When the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC)Scheme was established by the military governmentof General Yakubu Gowon (rtd) in 1973, it was meant to be a noble idea- a worthy phenomenon. Put in another word, the rationale behind the whole concept of NYSC centred on the need to foster national unity and integration given the prevailing situation in the country at the time of its establishment.BACKGROUNDThe immediate few years before the establishment of NYSC Scheme were not the best of times for Nigeria. The country had gone through almost three years of senseless but avoidable fratricidal war (1967-1970). At the conclusion of the war in January, 1970, the then head of state, General Yakubu Gowon declared that there was no victor and no vanquished. Thus began the period of reparation, of restoration and integration. Nigeria was therefore in dire need of national unity and cohesion, the realisation of which it was expected to bring all Nigerians under the same umbrella of unity once again.It was no surprise therefore that upon its establishment, the NYSC had the following as its aims:'(a) the proper encouragement and development of common ties among the Nigerian youths;(b) the promotion of national unity; and(c) the development of the Nigerian youth and Nigeria into a great and dynamic economy.In furtherance of the above aims of the scheme, the objectives of the NYSC were spelt out in the National Youth Service Corps Act, Cap. N84, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004. Section 1(3) succinctly capture them:'(3) The objectives of the Service Corps shall be to-(a) 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;(b) 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;(c) develop in the Nigerian youths the attitudes of mind, acquired through shared experience and suitable training, which will make them more amenable to mobilization in the national interest;(d) enable Nigerian youths acquire the spirit of self reliance by encouraging them to develop skills for self employment;(e) contribute to the accelerated growth of the national economy;(f) develop common ties among the Nigerian youths and promote national unity and integration;(g) remove prejudice, eliminate ignorance and confirm at first hand the many similarities among Nigerians of all ethnic groups; and(h) develop a sense of corporate existence and common destiny of the people of Nigeria.For the purpose of realising the above noble objectives-at least taking them as they are, the same Act goes on in subsection (4) of Section 1 by providing that 'the Service Corps shall ensure-(a) the equitable distribution of members of the service corps and the effective utilisation of their skills in areas of national needs;(b) that as far as possible, Nigerian youths are assigned to jobs in states other than their states of origins;(c) that such group of Nigerian youths assigned to work together is representative of Nigeria as far as possible;(d) that the Nigerian youths are exposed to the modes of living of the people in different parts of Nigeria;(e) that the Nigerian youths are encouraged to eschew religious intolerance by accommodating religious differences;(f) 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;(g) 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'.THE NYSC BETWEEN 1973 AND 2011 AND THE QUESTION OF ITS CONTINUED RETENTIONWhile I do not intend in this piece to go the whole hog in embarking on a full-blown bit-by-bit assessment of each of the aims and objectives of the establishment of the NYSC programme as contained in its enabling law quoted above, I would nonetheless comment on the salient areas I consider germane to the argument on whether or not the scheme should be retained, modified or scrapped outright.To a certain extent, the NYSC scheme within few years of its establishment exposed young Nigerian University and Polytechnic graduates (with later addition of College of Education graduates before its eventual withdrawal) to life outside their immediate environment that is, their respective places of birth/ states of origin. They were made to appreciate other cultures, languages etc. And as would be expected in such situation, some of these young graduates either secured jobs in their respective places of primary assignment or in the states where they served. In many instances, some of them got their future wives or husbands right there thus promoting inter-cultural/ religious marriages.Few years after the scheme was inaugurated, we had instances where some corpers got so attracted to the people and environments of their places of primary assignment that they instantly decided to settle down there and make those places their second permanent homes. In this regard, they contributed their quota to the economic, educational and social development of those places. Going by all this and more, one would be tempted to conclude that the scheme has achieved its aims and objectives to a large extent.Those were the days when youth corps members got automatic placements wherever they were posted to. Rejection of corpers was simply unheard of. At the conclusion of the one year compulsory service, the successful corpers had jobs awaiting them be it in the states wherein they served, their respective states of origin or other states