NYSC vs. Rita Ushie: The Shame of a Government at War with Its Young Voices

By LEX AND LETTERS - Law, Literature & Learning
12th August, 2025

NYSC vs. Rita Ushie: The Shame of a Government at War with Its Young Voices By Dr. Anne Agi

In a country where courage is supposed to be the heartbeat of national service, the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has chosen to turn its back on one of its own, Rita Ushie, popularly known as Raye, for the “crime” of speaking the truth to power.

After completing a full year of service to Nigeria, Rita revealed in her Instagram Post, [Link here] that she was denied her NYSC discharge certificate, allegedly because she dared to criticise government policies that have driven millions into deeper poverty, but under the guise of a 1 month clearance 'missed', which in actual fact, they denied her. It is a shameful day when a democratic government, sworn to uphold the Constitution, weaponizes an institution meant to unite the nation against its own young people for simply exercising their constitutional right to free speech.

  


The Origin

In a TikTok post, Rita Ushie, who is also a corps member, expressed frustration over Nigeria’s rising cost of living. [Rita 1st Post]

She lamented that prices increase consistently, making it difficult for her to survive independently. The corps member criticised President Bola Tinubu, calling him a “terrible president” and questioning what his administration is doing to address the economic crisis. She also lamented the poor living conditions in Lagos and complained that the NYSC scheme is not “beneficial”.

“I genuinely feel so overwhelmed and I feel like if a lot of Nigerians come out and start speaking on what we’re actually going through, then maybe changes will be made in the government, don't you guys thinks?” she quizzed.

“I just want to say to our president, I don’t know if there have been any other  president that is terrible, but you are such a terrible president. It is so hard.

"So I’m coming from the supermarket where I went to get foodstuffs and everything has gone up again. It's just like, every single week, prices increase. I want to know what is the government doing about this increment. Is there going to be a particular time when prices will stop going up? Guys why am I going to get a crate of eggs and there are telling me it is N6, 500? It doesn't make any sense that eggs will cost N6, 500. Like I literally can remember when eggs used to cost N800. And I’m so overwhelmed because this is literally my first time doing this adulthood thing alone. This is my first time moving out of my family house. This is my first time living by myself and not just that, after I left the supermarket and I got home, my security is bringing NEPA bill, and NEPA Bill has gone up by two times. Like, it's insane! I can’t keep up with these bills, I’m overwhelmed and I'm so exhausted. Every single money I have been making, I use it to pay bills, I don't even get to live properly......It is crazy! Like why are things so expensive? And let's not even add, Lagos stinks...If you say, I want to take a walk, I'm depressed, you can’t even take a walk, ...the place smells like crazy. Why does an entire state smell like that and what is the government doing about the bad smell. Everything is just so overwhelming. You want to start up a business and now you have to take a loan to start up a business and the loan you don't know if you can actually repay it because....I don't know, I'm just so tired. And why is no one saying anything about it? Being a corp member, there is nothing beneficial about this NYSC thing. The money I spend on transportation is just more than the allowance the government pays. I can't keep up. I am so tired of these bills. I am overwhelmed. I am tried and exhausted It's too much and I wish that we would start calling out the government heads-on. For example, Tinubu, you are a terrible President. What are you doing to help us? What are you doing to help the economy? I feel like I don't have any achievement to call my own. Every single time that I work hard, I end on spending it back to pay bills. I am just really tired and I want our money to actually count for something. When is the government going to start working? We need to start calling the government out. The more you work hard to achieve something, the higher it gets...and now house rent has doubled, and I am so sick and I am so tired of this and I really need the government to intervene because I am so overwhelmed", she wailed.

In another video, Rita shared a conversation with a woman she claimed to be an NYSC official, who accused her of insulting the government and demanded that she delete the post.

“Pull down that rubbish,” the woman said.

Let us be clear: the right to freedom of speech and expression is not a privilege granted by government whim, it is enshrined in Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution. No NYSC bylaw, no administrative regulation, no bureaucratic arrogance and no presidential silence can override it. If any statute dares to, the Constitution itself declares it null and void to the extent of its inconsistency. Yet here we are, watching an agency funded by the taxpayer mock the very principles it is supposed to uphold.

Where is President Bola Tinubu in all this? This is the same president who in connivance with the National Assembly declared a state of emergency in Rivers State and appointed an administrator in blatant disregard for democratic process, yet when the NYSC hides behind its internal rules to punish a young woman for speaking up, he looks away. This selective deafness is not leadership; it is complicity.

When dissidents in other countries speak out against their governments, they are celebrated as brave heroes. Yet when our own children here in Nigeria,  they dare to speak truth to power, they are met with intimidation, career sabotage, and in Rita’s case, the theft of a year of her life. What message does that send to the next generation? That silence is safer than honesty? That service to the nation means blind obedience to whoever sits in Aso Rock?

Amnesty Demands Action as NYSC Weaponises Service Against Dissent

Amnesty International has rightly called the NYSC’s decision “arbitrary and outrageous,” a glaring display of “unacceptable intolerance of dissenting voices.” [Amnesty Speaks] They have reminded the Nigerian authorities of a truth they seem desperate to forget: holding and voicing dissenting views is not a crime. Rita’s viral criticism of economic policies is not what should be punished; the policies themselves,  which have left millions unable to afford food, healthcare, or education,  are what should be under scrutiny.

In March, Rita received threats to her life for criticising government policies. Instead of protecting her, the state has doubled down, turning NYSC into an enforcer of political loyalty rather than a platform for national unity. This is not just petty, it is dangerous. It normalises the abuse of power.

The Tinubu administration may think it is punishing Rita, but in truth, it is exposing its own insecurity and intolerance. It is also unwittingly fuelling a growing sentiment among young graduates that the NYSC is a waste of time, that one can build a career and live with dignity without its certificate.

What is even more shameful is the statement by NYSC falsely alleging that her certificate was being witheld because she failed to clear for April, while knowing in actual fact that she was PREVENTED from so doing by the NYSC itself!

NYSC should be ashamed. President Tinubu should be ashamed. This government should be ashamed. Instead of crushing young Nigerians who speak truth to power, they should be protecting them, learning from them, and building a country worthy of their service.

Because history has shown, again and again, that silencing voices does not erase their message — it only makes it echo louder.

#LetJusticePrevailThoughTheHeavensFall

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