#NYSC scheme need Revitalisation By Hon Richard adetunji moses#
Revotion and selfless service to our fatherland is
indeed a call expected to be answered by every
graduate below age 30, on completion of first degree
in a higher institution in the country or abroad. It
would be recalled that this service scheme was
birthed by General Yakubu Gowon on May 22nd
1973 with decree No 24 which gave impetus to the
establishment of the National Youth Service corps
(NYSC).
The decree reads in part: “NYSC is being established
with a view to the proper encouragement and
development of common ties among the youths of
Nigeria and the promotion of national unity.”
Most youths have rejected the value proposition of
the scheme owing to the corruption, obvious
inadequacies and shortcomings that has befallen the
scheme over time. Consider the issue of mobilisation,
for instance. It has become a scramble for those who
know one big man somewhere. These days, once you
can throw the cash around, you are likely to be
deployed to a choice state without hassle. The poor
are mainly the ones who end up in terror-stricken
states. That’s the agony of being poor in a country like
Nigeria. If a Nigerian graduate could decide where he
or she wants to serve on the basis of wheeling and
dealing, the liberality of choice may as well be
extended to the poor as well. For instance, I would
have love to serve in the luxurious office of an oil
tycoon, not a school where they lack the necessary
facilities and teaching amenities, just like the
predicament of one of my friends who got posted to
a government school,where their is no accommodation,no good hospitality,a rivera area,no light and the school lacks everything good to
teaching,HON OLUWAFEMI SOGBESAN can testify to that. No better means of survival at all. How do we drive the gospel of national unity when
folks like my friend are made to go through such
ordeals all in service to fatherland? The program is
beginning to look like what God himself has
abandoned it because the people who are to listen and
grant solution have become helpless themselves.
Looking at the issues relating to the monthly
allowance, the government seems to be a little fair
considering the fact that the allowance surpasses the
minimum wage of civil servants in the country. But
there’s room for improvement. At the state level,
some states don’t actually deserve the services of
corps members. Some of these states have refused to
pay them since inception of the scheme. That’s rather
insensitive. These states do not attach much
importance to the scheme. And so, they fail to the
appreciate the efforts of these young men and
women. Most see corps members as instruments for
cheap labour. They use them and leave them to their
own devices. Imagine scenarios where a corps
member teaches all classes from junior classes all
through to senior classes. Sometimes, corps
members are denied their basic needs, including a
stipend in their places of primary assignment. At
other times, corps members are rejected on frivolous
grounds. It is abusive on the part of the state for one
to show up where his service is supposedly needed
only to be turned back. That’s not all. There is the issue of accommodation.
How do we serve our fatherland without a roof over
our heads? Most of these places of primary
assignments do not provide accommodation, leaving
corps members to scout for ridiculous
accommodation at their own expense. I won’t be forgiven if I fail to be
specific here. Posting to places of primary assignment
is another area where the scheme seems to get it
wrong. There is absolutely no sense being posted to
places that do not match one’s qualification. Why
should a Mass Communication graduate be posted to
teach in a school? And why should an Engineering
graduate observe his service year in a local
government council?And after a year, they meet
employers who want industry experience before
employment.
To be candid, NYSC is now like gold turning rust, the
whole idea of service and dedication is gradually
withering. How can I serve my country better when
those Iserve seize to appreciate my determination
and commitment to serve them? The only thing
necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to
sit and do nothing, so goes a saying.Perhaps, the
management intend to improve the lot of the
scheme. But they must be reminded that if they fail
to act,doom would befall on the entire scheme.
I perceive there are myriad of issues which the
Director General needs to examine critically and
quickly too. Such self-examination would help to
advance the objective of the scheme. Every day,the
value and efficacy of the scheme get eroded by an
apparent failure to check some of the draw-backs
that continue to drag the scheme in the mud.
Ernest Hemingway said: “They wrote in the old days
that it is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country. But
in modern war, there is nothing neither sweet nor
fitting in your dying. You will die like a dog for no
good reason.” We do not want to get to this stage
depicted in Hemingway’s lines. It is normal for
Africans to run towards the wise elders of the village
when trouble comes knocking. Let the management
of NYSC seek good counsel. They need it.
Most corps members have become totally impatient
and their expectations of the scheme are quite high.
The scheme was created to add value. Let those who
manage its affairs begin to look in that direction.
No reasonable parent would voluntarily kill a
recalcitrant child. Solutions can be sought to revive
an otherwise dead scheme. I am not among those
who feel the scheme has outlived its value. My
suggestions are that the scheme should be
restructured so that the noble ideals it set out to
achieve are realised.
Every Nigerian would agree that the program has
helped in creating jobs for many Nigerian youths
over the years and has facilitated national unity and
inter-cultural relationships. But today, it has become
a raging debate among Nigerians whether NYSC
serves any purpose or not. This is rather unfortunate.
But good things never come cheap. They require
unusual sacrifices. I believe NYSC can form a potent
weapon to unite Nigerians across cultural, political
and socio-economic divides.

This write up is good, honestly. Well done OP. Unfortunately, I've passed this stage. Somehow I'm not bothered about the purpose of the scheme any more but I must say your last paragraph sums it all...

That was a long time ago...