Should Nysc Be Made Optional, Compulsory Or Totally Scrapped
Okay, I have never given a thought to this NYSC programme until its just few
months to my turn! I have never felt this nervous about going for something or somewhere
and I just have to finally say my mind before I get bundled off to an unknown place!
Who knows, someone may hear my cry!


Alright, my point here is that I don’t want to participate in this Nysc scheme!
I know I am also not the only one with the same feeling because I have done some
research and I have seen that a large number of the prospective corp members are
also not interested in participating too!
This is going to be a very long post, so relax as I take you through my train
of thoughts (and maybe some other persons). This is not just a regular post! I actually
did intensive research and I will be breaking it down into chapters just the
way I got the data, starting from introduction to conclusion (lol).
To make it easier, I also put up a table of content of this post just so you
can skip to the part that you find interesting:
1.1 INTRODUCTION
1.2
DEFINITION OF TERMS
2.1
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF NYSC
2.2 NYSC
OPERATIONS IN NIGERIA
2.3 MERITS
OF THE NYSC PROGRAMME
2.4
DEMERITS OF THE NYSC PROGRAMME
2.5 PURPOSE OF NYSC PROGRAMME
3.1
OBJECTIVES OF NYSC PROGRAMME
3.2
MOTION TO SCRAP NYSC PROGRAMME
CONCLUSION
HELPFUL SOURCES
You might also like: My Campaign For Obese People
So, here I am pouring out my heart to the federal government of Nigeria or whoever is concerned!
1.1
INTRODUCTION
The
Nysc scheme was initially set up for national integration, Today that vision
has changed but it seems that the government of the Federal republic of Nigeria
has not yet recognized this. Nigeria’s federal and state (excluding the private
institutions) educational system is not exactly a bed of roses which is why to
most undergraduates, going for NYSC is like a punishment. Once a student has
managed to graduate he is required by law to undergo the programme for one
year. It is not bad enough that he will be asked to survive a bit of hardship;
the unspoken part of his contract says he may also not come back alive. In the
past few years, Nigerians have witnessed the most unprecedented number of corps
members murders in recent times. These killings have taken place as a sacrifice
for democracy as the youths were killed in the line of duty. However, what
place has NYSC a paramilitary programme instituted by a decree in a democratic
society? At best the programme should be optional; some people find it fun and
enjoyable and may choose to continue with it. Majority of Nigerian youths do
not need NYSC to toughen them, the circumstances and their environment has done
so already.
Nysc is not what Nigeria needs right now. There are
a million and one things to channel those funds into rather than wasting it.
Scrapping Nysc is going to benefit both the government and the general
population.
Nigeria
is not yet a country to die for and this is the cold hard truth. Finally it is
sad to note that Nigeria has no plans for its youth, Nigeria has no love or
regard for its youth. How else can you explain the fact that after giving its
youths a shabby education, changing their bright plans for their lives, it
sends its youths, compulsorily on roads which are death traps to dwell in
states which are hell holes, for a pittance! Obviously, this scheme is no
longer helping and should be scrapped!
1.2 DEFINITION
OF TERMS
NYSC: The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) is an organization set up by
the Nigerian government to involve the country's graduates in the
development of the country. There is no military conscription in Nigeria, but since 1973 graduates of universities and later polytechnics have been
required to take part in the National Youth Service Corps program for one year.
This is known as national service year.
Programme: A
planned series of future events or performances. A set of related measures or
activities with a particular long-term aims
Nigeria: The
Federal Republic of Nigeria
commonly referred to as Nigeria,
is a federal republic
in West Africa, bordering Benin
in the west, Chad
and Cameroon
in the east, and Niger
in the north. Its coast in the south lies on the Gulf of Guinea
in the Atlantic Ocean. It comprises 36 states
and the Federal Capital Territory,
where the capital, Abuja
is located. Its largest cities
include: Lagos,
Kano,
Ibadan,
Benin City
and Port Harcourt. Nigeria is officially a democratic
secular country.
2.1 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF NYSC
Nigeria gained her independence on
October 1st 1960, as a federation of three regions (northern, western, and
eastern), under a constitution that provided for a parliamentary form of
government. The British Monarch- the Queen of England, was still the head of
state of Nigeria. Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe became the first indigenous Governor
General. Though, he was only representing the Queen of England, while Alhaji
Tafawa Balewa was the prime minister. He exercised the real executive power as
the country was still structured after the British Parliamentary system of
government. On October 1963 the country, became a Federal Republic. Dr Nnamdi
Azikiwe, the last Governor General, became the country’s first President, while
Alhaji Tafawa Balewa remained the Prime Minister. The British Monarch- the
Queen of England ceased to be the Head of State of Nigeria. However, the First
Republic was replete with corruption, ethnic politics and sentimentality,
nepotism, etc. As a result of these, on January 15, 1966, a small group of army
officers, mostly south-eastern Igbos, led by Major Kaduna Chukwuma Nzeogwu, in
a bloody coup, overthrew the government and assassinated the federal prime
minister and the premiers of the northern and western regions. The federal
military government that assumed power under Major General Aguyi Ironsi, was
unable to stop the ethnic tensions or produce a constitution acceptable to all
sections of the country. Matters exacerbated when through Decree no. 15 (the
Unification Decree), Ironsi abolished Nigeria’s Federalism and established a
Unitary Form of Government. As a result of the existing tension and fears,
there was a counter-coup masterminded by Northern officers. This counter-coup
ousted Aguiyi Ironsi from office and established the leadership of Major
General Yakubu Gowon. The subsequent massacre of thousands of Igbo in the north
prompted hundreds of thousands of them to return to the southeast, where
increasingly strong Igbo secessionist sentiment emerged. Lt. Col. Ojukwu, the
then Military Governor of the Eastern Region described the counter-coup as
‘’brutal and planned annihilation of officers of Eastern Region. Hence, as a
result of Gowon’s inability to abate the incessant murderous attacks launched
against the Easterners in the North, Ojukwu on May 30th, declared the Eastern
Region an independent State by the name the Republic Of Biafra. Secession was
not an option, as the Federal Republic of Nigeria under the leadership of Lt.
Col. Gowon saw Ojukwu’s declaration as a rebellion against Nigeria. This led to
the Nigeria Civil war which started in the early hours of July 6, 1967. The
Civil war which lasted for 3 years (July 6, 1967 to January 13, 1970), ended
with Gowon’s declaration of a no winner no vanquished policy. Gowon in an
attempt to rebuild the Country, embarked on what is known as the 3R’s-
Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Reconciliation. It was in pursuance of the
3R’s that Gowon in 1973 under Decree no. 24, established the National Youth
Service (NYSC) Scheme. The Scheme is aimed at encouraging and developing common
ties among the Youths, and to promote national Unity. I iterate, the NYSC
Scheme was established to promote National Consciousness and Patriotism among
Nigerian Youths, and to enable Young Nigerian graduates interact with their
peers outside their States of Origin and also to avail them the opportunity of
residing and working for the Country other than their States of Origin. The
Ultimate aim is to promote national Unity and Integration. The NYSC scheme was
created in a bid to reconstruct, reconcile and rebuild the country after the
Nigerian Civil war. The unfortunate antecedents in our national history gave
impetus to the establishment of the National Youth Service Corps by decree
No.24 of 22nd May 1973 which stated that the 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".
As a developing country, Nigeria is
further plagued by the problems attendant upon a condition of under
development, namely; poverty. mass illiteracy, acute shortage of high skilled
manpower (coupled with most uneven distribution of the skilled people that are
available), woefully inadequate socioeconomic infrastructural facilities, housing.
Water and sewage facilities, road, healthcare services, and effective communication
system. Faced with these almost intractable problems, which were further
compounded by the burden of reconstruction after the civil war, the government
and people of Nigeria set for the country, fresh goals, and objectives aimed at
establishing Nigeria
2.2 NYSC OPERATIONS IN NIGERIA
Corp members are usually posted to cities far from their
city of origin. They are expected to mix with people of other tribes, social
and family backgrounds, to learn the culture of the indigenes in the place they
are posted to. This action is aimed at bringing about unity in the country and
to help youths appreciate other ethnic groups. There is an
"orientation" period of approximately three weeks spent in a military
controlled boot "camp" away from family and friends. There is also a
"passing out ceremony" at the end of the year and primary assignment
followed by one month of vacation.
