I finally finish an excruciating four years of university education with all its attendant ups and downs - the recurrent ASUU/NASU* strikes, cultists' riots, students' protests, NLC* strikes, and all. I heave a sigh of relief as I clutch that piece of paper that certifies those four long years were for a worthy cause after all. My friends and I eat, drink, and make merry to our achievement as we pose for pictures in our convocation gowns. We toast to the future, to a great job, to success, and wealth. We didn’t toast to NYSC*! But whether we liked it or not, it is a scheme we must partake in before we can finally get that lucrative job of our dreams; at least in Nigeria.

With the euphoria of convocation over, we return for the dreaded NYSC call-up letters; different faces all coloured with earnest anticipation - What state will I be posted to? Will I be in the city or in a village? Is it going to be near to home or way farther? What sort of new culture will I be expected to adapt with? And the most dreaded fear which most of us try our best not to give voice to: will I be sent to ‘Boko Haram’s territory?

Soon our discussions moved on to a more agitated topic:

“Why should we be ‘forced’ to undergo the NYSC scheme, sef*?”

“What’s the use of NYSC?” My very eloquent friend, Samson, blurted out.

“This NYSC has outlived its relevance, jare*. They are just making us waste a whole year that we could have used in building up our respective careers.”

Another friend, Isioma, opined that to her, the only aim the scheme has achieved in recent years is to bring corps members to their sudden death; “See how those innocent corpers* helping with the election protocols in the north were killed in that explosion in 2011, ehn*?! What about the ones we hear of that are being kidnapped and others that get involved in road accidents on those dangerous highways of ours’ sef?!”.

The 2011 violence Isioma highlighted is one scar that no Nigerian will forget in a hurry. It still remains one of the darkest periods in our nation’s recent history. The explosion has since been taken responsibility of by the extremist sect, Boko Haram. The sect is established on various religious, cultural and fundamental ideologies of which core amongst these is the belief that ‘Western Education is a [forbidden] sin’. Conversely, the NYSC scheme is one that calls graduates of all universities and polytechnics to serve in all states of the federation – even boko haram-rife regions. Here, the conflict of ideas arises and, since corps’ members objectify the opposition, they become easy pawns in this ideological chess-game.

Another colleague, Adeola, contributed, “it’s not as if the pay is attractive, sef…imagine the federal allowee* is just N19,800 and most states don’t even bother to pay corps’ members state allowee’ she said with disgust.

Yetunde asserted that if prospective corps’ members were still given the luxury of serving in multinational companies, private firms and banks, it would have been better. But information reaching us was that this trend had been stopped by the government starting from our immediate predecessors. Now, corps’ members serve in educational institutions and government parastatals only. Though, a ‘sure’ *colleague, John, laughed this off. He said it is still possible to serve in the former organizations despite the new law: “Is it not Nigeria? Once you know your way, any law can be bent!”. He even boasted of already knowing the state and exact organization he would be serving since he had ‘runs'd’* everything.

Oladeji’s opinion brought a new light to the dreary conversation, he pinpointed the positives of NYSC especially the fact that it brings us closer to fellow Nigerians from cultures different from ours and also provides us with a chance to contribute directly to community development and nation building, “After all, Nigeria has served us (by providing us with an education and other basic amenities), now it is time for us to serve our fatherland.” Wise 'Deji concluded.

None of us could respond immediately to this as we were all dumbfounded at this realization. Just at the point when we were recovering, the school’s student affairs officer announced that the call-up letters were ready for collection. We all rushed to the student affairs' office with heightened anticipation.

As I walk back home holding my NYSC call-up letter with my fate sealed, I say a word of prayer as I discovered I was staying in the South-West after all. I ponder on Oladeji’s words.

True, the origin of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) connotes a positive and laudable motive. It was set up in 1973, in the aftermath of the Nigeria-Biafra* civil war, as a scheme to foster love, unity and development among Nigerians. Graduates of Universities and Polytechnics are required to undergo the compulsory one-year national service before they can be legible to apply for jobs or run for a public office. Even foreign-educated Nigerian citizens who wish to work in Nigeria are required to undergo the scheme.

The service year consists of: a three weeks paramilitary-themed orientation camp in the state of deployment, where prospective corps’ members are given physical, mental, cognitive and endurance training in order to create a well-rounded individual; deployment of the sworn-in corps’ members to different local governments of his/her Place of Primary Assignment (PPA). Here, the corps’ member will serve for the remaining months of the service year and take part in community development service (CDS) activities. After this, is the Passing-Out parade (POP), which marks the end of a service year, and a certificate of NYSC is issued.

I walk into my orientation camp with other graduates from different universities all over the country and abroad with the same blend of bewilderment, anxiety, intrigue and fatigue on all our faces. We are welcome with stern orders from the soldiers. After a long session of drills and exercises, it finally sink into us that here is not a child’s play...

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