The National Youth Service Corps was established in 1973 with the sole aim of promoting national integration after the experience of the civil war that engulfed the country in the ‘60s. Subsequently, reforms have been introduced towards bettering the scheme. The rationale behind the scheme was that learning the cultures and ways of lives of a host community by a youth corp member will reduce regional prejudice and bias. Thus, a southerner will be posted to any region save for south and the northerner goes to any other region save for his.
The scheme was welcomed as it not only paved way for national integration but also served as a temporary employment for the teaming Nigerian graduates who are well short of employment opportunities. For the Youth Corp members, the euphoria that comes with learning a new way of life gives extra motivation to dedicate their service year to bettering lives.
With the civil war over 30 years down the drain, the question now is; has the National Youth Service Scheme outlived its purpose?
To answer this, we have to look at the objectives behind the establishment of the scheme and ascertain their level of fulfillment.
Foremost, the idea of promoting national integration through the National Youth Service Scheme cannot be said to have been a success. The level of ethnic, regional and religious prejudice and bias exhibited today has never been witnessed in the country. This is made even more obvious by the number of Youth Corp Members who stay back in their states for their youth service with the belief that they are safer only in their region. This idea is being helped to flourish by staffs of the scheme that collect cash in exchange for altering/influencing the posting of individuals. In such cases, national integration through the scheme cannot be achieved. Sadly, this practice is slowly becoming a standard. Originally, only severe cases allowed for a Youth Corp Member to serve in his/her home state or area of comfort. Today, even the scheme promotes this by granting relocations to Corp Members with the least reasonable ‘excuse’. An example of this is the mass relocation granted 2014 Batch B Stream II Corp members posted to the Northern part of the country on the guise of “terror threat”. Most of these corps members where either posted back to their parent states or at least their region. This betrays the purpose of the scheme.
Secondly, the service scheme which offers a temporary employment to Corps members is today a burden to most of them. The monthly stipend paid to youth corps members who in some cases are thousands of miles away from their homes is hardly enough for their transport fares. Corps Members welfare is not given the needed attention by the scheme’s authority or their temporary employers. A lot of Corp members are forced to turn back to their parents to cough out huge amounts of money to pay for their accommodation. In my case for instance, I paid an amount that will amount to about 2/3rd of the total allowance I will receive throughout my service year. When feeding and transportation are taken into context it becomes prevalent how unprofitable the scheme is to some corps members.
Thirdly, the security and lives of corps members are not as guaranteed as they seem under the National Youth Service Scheme. I know a lot of people will disagree with me but really any corp member will tell you his/her security lies solely with him/her. A good manifestation of this is the just concluded general elections with which the services of Corps members was required. During the training exercise, corps members were encouraged to scout their work environment to ascertain the level volatility and look out for alternative escape routes in circumstances of an impending attack. This goes to show the looseness of the security details attached to corps members for such a delicate exercise. Before disregarding this as just a precautionary advice, find out the number of youth corps members that were kidnapped during the electioneering period and then review my take. If that is still enough, the leadership of the service scheme a week to the elections cancelled all activities and gatherings of the scheme. This was done to avoid exposing corps members to danger. Thus, corps members were advised against the use of any of the schemes’ paraphernalia. For a scheme that prides itself with the mandate of promoting national integration hiding the identity of corps members really doesn’t do well for such claim.
The national youth service scheme for me has outlived its purpose. With numerous cases of “ghost corpers”, profligacy and many mis-deeds clouding the scheme, it’s time the leadership of the country looks at other alternatives. I would suggest instead for a social welfare package for fresh graduates. Rather than studying engineering and then getting posted to a school or office where you’d make little or no impact at all, you could just go in search of a job whilst also receiving monthly stipend from the government. If that is not obtainable and the scheme must be, then I would suggest a reform whereby corps members would be posted to ministries relevant ONLY to their courses of study. The modality of the current service scheme is really nothing but a shamble that is relevant only for the monetary gains some individuals enjoy from it.
ABIMAJE ABDULLAHI SALEH

Let's ask the FG

@majid write up is meant to critically look at things and propose new ways.. that way the govt takes consideration of the people... hopefully

Even if the scheme has outlived it's purpose, it is still fostering national unity to an extent. Even if the war is over, there is still regional and ethic war in Nigeria which the scheme has salvage to some extent.

Think of the thousands of Nigeria that will loss their jobs if the scheme is cancelled. You won't want that to happen in a country that is still battling with serious unemployment crisis. It might result to a national protest which might cause great havoc.

With the thousands of graduates passing out from school, the ministries in nigeria can't accommodate them. In the state where I served, the public and private ministries and firms were filled up. Same with the schools and even so farms. Corpers were looking for ppa and didn't even get. Some did their ppa in some boutique, market places which is not ought to be so. The reason is because the state has filled it's capacity. Nigeria has not grown to the extent where the ministries alone will accommodate corpers.

Remuneration is poor for corp members. I know that but we hope for increment from the government. You were posted to a place where you used to 2/3 alawee for rent. That was your fate. Some didn't pay for accommodation fee. I pay 10k for a self contain the whole service year where I served. Different stroke for different folks. Some enjoyed it while for some it was total waste of time.

What I think the government should do is to overhaul the scheme and re-organized the scheme to meet its purpose. The security and welfare of corp members should be paramount. The government should work in hand with hosting communities to ensure corp members are not mal-handled , marginalized and maltreated by indigenes of the community.
Employer of corps should also be made to provide the basic amenities such as accommodation water and bed for corp members. They should also be a strict law for employers of corp members to pay them some minimum about for transport and lunch.

NYSC is a good scheme that need total transformation. It should be uphold and strengthened to meet its purpose.

Long live NYSC
Long live Gowon
Long live Nigeria

Abimaje7:
@majid write up is meant to critically look at things and propose new ways.. that way the govt takes consideration of the people... hopefully

i understand, the purpose has been defeated, every body knows that