2.3 MERITS OF THE NYSC PROGRAMME
Corps Members
nationwide have been urged to take advantage of the Skills Acquisition and
Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) Programme initiated by the NYSC Scheme to
enable them become self-reliant after the Service Year. The Director-General of
the Scheme, Olawumi highlighted the different skill sets, which Corps members
could choose from namely; Agro-Allied, Culture/Tourism, Cosmetology, ICT,
Construction, Power/Energy, Food Processing and Preservation, Construction,
Environment, Horticulture and Landscaping, Education, Automobile and Film and
Photography. He said the Scheme intends to expand the Skill sets during the
year. He added that the Scheme, out of its determination to make the Corps
Members self-reliant and become employers of labour, went into partnership with
the Bank of Industry to come up with an empowerment package called the BOI –
NYSC Graduates Empowerment Fund (GEF). He recalled that one thousand Corps
Members, who scaled through an online Business ideas competition, were recently
trained under the GEF. “The trained Corps Members will be required to submit
their applications for loans under the GEF, and each of them will be qualified
for a loan of between five hundred thousand and two million naira”, he added.
It is worthy to note that Nigerian Graduates are ineligible
for employment till they have completed the mandatory one year service,
Graduates who are exempted from the service include those above the age of
thirty (30) and those with physical disability, therefore completing the
service year entitles one to employment. During the service year, Corps members
have the opportunity of learning of the cultures of other people an opportunity
many Nigerians never get in their lifetime. The program has also helped in
creating entry-level jobs for many Nigerian youth. An NYSC forum dedicated to
the NYSC members was built to bridge the gap amongst members serving across
Nigeria and also an avenue for corpers to share job information and career
resources as well as getting loans from the National Directorate Of Employment.
Some other advantages of the
programme include:
-
You get to meet people from all over the
country and make new bonds and friendships.
-
It helps an average Nigerian youth to
appreciate the diversity.
-
It helps to create a better
understanding of other peoples and cultures.
-
It exposes rural areas to ideas from
urban centres.
It
also offers the corps members a year to figure out career choices and the
labour market while being on the government’s payroll.
-
It creates lasting friendships between
people from different families, backgrounds, social standing etc
2.4 DEMERITS OF THE NYSC PROGRAMME
The program has been met with
serious criticism by a large portion of the country. The NYSC members have
complained of being underpaid, paid late or not paid at all. Several youths
carrying out the NYSC program have been killed in the regions where they were
sent due to religious violence, ethnic violence or political violence. It
gets dangerous every year, and the experience isn’t always pleasant, rather
than scrapping, an open and honest review should be done.
The benefits of NYSC are dwarfed by
its challenges and modern realities. Some disadvantages include:
-
Its objectives and goals have failed.
-
So many establishments that naturally
should employ graduate and pay full money now see corpers as cheaper labourers,
so when they are supposed to hire one graduate and pay more, they hire 10
corpers and pay less; causing these corpers to struggle to get retained but its
always in futility.
-
The risk of life involved is too much
without any security measures in place.
-
Also the professional experience needed atimes will
sometimes limit the career of the corper e.g a non trained corper teaching in a
secondary school.
-
It
has failed to instill discipline among Nigerian youths.
-
Corruption
is rampant in all offices and camps.
-
Nysc
officials collect bribes and sleep with female corps members for good postings.
-
Among corps
members, sexual immorality is so rampant; married women fornicate in camps and
in their place of primary assignment.
2.5 PURPOSE OF NYSC PROGRAMME
The purpose of the scheme is primarily to inculcate
in Nigerian Youths the spirit of selfless service to the community, and to
emphasize the spirit of oneness and brotherhood of all Nigerians, irrespective
of cultural or social background. The history of our country since independence
has clearly indicated the need for unity amongst all our people, and
demonstrated the fact that no cultural or geographical entity can exist in
isolation”. The National Youth Service Corps was instituted by
a decree in May 1973, to fulfill all of the above and more.
3.1 OBJECTIVES OF NYSC PROGRAMME
The objectives of the National Youth Service Corps Scheme
are clearly spelt out in Decree No.51 of 16th June 1993 as follows
- To inculcate discipline in Nigerian youths by instilling in them a tradition of industry at work, and of patriotic and loyal service to Nigeria in any situation they may find themselves.
