By Thomas Abidoye
A serving corps member, Austeen Aulcena, has cautioned a female secondary school student for complimenting him in a manner he described as inappropriate.
The incident occurred on Monday, September 29, 2025 when an SS2 student told the corps member that he was looking handsome.
Aulcena, who acknowledged the comment with appreciation, went further to warn the student against repeating such remarks in the future.
He stressed that while the student may have seen it as a compliment, he considered it a breach of boundary.
The corps member expressed concern over the age of the student, noting that she is not yet 17 and should not be making such statements to a male adult.
He linked such actions to situations where some corps members become entangled in inappropriate relationships with students.
According to him, such relationships often begin with casual comments, before escalating to letters and emotional attachments.
Aulcena emphasized that many students admire corps members because of the prestige attached to the NYSC uniform, and may view them as role models.
He, however, urged corps members to use their influence positively by protecting the students, rather than taking advantage of their vulnerability.
The corps member maintained that students at that stage are still naive and should be guided, not exploited.
The statement reads, “Earlier today in school, one of my female students said to me, ”Sir, you’re looking handsome”
“I responded with a calm “Thank you” but went ahead to warn her not to try it again.
It’s just a compliment, yeah!
“But I can never be excited that an SS2 student is complimenting me like this and it’s not even about me, it’s about her.
“I don’t care what the thought process behind what she said was, but while she sees it as a compliment, I saw it as a breach of boundary.
“An SS2 student who is not even up to 17 years of age has no business complimenting a man this way. I’ve read some disheartening anonymous stories about how some male corps members are getting involved with their female students, and I can assure you that some of those stories started from things as little as this.
“If you make them feel too comfortable, they might start catching feelings and, before you know it, they’ll start writing and sending letters. To some of them, it’s a privilege having something to do with corpers, because putting on this uniform has always been every kid’s dream and everyone wearing it is like a small god before them.
“With this little level of influence, I urge us all to be a positive force that builds rather than destroys these vulnerable kids.These kids are still in their naive stage and needs to be protected rather than taken advantage of.”