Kenny Ogungbe, well-known for shaping the Nigerian music scene through his Kennis Music label, recently shared pictures of his Passing Out Parade (POP) from the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) on social media. In his caption, he wrote, “NYSC graduation/POP today. Lagos/12C graduation day. To God be the glory.”
Ogungbe’s post generated various reactions, with some people noting that he is over 30 years old and therefore not eligible to participate in the NYSC program.
According to Section 2 of the NYSC Act, any citizen who has graduated from a tertiary institution, both within and outside Nigeria, and is not 30 years old should be mobilized for the one-year compulsory national youth service.
Those above 30 years of age are not eligible to participate in the service.
This situation raises questions about the participation of other individuals, such as the Minister of Arts and Culture, Mrs. Hannatu Musawa, in the NYSC program.
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) had previously raised concerns that Musawa, who, like Ogungbe, is over 30 years old, was participating in the scheme.
Eddy Megwa, the NYSC spokesman, confirmed that Musawa had been serving for eight months in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and that it was a breach of the NYSC Act for any corps member to accept a government appointment before completing the one-year service.
It remains unclear whether Musawa joined the same batch as Ogungbe or if she is still a corps member.
Below are Ogungbe’s pictures:
