arrival at the port of convergence, some of them exchanged pleasantries and banters while others formed clusters discussing and laughing intermittently.

Apparently following an instruction, they started leaving the clusters and collapsed into procession formed in readiness for a mass rally. In their hundreds, the youths sang and danced enthusiastically to celebrate the concurrent passage of the Nigeria Peace Corps bill by the Senate on Tuesday.

The bill, which was earlier passed by the House of Representatives last year, could not see light of the day at the Upper Chamber simultaneously as expected. The stalling of the legal framework caused severe setback to a flicker hope expressed by many Nigerian youths, who believed the formation of Nigeria Peace Corps would significantly curb the rising wave of unemployment and its attendant consequence.

Before the passage of the bill at the lower chamber of the National Assembly, the corps had been operating as a non-governmental organization, rendering security and logistics support in all parts of the country devoid of carrying of arms and ammunition.

The House of Representatives' action on the proposed law as it were then, stimulated the leadership of the corps to call for application for recruitment into it after which thousands of Nigerian youth applied with payment of prescribed fees. Specifically, the fees were said to be for provision of kits and training for successful applicants.

The applicants after being picked were taken to designated camps for training. Being a nationwide project, Kwara was not an exception. The prospective trainees were dispatched to a particular location in Offa, Offa Local Government Area of the state for training.

As if the seeming setback precipitated by rejection of the harmonized version of the bill at the Red Chamber was a child's play, gun wielding policemen stormed the camps across the country including that of Offa and dispersed the potential trainees and the trainers.

It was all commotion and uncertainty in most of the camps while the arrest and prosecution of the Commandant General of the Corps, Mr Akoh by the police was a last straw that broke the camel's back. 

The police authority then hinged its action on the ground that the corps was conducting its training like a paramilitary organization, the claim it said, could cause breach of security.

However, in response to the growing call for the passage of the bill seeking the formation and governmental recognition of the corps, the Senate midweek passed the proposed law. The passage followed the adoption of the conference committee report on it.

The President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, who spoke after the passage of the bill, described it as a fulfillment of a major promise that would go a long way to resolve  supremacy battle between the corps and the police.

In heralding the passage of the bill, members of the Nigeria Peace Corps in Ilorin on Wednesday trooped out to major streets singing and dancing. From Umar Audi to Upper Taiwo Road, it was all celebration galore.

The state Commandant of the corps, Mr Lukman Adelowo Yekini, was also on hand to relish the moment with his members, who formed a long queue of procession.

Speaking to Journalists on the rationale behind the gathering, Yekini said the essence of the procession was to commemorate the passage of the corps bill after several years of quest to see it scaling the legislative approval. 

He explained that the current National leadership had, in spite of all odds, did justice to the corps bill by passing it, adding that the legal framework, if assented to, would address the lingering problem of unemployment in the country.

"The gathering is just a peaceful procession in celebration of our long time yearnings and strive to make sure that Peace Corps of Nigeria come under the Federal Government and we are very grateful to God that the 8th National Assembly had done justice to the quest to the plight of Nigerian youths, creating jobs for them by finally passing the bill that is going to establish Nigerian Peace Corps, which is going to give employment to unemployed youths. 

"That is exactly what we are celebrating. It really worth celebrating, because for the past 19 years, we have been striving in trying to get the attention of the Federal Government and we are very grateful to God that present 8th Assembly did justice after all odds; they passed the bill, and we are we are celebrating. 

"What we are doing here, we are doing it all over Nigeria. Nigerian youths are celebrating, nigerian youths are happy that at this time, the present administration we are having in Nigeria today had listened to the plight of the Nigerian youth. They are ready to put succour to the problem of Nigerian youth by creating job. All of us know that unemployment is the problem of our country and they are ready to put solution to it by creating Nigerian Peace Corps.

"With what happened yesterday (Tuesday) from the National Assembly, be it acting President or Mr President that is coming back very soon, they are going to do justice by putting assent to the bill and let the Nigerian Peace Corps start the operating fully in earnest. 

"We are very sure that the bill will be assented to very soon because we know that the government of President Muhammadu Buhari is government that listens to the yearnings and aspirations of the Nigerian youth, and it is one of the cardinal points of the manifesto that they are going to create jobs to the teeming unemployed youths, because that is the problem they met on ground and that is the problem they want to solve. 

"Acting President has re-echoed the government's commitment to create jobs and this is the avenue to fulfill their electoral promises. They will not waste time. By God grace, we know and we are sure that Mr President will put assent to this bill", he said.

He expressed hope that the bill would receive presidential assent with its passage by the two chambers of the National Assembly.

Yekini, who spoke on the objectives of the corps, said the proposed agency when becomes operational, would inculcate discipline in the youth and strive to rid the society of moral decadence.

"One of the objectives of creating Nigerian Peace Corps is to create jobs for the teeming unemployed youths, meaningful job and not just job, not empowerment like they are doing. With the mandate from the National Assembly passing the bill, Peace Corps is going to inculcate discipline in the youth. We know that the problem we are facing in our education sector now is malpractice and misconduct on the side of the students, talking about cultism, drug abuse and examination malpractice. 

"These are exactly what the Peace Corps is out to correct and checkmate. We still have a lot of activities that are going to be spelt out and read to the public on what and what the Peace Corps is all about and out to do. By the time we start our operation, the public will definitely know that this is one of the best things democracy produces for the teeming Nigerian youth",

The commandant, however, assured that the corps would collaborate with other security agencies in the state since no organization can work in isolation.

"They are our senior brothers in the security circle. As we are coming up, we give them kudos and respect. We are going to form more collaboration and support because we cannot work in isolation. We are going to meet them and dialogue on peace and harmony so that we can be able to achieve our aims and objectives peacefully", Yekini said.<