ONE legacy that has endured in the last three decades in Nigeria, is the National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) scheme.

THE scheme, introduced by the military administration of erstwhile General Yakubu Gowon on May 22, 1973, was envisaged to be a potential factor for rebuilding and increasing patriotic leadership and citizenship among Nigerians, especially after the civil war when ethnic suspicion, mutual distrust, religious bigotry and tribal intolerance were seen as catalysts capable of stalling the nation’s economic and political stability.

THE Gowon administration reasoned that the youths constituted a dominant force for national mobilization, growth, and as such, were crucial to the task of nation building. This task of rebuilding the nation after the civil war in 1970, gave birth to the establishment of the NYSC scheme.

ESTABLISHED by Decree No. 24 of May 22, 1973, the objective of the scheme at its inception, and as amended in 1993 was amongst others to inculcate discipline in our youths by instilling in them, a tradition of industry at work and of patriotic and loyal service to the nation. It was equally to develop common ties among the members; promote national unity by deployment to states other than their states of origin and away from their geographical, ethnic and cultural background; encourage members of the corps to seek at the end of their service year, career employment all over the country with the intention of promoting the mobility of labour.

ALTHOUGH the scheme has endured for over 35 years, the initiators of the programme never envisaged the challenges facing the scheme today.

THE explosion in the turnout of fresh graduates from the over 90 tertiary institutions across the country, has posed serious challenges to the scheme, so much so that one of its objectives which is to encourage members of the Corps to seek at the end of their service year, career employment all over the country, is now becoming an illusion. This is traceable to the critical unemployment rate in the country as young graduates now roam the streets in search of jobs after their service year.

WHILE it is noteworthy, the several attempts by governments to improve the lot of our Youth Corps members during their service year, it is rather unfortunate that some of them are now forced to see the scheme as a jamboree. This is the result of the present non-challant attitude of employers and establishments which these days reject corps members on the excuse that they have no room for them.

GONE are the days when Corps members dedicated themselves to their primary assignment, thus defeating the very essence of inculcating discipline in our youths by instilling in them, a tradition of industry at work.

WHILE we commend the federal government’s efforts at sustaining the scheme especially in the absorption of the teeming graduates turned out yearly by the nation’s universities and polytechnics through the segmentation of members into batches for the programme, we are not oblivious of the concern expressed by the President Yar’Adua’s administration to strengthen the NYSC Scheme.

ONLY recently, the President expressed the Federal government’s commitment to strengthen and enhance the NYSC capacity to meet its significant mandate of nurturing the abiding patriotic values of loyalty, dedication and absolute faith in Nigeria in the young graduates.

IT is the opinion of The NIGERIAN OBSERVER, that rather than mere rhetorics, the Federal government should adopt a more pragmatic approach to strengthening the scheme.

THE NIGERIAN OBSERVER is therefore of the view that since there appears not to be enough space to absorb the teeming corps members, government must come up with a viable alternative to engage the corps members during their service year. One way of achieving this is for governments at the federal, state and local levels, to embark on establishment of agricultural farm settlements that can fully engage the Corps members. Apart from helping to produce more food for the nation, Corps members will get necessary knowledge and experience that can help them stand on their own after their service.

THERE is also the need for periodic review of the stipend paid Corps members to reflect the realities of the economic situation. This will not only boost the morale of the corps members, but will instill discipline and bring about dedication and commitment.

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