Please, go through and compare functions of the Nigerian Peace Corps (NPC), the Civil Defence (NSCDC) and the well known Nigerian Police Force (NPF), in order to OBJECTIVELY make an informed conclusion on whether the Peace Corps is really a duplication or not.


As somehow culled out below:

President & Commander- in-Chief of the Armed Forces,
Federal Republic of Nigeria,
Your Excellency,

OPEN LETTER
DEBUNKING THE FALLACIES OF OVERLAPPING OF FUNCTIONS OF NIGERIAN PEACE CORPS WITH THAT OF NIGERIA POLICE, NIGERIAN SECURIY AND CIVIL DEFENCE CORPS

The attention of the Peace Corps of Nigeria (PCN) has been drawn to a grand conspiracy by the antagonists of the Corps to frustrate Your Excellency’s assent to the Nigerian Peace Corps (Establishment) Bill 2017 that is currently pending on your table. One of the fallacies being peddled is that the functions of the Corps overlap that of the Nigerian Police and Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

Sir, to correct these misrepresentation of facts, we have tabulated below the STATUTORY FUNCTIONS of the Nigeria Police Force, Nigerian Security and Defence Corps and the Nigerian Peace Corps (NPC) (Establishment) Bill for your perusal and for all well-meaning Nigerians to also know that the National Assembly did a meticulous nay perfect legislative job on the NPC Bill.


CIVIL DEFENCE FUNCTIONS
.....
(ii) Chemical poison or oil spillage nuclear waste, poisoning
(iii) Industry espionage or fraud;
(iv) Activity aimed at frustrating any government program or policy;
(v) Riot, civil disorder, revolt, strike, or religious unrest.
(vi) Power transmission lines, oil pipelines, NIPOST cables, equipment, water board pipes or equipment vandalisation
• Monitor the activities of religious bodies and trade associations.
• Monitor, investigate, and take every necessary step to forestall any planned Act of terrorism particularly.
- Cult and Ethnic militia activities
- Criminal activities aimed at depriving citizens of their properties or lives
- Syndicate activity aimed at defrauding the Federal, State or Local Government;
• Monitor, investigate, and take every necessary step to forestall any act of terrorism and report same to appropriate Federal Security Agency.
• Provide necessary warning for the civilian population in times of danger
• Evacuate the civilian population from danger areas.
• Provide and manage shelters for civilians during period of emergency.
• Asist in the decontamination and in the taking of precautionary measures during any period of emergency.
• Carry out rescue operations and control volatile situations.
• Assist in the provision of emergency medical services, including first aid, during any period of emergency.
• Detect and demarcate any danger area.
• Assist the Federal and State Fire Service in Fire-fighting operation.
• Assist in the distribution of emergency supplies.
• Provide assistance to restore and maintain order in distressed areas in any period of emergency.
• Assist in repairing indispensable public utilities during any period of emergency
• Provide intelligence information to the Ministry on any matter relating to:
(i) Crime control generally;
(ii) Riot, disorder, revolt, strike or religious unrest;
(iii) Subversive activity by members of the public aimed at frustrating any government programme or policy;
(iv) Industrial action and strike aimed at paralysing Government activities;
(v) Any other matter as may be directed by the Minister; and
(vi) Have power to arrange and mediate in the settlement of disputes among willing members of the public.



FUNCTIONS OF NIGERIAN PEACE CORPS

(a) To Develop, Empower and provide gainful employment for the Youth, to Facilitate Peace, Volunteerism, Community Service, Neighbourhood watch, Nation – Building and for other related matters

