Challenges facing NYSC today

LIKE most newly minted graduates nationwide, I eagerly anticipated my one-year service to the fatherland. I had seen pictures of my ‘predecessors in service’ on social media and heard stories upon stories about how the NYSC program was a time to meet new people, work a little and have a lot of fun. It didn’t work out that way for me.  The bubble burst when I checked my portal and saw that I had been posted to Yobe State. Since I wanted to be posted to either Abuja, Lagos, Rivers State or Calabar, the service year I had dreamt of was becoming one I obviously wouldn’t get; theidea of one year of service to my fatherland now felt like kidnapping. ‘How do you take someone to a place he or she doesn’t want to go to and force them to stay for one year?’ I thought. ‘There had to be a way out, something had to be done’, I said to myself. Is it not Nigeria again?

So, I set out trying to redeploy back to one of the four ‘big states’. First point of call was my father and he was having none of it. He said I had made the choice when I decided to add Yobe to the list of states I picked and that I had to live with the consequences of the choices I made. He also pointed out that he had served in Yobe state and had survived the one year, I could do it too. Since the old man was adamant on not helping me out of my dilemma, I did what most youths did, I went to the internet to find someone who could help me pull strings to aid my redeployment since I didn’t have the connections and ‘long legs’ todo it myself. In my mind, anywhere else would do and this young man I found had a reputation online for getting this done. Long story short, I lost some money. Accepting my fate, I went to camp. From Ibadan to Abuja to Yobe, longest journey I had ever taken and I’m sure it felt worse because it was a place I didn’t want to go. I could already see and feel the difference between the ways of life of northerners and southerners while en route the camp. On arrival at the camp, we settled in, got sworn in and then orientation started. This was when I began to really understand why the NYSC had become a ’necessary evil’ in Nigeria today.

The objectives of the scheme were taught in the orientation camp and while some of those objectives found fulfilment in the camp, I decided that at the end of my service year, I would take a forensic audit of how the objectives compared to what was attainable in the physical structure.

The first of fifteen objectives being: “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” is definitely being achieved. Although not everybody who partakes in the scheme can boast of being a patriot and loyalist to the country Nigeria, under the canopy of the scheme, youths are taught and if need be, forced to undertake these values especially at work in their various places of primary assignments (PPA). The second objective is: “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” is not one of the objectives that have been achieved. Nigerian youths definitely get the chance to learn about national achievements, social and cultural improvement but as to whether or not this increases the moral tone is quite debatable. However, considering the behaviour of most people, who even at a point were youths and passed through the scheme, more has to be done to raise the moral tone of Nigerian youths. And the next objective: “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” is a fairly successful one in that some youths voluntarily stay back in their states of service even after service.

• NYSC: Thinking forward

Objective number eight goes thus: “To develop a sense of corporate existence and common destiny of the people of Nigeria”. Although this objective can be said to have been achieved, in my opinion, if the suggestion after the seventh objective is applied, it would go a long way in driving home this eight objective.  The ninth objective is: “The equitable distribution of members of the service corps and the effective utilisation of their skills in area of national needs” is being very well achieved. Corp members cover up for a lot of shortages in the Nigerian employment service. When there is a need for skilled work force, there are corps members. Objective 13: “That the Nigerian youths are encouraged to eschew religious intolerance by accommodating religious differences” is a goal the NYSC achieves really well.  You are camped with people with different religious beliefs and thus learn to accommodate their religious standpoints.

The penultimate objective: “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” probably need not be an objective these days.  Because career employment opportunities are few and far between, youths already do not have a choice but to seek career employments all-round the country.” The 15th and last objective: “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” is currently really not feasible in view of the lack of jobs. Employers cannot be induced by anything to give unavailable jobs even when the applicants are ex corps members and are sufficiently qualified.” From my interactions, many people have described the NYSC as a waste of time, their argument being, why serve a country that wouldn’t provide sufficient opportunities for a job after service? However, a personal comparison of the objectives of the NYSC scheme with what has been achieved in recent years shows that although there are rooms for improvement, the NYSC really does achieve most of its objectives and the unachieved ones are mostly due to external factors.  That being said, long live the NYSC and God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

• Ademidun is a graduate of English from the University of Ilorin, Kwara State.