- To raise the moral tone of the Nigerian youths by giving them the opportunity to learn about higher ideals of national achievement, social and cultural improvement
- To develop in the Nigerian youths the attitudes of mind, acquired through shared experience and suitable training. which will make them more amenable to mobilisation in the national interest
- To enable Nigerian youths acquire the spirit of self reliance by encouraging them to develop skills for self employment
- To contribute to the accelerated growth of the national economy
- To develop common ties among the Nigerian youths and promote national unity and integration
- To remove prejudices, eliminate ignorance and confirm at first hand the many similarities among Nigerians of all ethnic groups
- To develop a sense of corporate existence and common destiny of the people of Nigeria.
- The equitable distribution of members of the service corps and the effective utilisation of their skills in area of national needs
- That as far as possible, youths are assigned to jobs in States other than their States of origin
- That such group of youths assigned to work together is as representative of Nigeria as far as possible
- That the Nigerian youths are exposed to the modes of living of the people in different parts of Nigeria
- That the Nigerian youths are encouraged to eschew religious intolerance by accommodating religious differences
- That members of the service corps are encouraged to seek at the end of their one year national service, career employment all over Nigeria, thus promoting the free movement of labour
- That employers are induced partly through their experience with members of the service corps to employ more readily and on a permanent basis, qualified Nigerians, irrespective of their States of origin.
3.2 MOTION TO SCRAP NYSC PROGRAMME
A critical analysis of
the objectives of the NYSC (National Youth Service Corps), shows that the
scheme which has been in existence over the past four decades has failed to a
large extent to achieve these objectives. Instead the scheme has led to the
wastage of human resources, as most corp members are not gainfully utilized
during this period. Also as seen in the events of the last crisis and similar
ones, corps members are unnecessarily exposed to risks. Hence the Scheme has
become more of a problem than an asset and hence should be scrapped! In spite
of several calls for the Nigerian government to review the NYSC scheme, the
43-year-old scheme has remained the same. It is no longer fashionable with
modern realities. The programme was primarily created by Nigeria’s former Head
of State, Yakubu Gowon to “reconstruct, reconcile and rebuild the country after
the Nigerian Civil War.” Many Nigerians believe these reasons are no longer
tenable, more than 40 years after the war.
NYSC is a pure waste of time. One can’t imagine how the
programme negatively affects graduates. When someone graduates from the
university this year, you’ll have to wait for a whole year sometimes before you
are mobilized and you don’t have a choice because it is compulsory. It has also
been made a prerequisite for graduates who want to be admitted for postgraduate
programmes in Nigerian institutions. Most establishments also request for
evidence of participation in the youth service programme before they are
considered for employment opportunities. As it stands now, the Nigerian
government is not doing anything to address the challenges of the scheme or
improve it. Apart from the fact that the N19,800(or less) monthly stipend given
to each corps member cannot cover the expenses incurred by these serving youths
in a recession time like this, a scheme that makes Nigerian youths vulnerable
to unfavourable circumstances can be scrapped to save money for other
sustainable projects because it is no longer relevant. With recent
developments, it is very difficult to refute the unfavourable assessment of the
NYSC scheme. This period is a perfect time for both the executive and
legislative arms of Nigerian government to look into the scheme and, in fact,
scrap it to save money the country can’t afford to waste right now.
Not
downplaying the importance of the 40-year-old initiative, today, there are more
arguments against continuing the practice. The NYSC senior officials, however, do not conceal the difficulties they are faced
with: growing number of participants and decreasing funds. In a recent
interview, actress, singer and activist Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde was
straightforward about the scheme, saying it is useless and should be scrapped. Every year, thousands of Nigerian
universities graduates participate in the year-long engagement, joining
the National Youth Service Corps. But today, it is obvious that there are no
much funds to sustain them! Nigeria has a well-documented history of public
services and agencies becoming black holes into which critical funds vanish,
and the NYSC could easily be another one of those — given how much money and
how little supervision is involved. While the huge cost of running the
NYSC is one issue, accountability is another as there have been several
claims of corrupt practices around the scheme. With the 2014 budget listing amounts
like N2.6 billion for “kitting" corps members, and N394 million for
"security services", an audit of the NYSC’s books might be as
revealing as the recent PwC audit of NNPC.
