Nigerian content creator, actor, and activist Debo Adedayo aka Mr Macaroni, has berated the Nation Youth Corps Service (NYSC) for intimidating a corps member who lamented the current deteriorating economic conditions in Nigeria under President Bola Tinubu.
Recall that the corp member voiced her displeasure with Nigeria’s worsening economic circumstances and how they are impacting her as a corper in the highly shared video on her Tiktok via @talktoraye.
She went on to describe how the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) program has not been as helpful to her because she has had to spend more than her money.
@talktoraye said, “If a lot of Nigerians come out and start speaking about what we are going through, maybe changes will be made in the government. I just want to say to our president, I don’t know if there is any other president that is as terrible as you, but you are such a terrible president.
“So, I am coming from a supermarket where I went to get foodstuff, and everything has gone up again. It’s just like every single week, prices keep increasing. I want to know, what is the government doing about this increase? Is there going to be a particular time when prices will stop going up? Why am I going to get a crate of eggs and I’m told it costs N6,500? It doesn’t make any sense that eggs would cost that much. I literally remember when eggs cost N800. I am so overwhelmed because this is the first time I’ve stayed out of my family house.
‘‘After I left the supermarket, I got home, and the security and NEPA bills have skyrocketed, doubling in price. It is insane. I can’t keep up with these bills. Every single penny I make, I am using it to pay bills. The crazy thing is, you want to go out with your friend, and Uber is N25,000. Why are things so expensive?
‘‘To make it worse, Lagos stinks. Everywhere smells. What is the government doing about the smell? Being an NYSC Corper, there is nothing so beneficial about this scheme. The money I spend on transportation is much more than the allowance the federal government pays us. We should start calling out the government.”
Hours later, @talktoraye posted another video on the social media platform in which she claimed that NYSC officials were sending her threatening texts.
According to her, she spoke with an obviously angry NYSC official over the phone, and the official chastised her for publicly criticizing Bola Tinubu’s government.
While reacting to the backlash faced by the corps member, Mr Macaroni, in a post shared on his X page, said that no one can threaten, intimidate, or victimize any corper for expressing their view on the performance of the president.
He wrote; ‘‘To the DG, Coordinators and every official of the NYSC!!! You cannot threaten, intimidate or victimize any corper for expressing their view on the performance of the president. They are citizens with rights! The president is in office to serve the people and every Nigerian, Corper or not has the right to hold their leaders accountable!!!’’