of the federation where their services were unquestionably needed. But that was in the past. No more.The economic downturn of Nigeria which began in the 80s escalated in the 90s and has now virtually nosedived to an abysmal level. Sad enough, this development has virtually brought a new dimension to the scheme in the same way that other sectors of the economy were negatively affected.LATEST DEVELOPMENTS AND THE DEBATE ON THE CONTINUOUS EXISTENCE OF NYSCThe debate now centres on whether or not the scheme should continue in the present form, amended or be scrapped completely. The reasons are not far fetched. First, for quite some time now, youth corpers in their places of primary assignment have become objects of ridicule, rejection and scorn. Gone are the days when youth corpers were welcomed with open arms to their various places of primary assignment. Today, corpers are more readily rejected than accepted by employers of labour. Surprisingly enough, the situation is so bad that even government establishments now reject youth corpers that are duly posted to them!On the 9th August, 2010, I met two young male corpers waiting at the reception of my office. Upon inquiry on their mission, they told me point blank that the schools where they were posted to for their primary assignment rejected them. They told me that they had been rejected in all the offices they visited. On further enquiry, they informed me that the regional office of NYSC asked them to look for offices where they could work. They had therefore decided to seek my assistance in whatever form to enable them serve anywhere ' just anywhere. They were rejected in all the offices I sent them to. I have been doing this over the years. That encounter further reinforced my erstwhile position to the effect that the NYSC programme may have outlived its usefulness.SECURITYThe question of security perhaps remain the most worrisome and germane in the current debate on whether or not the NYSC scheme should be allowed to continue in the present form. The reason is not far-fetched.Following the announcement of the results of the Presidential election held in Nigeria in April, 2011, some states in the Northern part of the country practically went up in flames. The initial results of the elections clearly showed that Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, President and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was leading with wide margin. This did not go down well with certain elements who had expected Major-General Muhammadu Buhari of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) to win the polls. They alleged that there was fraud and manipulation of figures in favour of Dr. Jonathan. In venting their anger against the aforestated, some miscreants took to the streets, attacked everything and object available including innocent Nigerians.As if the spate of human and material destruction was not enough, the protesters specifically targeted corps members whom they accused of collaborating with the characters that manipulated the polls in favour of President Jonathan. In furtherance of this unsubstantiated allegation, the hoodlums pounced on defenceless corpers, killed about ten of them at a go in Bauchi State alone, burnt down their residences and belongings and inflicted grievous bodily harm on those they could not succeed in killing. The national outrage that followed this senseless, premeditated and cold-blooded murders was expected. People from far and near began to call for the scrapping of the programme outright.It should be recalled that the post-presidential election violence aforementioned was not the first occasion that corpers would be murdered in cold blood. About two years ago, certain number of corpers were murdered under similar circumstances in Jos following the perennial ethno-religious crises that engulfed the once peaceful northern town. As usual, the hapless corpers were from the southern part of Nigeria just like the ten that lost their lives in April, 2011.Many unreported acts of violence against corpers were also heard across the length and breadth of Nigeria. Incidents of rape against female corpers have virtually become a recurring decimal. As I write this piece, the criminal case brought against a traditional ruler in Osun State who was accused of raping a female corper serving in his domain is still ongoing.We should not also forget in a hurry the incidents of kidnapping of Corps members that have now become the order of the day especially in the Niger Delta. Aside from physical torture, the kidnapped corpers are often subjected to mental, emotional and psychological traumas. The female ones, who are more vulnerable, have the added misfortune of being raped by their abductors who, more often than not, act under the influence of heavy dose of drugs. Naturally, these are nasty experiences that have the prospects of lingering in the victims' memories as long as they live. The question therefore is: Is serving one's fatherland vide the platform of NYSC worth it'Aside from all these, other discouraging incidents abound such as motor accidents, ritual killings, abuse of corp members in form of subjecting them to tasks outside of the ones prescribed by the NYSC Act etc.To be continued.
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