People often go into argument of how
it provides first time job opportunities, national integration, economic
benefits etc, I’d like to point out that if graduates didn’t have to wait for
an NYSC posting, they would have started job hunting and placements from their
final year of university. This is not 1970. People are traveling more, watching
more TV, listening to radio even across the country; the internet is bridging a
great deal of integration gaps. And by the way, decades of NYSC has not
integrated us any more than before then. The economic benefit of NYSC is also a
myth. N19,800 monthly is just minimum wage, the equivalent of unskilled labour!
If these graduates were employed, they most likely would have been better paid.
The average wait period for an NYSC call up is about 6 months. In most cases,
this is time spent doing nothing but waiting. Because a lot of graduates know
they can’t hold a job without NYSC discharge, they just wait, while their
brains rot. In the past, one could at least get posted to a good enough company
to get decent exposure, or a company which has recognized talent could pull in
a graduate pre-NYSC, and simply get them to serve on the job. But now, that’s
about impossible. Nigerian graduates are not competitive because instead of
getting sharp for the market after graduation, they spent their most
significant post college years waiting for a posting that turned out to be a
waste of time. Gone are the days when the scheme was developed to establish
Nigeria as a land of bright and full opportunities for all citizens. It is just
a delay tactic from the inevitable unemployment phase that awaits most
graduates!
The most worrying of this NYSC scheme
is the actual work the corpers get to do. More often than not, graduates are
being posted to workplaces that don’t relate to their degrees at all! You can
see someone who studied Chemical Engineering working at a local government
office, filing paper and running errands for older staff. They are not learning
any practical skills that will help their future careers. In order words, they
are wasting time and effort that could be used in doing something productive
and worthwhile. It is no wonder some people have “agreements” with their zonal
officials and abscond to do other meaningful things. Another worrying thing is
the amount of people being sent to teach in schools. What made these corpers
qualified to teach? Just because you’ve gone to school and finished doesn’t
make you equipped to teach others. Why are we not concerned in giving our
future generations the best education there is? It’s a fact that the strength
of a good economy lies in the skills and abilities of its labour force (workers).
So if we’re giving our young ones subpar education, what then can we look
forward to in the future? The rich sending their children abroad for the
quality education everyone should be getting, and the poor being served fifth
best? And to top it off, most of these corpers don’t get any training. They
simply get the term’s syllabus and are left to their own devices. Is this how
we want our future leaders to continue growing?
CONCLUSION
NYSC really is not integrating
anymore. Maybe it can be reformed or changed but as for right now, it is not
fulfilling the purpose for which it was created. Obviously, the scheme is no
longer relevant. If years after the civil war, it hasn’t accomplished the goal
of reorientation, integration and progress, it is enough for the scheme to be scrapped;
we can as well say it has failed. Many people feel joy in meeting people from
other parts but you only need to be on any social media platform for a day and
you’ll discover that joy is only on the surface with the amount of ethnic
trolling and abuse directed at various ethnic groups. People still hold on to
their perceived prejudices regardless of what their experience(s) has been with
people from other parts. If the scheme hasn’t corrected this in its long years
of existence, then it has actually overstayed.
Truth be told, it’s only being kept
alive by people who benefit from it: those who supply khaki, meals and so on.
People are clearly not gaining the experience they hope to; and neither are
they equipped to be teaching secondary/primary school kids. Perhaps it does
need to be scrapped for today’s society. Hopefully the future generation can
begin to think and analyse the things and institutions in our societies to
bring about positive change, not just following the status quo. The scheme should
be put to an end and save graduates from undue hardship all in the name of
re-integration.
HELPFUL SOURCES
So, over to you, what's your own take? Do you think NYSC should be made optional, compulsory or totally scrapped?
Let's here your thoughts below!
it should be scrapped!
ReplyDeletePlease! Someone should tell the government to remove this death trap of a scheme!
ReplyDeleteI think making it optinal is better! It has helped a lot of people and is still helping!
ReplyDelete