Former President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Lanre Ogundipe, has appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to urgently address the hardship reportedly being experienced by corps members during the ongoing Batch B Stream II orientation exercise across the country.

Ogundipe, in an open letter to the President and the Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), described the appeal as a humanitarian intervention aimed at ensuring that national service begins with dignity rather than avoidable hardship.

He said he personally visited one of the orientation camps on Friday after receiving reports about the conditions confronting some corps members.

The former NUJ president expressed concern over prolonged queues, overcrowding, exposure to rain and scorching sun, hunger, exhaustion and anxiety among corps members arriving at the camps.

He stressed that every corps member reporting to an orientation camp was first somebody’s son or daughter before becoming a participant in the NYSC scheme, adding that the Federal Government therefore had both an administrative and moral responsibility to protect their welfare and dignity.

According to him, the orientation camp is more than a registration centre, as it represents the first official interaction between young Nigerian graduates and the Nigerian State.

He said such an encounter should communicate appreciation, hope and a sense of belonging rather than unnecessary hardship.

Ogundipe asked: “What message are we conveying if that first encounter is characterised by endless queues, prolonged waiting, overcrowding, exposure to rain or scorching sun, uncertainty, hunger, exhaustion and anxiety?”

He noted that some corps members arrived at the camps with underlying health conditions, including asthma, diabetes, hypertension and sickle cell disease, warning that prolonged exposure to difficult conditions could pose serious risks to vulnerable individuals.

The statesman stressed that the challenges should not be treated as matters of convenience but as issues concerning health, safety and human dignity.

Ogundipe recalled that the NYSC, established more than five decades ago, had remained one of Nigeria’s enduring nation-building institutions, promoting national integration, cultural understanding and relationships across ethnic, religious and regional divides.

He, however, argued that the continued relevance of the scheme required regular review of its operations to reflect contemporary realities, including the growing number of university graduates, transportation difficulties, security concerns, technological advancement and population growth.

“National service was never conceived as an initiation into suffering. It was conceived as an initiation into nationhood,” he said.

He urged Tinubu to introduce emergency measures to improve reception arrangements for corps members across orientation camps.

Ogundipe called for covered waiting areas, safe drinking water, refreshments during prolonged registration periods and adequate medical personnel to identify and attend to vulnerable corps members.

He also advocated a review of registration procedures and reporting schedules to reduce congestion, prolonged waiting and other avoidable difficulties experienced by corps members.

He also urged the government to undertake a comprehensive review of orientation camp facilities and operations to ensure that the NYSC continued to fulfil its nation-building mandate while safeguarding the welfare of corps members.