NYSC: THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE NEED FOR A REVIEW

Following the menace of secession by the extinct Biafra which brought about the infamous and highly criticized Nigeria-Biafra civil war (July 1967- Jan 1970) and its disastrous effect, given the bitterness of the civil war, the restoration of peace and the reintegration of the Igbo into Nigerian life were pertinent. Hence the government
established the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC). This was done partly as one of the many measures taken to reiterate its commitment and dedication to the Nigerian slogan- unity in diversity and to ensure the continuous existence of Nigeria as a corporate entity.

NYSC is an organization that was schematically set up by the then head of state, Gen. Yakubu Gowon in 1973 to

mobilize and groom graduate youths for the promotion of national unity, sustainable development, self reliance, and prepare them for the challenges of leadership all within the period of one calendar year. With respect to the promotion of national unity, NYSC gives Nigerian graduate the opportunity to visit parts of the country other than their own place of origin, and undoubtedly, this well articulated scheme has taken Nigerians to various parts of the country to make new friends, experience different cultures, learn new languages and lots more.

It’s however pathetic to say that NYSC has not really achieved its intended developmental and reintegration purpose hence it has come under incessant attacks and strong criticisms by some Nigerians because they felt it seems to be doing more harm than good. There had been calls from old and young to review or scrap the programme. The calls for its review or eradication got to its peak in the wake of the 2011 post election violence where corps members were maimed and killed for actively participating in the electoral processes in the Northern part of the country. This act is tantamount to robbing the country of her future leaders, consequently, leaving hopes of having a sustainable development fading into thin air.

 It is pertinent to pinpoint the fact that some serving corps member will dub the scheme as a “waste of time” which could have been utilized better by individuals if channelled properly – which is a fundamental feature in the evaluation of a country`s development. For corps members serving outside their state of origins’ geopolitical zones, living in fear during the service year is the only option. This is borne out of the high level of insecurity in the country and the resultant unending bomb attacks and killings that is being associated with Northern Nigerian. To live in fear for a year surely will have an aftermath psychological effect on the individual. Relatively, the issue of redeployment cannot be under estimated. Even though it is clearly stated at the back of the call up letter that corps members should accept their fate by embracing their state of deployment, we still have chunks of corps members who by all means want to return back either to their state of origin or residence. Put in other words, if given the chance, majority of corps members would prefer to return back to the state where they have ties and security, rather than be in a place where insecurity and language barriers are present. This idiosyncratic choice of corps members to redeploy to another state is enough to send a message of discontent to the government that the scheme is actually loosing touch with one of its intended goals - promotion of national unity

 In the view of others, rather than integration, NYSC is indirectly dragging the country towards the edge of disintegration.  It could be recalled that the death of the corps members in the northern part of the country during the post election violence almost led to a reprisal attack on northerners serving either in the southern or eastern part of the country. Is this actually the promotion of national unity in its real sense? If not for the intervention of GOD it could have been a different story now.

On the contrary, NYSC has helped some Nigerians to secure employment. People who without the scheme could have been jobless, now make a living from working with NYSC. Given the high level of employment in the country, the outright scrapping of the scheme could have negative effects as it will put some Nigerians off their jobs and this will add to the already existing high level of unemployment in the country. It is from this perspective that I deem the call to scrap the scheme as that which is not water-tight.

Finally, as the debate on whether the scheme is achieving its intended goals goes on, this piece of write up is just another means of calling on the government to review the law creating the scheme in other to achieve its stated vision and mission which revolve around; development and national integration.

As part of the review government should implement the posting of corps members within their geopolitical zones. This might serve as a driving force to compel corps members to be fully committed to development of their geopolitical zones in particular and Nigeria in general. This will in another way reduce the loss of lives of corps members during the service year as a result of attack from their neighborhood.