Adeosun’s NYSC certificate saga: Questions to solve the riddle

While the issue of the originality of Mrs Kemi Adeosun’s NYSC exemption certificate rages on, the critical stakeholders of the society that ought to have helped shed light on the saga have either decidedly kept sealed lips or been deliberately evasive. For one, Mrs Adeosun has chosen to keep mum, saying nothing about the matter. Even the NYSC that ought to have laid the matter to rest once and for all has also opted for equivocation. In its answer to the question of whether it issued Mrs Adeosun an exemption certificate or not, the NYSC said Mrs Adeosun applied for the exemption in 2009 but kept silent on whether she was issued an exemption certificate or not. The agency said it would investigate the certificate issued to her. But if NYSC was able to find out that Mrs Adeosun applied for exemption from the NYSC, why would it need more time to determine whether or not she was obliged? The minister’s employer, the Federal Government, has not deemed it fit to address this very serious allegation against one of its key functionaries.

In my reckoning, this is a very simple matter to resolve. It is not a matter that should degenerate into an endless discussion that would further divide the nation and take our attention off pressing issues beleaguering the nation. To resolve this saga and move on, we need to ask and answer a few questions.

The first is though born in the United Kingdom, is Mrs Kemi Adeosun a Nigerian or a Briton? If she is a Nigerian then the Nigerian law would apply to her, if not the issue of the mandatory one year NYSC service would not apply to her. But then she would neither have been a commissioner in Ogun State nor a minister at the federal level. So, the answer to that question is that Mrs Kemi Adeosun is a Nigerian.

The next question is what does the law say about those who can participate in the mandatory one year youth service? The position of the Nigerian law is that Nigerians who complete their polytechnic or university education before turning 30 years must participate in the youth service.

Then, at what age did Mrs Kemi Adeosun complete her tertiary education?

According to records made available by Mrs Adeosun, she bagged her first degree at the age of 22 in the United Kingdom. Therefore, going by the law that set up NYSC, she should have returned to Nigeria, her native country, to participate in the mandatory youth service but she did not. She stayed back in the United Kingdom to pursue her career. She later applied for exemption in 2009.

The next question is, was Mrs Adeosun eligible for exemption when she applied for it?

According to Section 2 of the NYSC Act, any Nigerian, in any part of the world who finished the first degree before turning 30 years of age, must make him or herself available for mobilisation by the NYSC. The Act adds that no first degree holder below the age of 30 can be exempted from participating in the mandatory one year service except those who have served in the military, paramilitary or intelligence services for a minimum of nine months. Others eligible for exemption are those above 30 years of age and those conferred with national honours. Since Mrs Adeosun did not fall into any of these categories when she completed her undergraduate studies, she was not eligible for exemption.

The NYSC Act does not leave any room for forgiving anyone who fails to participate in the youth service if they graduate before turning 30 years of age. There is no room for exemption for anyone who does not participate. According to the Act, those who graduated before turning 30 but failed to participate must go through the mandatory service whenever they show up. There cannot be any exemption for them because they are not qualified for it.

So, Mrs Adeosun could not have been justly and rightly issued an exemption certificate by the NYSC. Section 13 (3) of the NYSC Act prescribes a three-year jail term for anyone who fails to turn him or herself up for the service. Section 13 (4) criminalises giving false information to the agency.

Even if the exemption certificate Mrs Adeosun holds was issued by the NYSC, it would still be wrong because she was not qualified for one, going by the law establishing the agency. So, these are very clear issues that do not require extra brilliance to resolve. Mrs Kemi Adeosun did not participate in the NYSC and she was not qualified to be granted exemption. Therefore, she should not have served as Commissioner in Ogun State; neither should she have been cleared to occupy the office of the Finance Minister she currently holds.

The Adeosun NYSC certificate saga, an otherwise very simple matter, has become a complicated issue because in Nigeria justice is class-determined; justice is a function of who is involved in a matter. Different laws apply to those who are on the side of the government and those who are against it. There are some laws for the rich and a different set for the poor. There are certain laws for those from the North and another set for Southerners. There are some specific laws for Muslims and another set for Christians. That is why our country remains divided and we are unable to make progress. No country attains her full potential by having different sets of rules for her citizens. What is sauce for the goose ought to be sauce for the gander. That is the sauce for national development.