(b) Promote Social and Economic Development by involving Members and Volunteers in the scheme through working with Government, Schools, Non-Profit Organisations, Non-Governmental Organisations, etc. in order to preoccupy the youths;
(c) To empower and pre-occupy Nigerian Youths through job creation and provision of alternative employment;
(d) Training Nigerian Youths with good virtuous, strong passion and commitment to the art of Patriotism, Volunteerism Community Services and Nation Building;
(e) To train and equip the Youths with knowledge for Peace Education, Conflict Resolution, Mediation, Reconciliation and Confidence Building;
(f) To give distinct orientation to the Youths and engage them in the provision of essential services such as:
(i) Involving members of the Peace Corps in Community Services such as Immunization, Census and Sanitation Exercises, especially in urban cities, States and Local Government Capitals;
(ii) Provision of Refuse Bins, Waste Baskets, and Handy Waste Bags in public buildings, buses and schools in order to obliterate littered materials;
(iii) Assisting in planting of Economic trees and all forms of environmental conservation.
(iv) Involve members and Volunteers of the Peace Corps in crowd control during public events and in neighbourhood watch in order to curb insecurity within the community.
(g) Create a Data Bank and reservoir of trained, qualified professionals and non-professional youths for easy accessibility of manpower from the pool of well-groomed youths whenever the Nation needs their services for either permanent employment or ad-hoc manpower for such national or international programmes as Emergency Relief Services, Voters’ Registration, Election Exercise, etc.
(h) Provide security for all Educational Institutions and checking all forms of examination malpractices and other vices prevalent in Schools and Colleges in order to create a conducive atmosphere for learning. To achieve these, the Peace Corps shall:
(i) Establish Peace Corps Club in Schools and Colleges and involving members of the club in the promotion of internal understanding, Peace Education, Conflict Management and Transformation;
(ii) Maintain surveillance on students organizing secret societies; identify their members, associates, modus operandi and to make such discoveries known to the appropriate authorities;
(iii) Assist the school authority in the maintenance and enforcement of School Rules and Regulations;
(iv) Detect any plot to vandalise valuable properties of the school or college or any form of dissident act of rioting by students or intruders in order to promote internal peace and security;
(v) Organise Holiday Camps for students where they would be involved in less academic work, but more of games, creative work, martial art, citizenship and leadership training, as well as other extra-curricular programmes and;
(vi) Organise special conferences, seminars and workshops in order to equip the Nigerian youths in Leadership Building Mechanism, so as to prepare them both mentally, morally and physically for their future leadership roles.
(i) Assist in youth developmental activities, Empowerment and Capacity Building for youth Creativity and Innovations, such as:
(i) Identify tools, techniques and the process of critical thinking, creativity, innovation and discovery to facilitate problem solving;
(ii) Initiate and involving the youth in Humanitarian Services in Nigeria and around the world in order to aid transfer of knowledge and Technology;
(iii) Helping the People of interested countries in meeting their needs for training young Men and Women and to promote a better understanding of Nigerians on the parts of the peoples served;
(iv) Serve as Orderlies to members of the Executives, Parliament, Judiciary and Traditional Rulers that are not covered by existing Security Agencies;
(v) Engage Members as Tourists Assistants and Guide to Nigerian and foreigners on visit to the Country, Tourists Sites and other National and State Monuments and Heritage;
(vi) Creation and Management of Public Toilets on highways, including enlightenment against defecation in public places, Recreational Centres, Tourist Sites, etc.; and
(vii) To check all Forms of Examination Malpractices as may be perpetrated by students, invigilators, teachers, lecturers, and other educational staff.
namic nature of insecurity in Nigeria today requires roles differentiation as a panacea to expertise in addressing security challenges. It would interest you to know that similar organisations like the Nigerian Peace Corps exists in other parts of the world such as the American Peace Corps, Canadian Peace Corps, Bangladesh National Cadet Corps, Peace Officers Commission in China, Chinese Labour Corps, Lera Uniform Corps of Malaysia
,Malaysian People Volunteer Corps, Production and Construction Corps of China, etc. All these are consciously and deliberately designed to empower and socially preoccupy the youths so that their state of idleness won’t be exploited adversely.
We appeal to Your Excellency to discountenance such malicious misrepresentation of facts and be graciously disposed to assenting to the Nigerian Peace Corps Bill.
Rogers Edor Ochela
Media Consultant Peace Corps of Nigeria
Cc:
1. The Honourable Attorney-General of the Federation & Minister of Justice,
2. The Honourable Minister, Federal Ministry of Youth & Sports Development

Peace Corps Bill: Commandants converge on Abuja, urge Buhari to rescind decision

By Yemi Itodo

Council of Commandants and Board of Trustees of the Peace Corps of Nigeria (PCN) on Friday, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to "reevaluate and reconsider his decision to withhold his assent" to the Peace Corps Bill.

