A Lagos youth corps member, Ushie Rita Uguamaye — popularly known as “Raye” — who criticised President Bola Tinubu’s government, cried out last week that the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has withheld her discharge certificate in alleged retaliation for her criticisms….CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
Uguamaye had grabbed the headlines earlier in the year following her viral TikTok video in which she criticised President Tinubu’s administration, lamenting the economic hardship, high inflation, and poor living conditions under the government.
Immediately the video hit online, she claimed that she began to receive threats from NYSC officials pressuring her to delete the content.
She also feared for her safety, noting that the officials had her personal details.
While many Nigerians thought the issue had died down, Uguamaye, in a new viral video shared on Instagram, alleged last week that her Local Government Inspector (LGI) refused to clear her for April despite her being present on the scheduled date.
She claimed that she was repeatedly told to “go to the back” until the official eventually seized her file, refused to attend to her, and ordered her to leave.
The corps member said she was later informed she would not receive her certificate because she missed April clearance, which she insists is untrue.
However, NYSC said its decision to withhold the discharge certificate was not in retaliation for her criticism of President Tinubu’s administration as widely suggested.
It insisted that it withheld her discharge certificate after extending her service year by two months as a disciplinary action against her for missing the April clearance, noting that there were 131 corps members whose discharge certificates “were withheld for valid disciplinary reasons.”
But many Nigerians believe that what happened to Uguamaye has further confirmed that the country has descended into full-blown authoritarianism, with a recorded sequence of high-handedness, rights violations, and a brutal assault on free speech.
In good countries Nigeria is striving to emulate, criticisms help the governments to know the feelings of their people and find how to address them.
Unfortunately, the present administration is becoming increasingly intolerant to criticisms and is perceived to be desperately suppressing free speech….CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
