The Governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi has said that Corps Members from the National Youth Service Corps can be recruited to fight the security challenges that the nation is facing.

He lamented that statistics show that Nigeria needs a minimum of 200,000 personnel to boost the fighting power of the security agencies just as he suggested that a large number of people need to join the police and the military, even on a short service or otherwise.

Fayemi speaking in a lecture titled: “Security and National Unity in Difficult Times” at lecture series to mark the 2021 annual birthday ceremony of Chief Babatunde Oduyoye, the Special Adviser to Governor Seyi Makinde on Political Affairs said that security is Nigeria’s top challenge.

Fayemi said he believes that one of the cheapest and fastest ways to handle this was to amend the law setting up the Nation Youths Service Corps (NYSC).

He went on to say that Nigeria is in dire need of patriotic statesmen and women and not rumour mongers, ethnic crisis entrepreneurs, provincial men of little minds who see everything from the prism of ethnic and religious conspiracy.

He said: “With this, we can use the existing orientation camps to train willing and able graduates to reflate the security personnel under a special arrangement that will be worked out.

“That way, the fund that is currently deployed to the NYSC can be used with just some additional funding, which could be sourced through a national emergency fund for the next five to 10 years.

“Those who cannot join the military services can serve in their community without pay, if we must still retain the NYSC for everyone.

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“To incentivise those who may volunteer to serve, they will have a separate certificate and medal of honour in addition to having priority for military, paramilitary and civil or public service recruitment after service.

“We also need to encourage investment in the real sectors that can engage people and reduce unemployment, which is a major source of insecurity,” the NGF chairman said.

Fayemi, however, said he has confidence that though, the situation might look helpless, sooner than later, the security situation would see a significant improvement and that Nigeria would come out stronger from this moment of national distress.