The President had on Tuesday, transmitted to the National Assembly that he was withholding assent on the Nigerian Peace Corps Establishment Bill for lack of funds and duplication of duties of existing security agencies.

But at a press briefing in Abuja Friday, the leadership of the Corps said there was no security agency in Nigeria that was currently undertaking the functions ascribe to Peace Corps in the said Bill.

"The functions of the Nigerian Peace Corps as succinctly captured in the Bill do not in any way conflict with that of the function of any existing security agencies but is absolutely civil, which is to observe as an arbiter of peace, youth volunteerism, maintaining and sustaining a level of proactiveness and courier of information for impending nefarious activities and plots that can lead to the breakdown of peace and order anywhere in Nigeria", National Commandant, Amb (Dr.) Dickson Akoh said.

Akoh believed that, there was never a time in the history of Nigeria that the need for peace has become fiercely urgent like now, saying, "the President may have been misled into taking this decision".

He said, "the role of the Peace Corps is clearly distinct from that of conventional security and paramilitary organisations, hence its placement under the Federal Ministry of Sports and Youths Development. The powers conferred on the Nigerian Peace Corps in the Bill do not also involve arms bearing, investigation, detention and prosecution".

Moreover, Akoh said "similar organisations like the Nigerian Peace Corps exist in several other countries of the world including the American Peace Corps, Canadian Peace Corps, Bangladesh National Cadet Corps, Peace Officers Commission in China, Chinese Labour Corps, Lera Uniform Corps of Malaysia, Malaysian People Volunteer Corps, Production and Construction Corps of China", amongst others.

On the excuse of paucity of funds, Akoh said the source of funds for NPC as enshrined in the Bill does not solely place the burden on the federal government, as international donor agencies are also encapsulated to give grants and donations to the Corps.

He believed that "peace has never been costlier than crisis and the price for peace is inestimable. One of the principal objectives of the Peace Corps is deployment to schools and colleges to promote peace, sniff and sieve intelligence. This could have prevented the recent abduction of our girls at the Girls Secondary School in Dapchi, Yobe state".

Akoh lamented that, a Bill which was widely supported with over 500 memoranda, including government agencies, traditional rulers, civil society organisations, student bodies and others; could just be jettisoning by advice from a few security agencies who opposed to the establishment of the Corps from the beginning.

Despite the President's decision, the Peace Corps said it would "continue to have esteem confidence on Mr. President's leadership of this great country", even as it acknowledged the support of the members of the National Assembly and countless groups as the journey continues.

Meanwhile, the Senator representing Kaduna Central in the National Assembly, Senator Shehu Sani, took to his twitter on Friday, to urge President Buhari to rescind his decision on the Peace Corps Bill.

The APC Senator said, "The President should rescind his decision. He should sign the Peace Corps Bill. The organisation should be assigned to protect schools against gunmen and kidnappers".

And what about these existing agences
National Directorate of Employment (NDE)
National Orientation Agency (NOA)
Ministry of Youth which FG and every state has

National Youth Council
Boys Scout

The people talking about restructuring and making the centre weaker are now saying we need a federal agency for public toilets on our highways, curbing exam malpractices, preventing secret organisations in schools, helping schools maintain rules and regulations etc

I am now convinced that the peace corps is scam
No to another public extortion agency

They are begging now, less than 1 year after getting their uniform, they too will start harassing Nigerians

Akoh believed that, there was never a time in the history of Nigeria that the need for peace has become fiercely urgent like now,

A poor student of history or a mischief maker
Under Abacha, bombs were going off often
We have had wars in Warri and Ife
There were serious electoral violence in the past

Will this people fight Niger Delta Avengers and herdsmen or what?