What future has the NYSC got?
But none of it would have happened if I hadn’t been part of the NYSC scheme. Chances are that my worldview would have still remained limited and some of the great friendships of my life wouldn’t have happened. So whenever the NYSC issue comes up, I am always emotional about it. And lately there have […]
But none of it would have happened if I hadn’t been part of the NYSC scheme. Chances are that my worldview would have still remained limited and some of the great friendships of my life wouldn’t have happened. So whenever the NYSC issue comes up, I am always emotional about it. And lately there have been no shortages of conversations about what to do with the NYSC, to make it deliver on its original mandate, and much more.
These debates were triggered off by the killing of five youth corps members in Bauchi and Kano states during the post-election violence that erupted in parts of the country. The fact that youth corps members had played a vital role in the success of the 2011 general elections which were adjudged to be the fairest since the return of democracy in 1999 did not in any way shield them from attacks.
The death of the corps members naturally caused a furore and drove home the urgency for reforming the NYSC. But like most Nigerian debates, everyone has an opinion on what the best strategies should be and what should constitute the key ingredients of the reforms. From the heated conversation, however, one could glean some common concerns. These include: How successful has the scheme been in delivering on its primary mandate of serving as a platform for national integration? More than forty years after the civil war that led to its institution and thirty-eight years after its setting up, is the scheme still relevant? Does the scheme serve any practical purpose in preparing the corps members to face modern day challenges like unemployment? Is it possible to refocus the scheme on current national challenges, while still delivering on its original mandate?
It was this gospel of reforms the minister took to the NYSC camps. In Lafia, he told the corps members that refocusing of the scheme will go more than just ensuring the security of corps members. “Security is very important issue but the kind of reforms we plan must be able to bring huge returns on the investment not only to the participating youth corps members but also to Nigeria as a country,” he stated. The thinking of the minister was that while security is the current concern driving the call for the restructuring of the NYSC, any reform of the scheme will need to go deeper than just ensuring the safety of corps members if it is to provide quality returns on the huge funds invested in it yearly. The minister hinted on the direction the planned reform would go when he stated that “we think that national integration is no longer enough justification for the NYSC. We have to also start to think of the role that the scheme can play in the President’s agenda for national transformation.”
The NYSC was founded about 38 years ago after a bloody civil war had left the country polarized. General Yakubu Gowon, the then head-of-state, initiated the scheme as one of the strategies to achieve national reconciliation and heal the wounds of the war. Over the years, the NYSC has fulfilled this vision by producing broad-minded Nigerians who have become more knowledgeable about their country and familiar with other cultures and people, apart from their own. This role has no doubt deepened integration and in spite of our contentious politics, produced Nigerian citizens with a pan-Nigerian outlook. Whatever shape the reform will take, one thing is sure and that is the coming makeover of the scheme will be deep-rooted and will ensure that Nigerians and Nigeria get real value for the huge investment in it.
Julius Ogunro, Special Assistant on Media to the Minister of Youth Development, Abuja