Mr. Kehinde Aremu was among Accountability Lab Nigeria’s Integrity Icon winners in 2018. Aremu is the Deputy Director of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), a government organization designed to engage young graduates in nation-building and development. He also serves as the NYSC State Coordinator for Anambra state. Aremu’s ethos is simple. He believes integrity is doing the right thing whether you are being watched or not and doing what is right, whether there is a reward or not. Aremu has demonstrated integrity in his work by organizing NYSC staff records and mobilization processes into an online platform that includes safeguards against data manipulation. In doing so, he uncovered several inconsistencies, which he was then able to correct.

In his position as State Coordinator, Aremu demonstrates integrity by refusing to accept bribes from officials who wish to extend their stay in public service and by corps members who have not completed their service. Part of the challenge to integrity in public service in Nigeria is the norm of corruption. Aremu was ostracized by his colleagues for maintaining his integrity by refusing to accept bribes. Aremu describes the challenge of being socially isolated by his co-workers for doing the right thing- which made them look bad and threatened their interests. As he moved up the ranks of civil service, however, he found officials with similar value systems who supported the honesty of his work based upon his previous actions. 

Because of Aremu’s nomination for Integrity Icon, he now feels that he is an example to others and he has the responsibility to always act with integrity. By displaying the award in his office, it helps to shape important discussions with his colleagues. He has also noticed that his colleagues and superiors trust and respect him more. He has been able to leverage this credibility in several ways:

  • In 2019, he won the Anambra State Leadership Integrity Award from the Ministry of Youth Empowerment and Creative Economy. 
  • In 2019, he was named best NYSC State Coordinator nationwide based on reports and assessments. 
  • He was unanimously appointed as Chairman of the Association of Heads of Federal Parastatals in Anambra State by being recognized as a person of integrity who is honest and ensures the accountability of resources. 

In 2019, he embarked on a one-year experimental project where he holds monthly meetings to collect reports from all local government officers on the challenges they face in the field. By creating a monthly feedback loop, he aims to uncover corruption in all aspects of their work. So far, he has discovered that some employers who hire NYSC corps members in what is called a Primary Place of Assignment (PPA) accept corps members to receive national benefits and allowances. However, the corps members are promptly released from employment. Aremu has redesigned the inspection process for corps members in their PPA to eliminate these acts of corruption. 

Mr. Aremu has also been pushing for the automation of processes in the compulsory year-long service program. This effort would change procedures that encourage corrupt exchanges between NYSC staff and youth corps members. Increased automation of the registration, deployment, and monitoring of corps members would a) decrease opportunities for corruption to ensure favorable treatment in placements and b) create a more equitable and transparent system.