X-raying NYSC’s footprints in five decades

The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) recently celebrated its 50th anniversary with various activities to mark the milestone. ADETOLA BADEMOSI X-rays the scheme’s journey to fostering national unity and integration.

The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), established by Decree No. 24 of May 22, 1973, now quoted as NYSC CAP N84, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, is targeted at mobilising graduating youths annually for the compulsory national service, to address national developmental gaps.

Annually, university graduates are mobilised for a compulsory national service course and deployed to states away from their comfort zones as part of the government’s drive to foster unity in diversity.

This has been the usual practice for over five decades, with millions having served in the scheme with value addition such as skill acquisition.

Available figures obtained by the Nigerian Tribune indicate that between 1973/74 and 2022, the NYSC mobilised a total of 5,158,538 tertiary-educated Nigerian youths, out of which 2,831,338 were male and 2,327,200 female.

The Corps members are taken through a three-week orientation programme after which they are deployed in areas of primary assignment for 12 months.

 

Objectives of the scheme

As enshrined in NYSC Act CAP N84 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, the scheme is to: “inculcate discipline in Nigerian youths by instilling in them a tradition of Industry at work, and of patriotic and loyal service to the nation 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 attitudes of mind acquired through shared experience and suitable training, which will make them more amenable to mobilisation in the national interest; to develop common ties among our youths and promote national unity by ensuring that: as far as possible, youths are assigned to jobs in states other than their state of origin; each group assigned to work together, is as representative of the country as possible; the youths are exposed to the modes of living of the people in different parts of the country, with a view to removing prejudices, eliminating ignorance, and confirming firsthand the many similarities among Nigerians of all ethnic groups.”

The scheme is also to encourage members of the corps to seek at the end of their corps service career employment all over the country, thus promoting the free movement of labour; to induce employers, partly through their experience with corps members, to employ more readily qualified Nigerians, irrespective of their states of origin, and to enable our youths to acquire the spirit of self-reliance.

 

NYSC’s trajectory in five decades

In 50 years, the scheme has no doubt  fostered national unity and integration policy of deploying corps members in states other than their states of origin thus  giving corps members a broader understanding of the country, especially as they experience first-hand, the socio-cultural similarities and peculiarities of their host communities.

The Scheme’s achievements span education, healthcare delivery, community development service among others.

For instance, the policy of posting participants to states other than their own has expanded their intellectual horizon, and enabled them to live and interact with people in sociocultural contexts and settings outside their traditional comfort zones.

In terms of healthcare delivery, the scheme has helped enhance healthcare delivery, especially in rural communities, by deploying medically trained personnel. In particular, the Health Initiative for Rural Dwellers (HIRD) has been a commendable programme, with tremendous value addition to the improvement of healthcare delivery in rural communities.

The initiative also received a boost when a former First Lady of Nigeria, Mrs Aisha Buhari donated a well-equipped mobile clinic to the Scheme to enhance the success of the Corps medical team.

Similarly, the Scheme’s community development services (CDS) have proven beneficial to local communities. Corps members would annually embark on projects in line with the needs of the local communities. These range from building and/or furnishing classrooms to road rehabilitation, and medical outreaches to address peculiar ailments or diseases among others.

 

Skill acquisition, revenue generation drive

The Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) programme was introduced in 2012 as a deliberate step to complement the government’s effort to curb youth unemployment.

According to the scheme, the SAED programme is designed to equip Corps members with vocational skills while also developing their entrepreneurial capacities for self-employment and wealth creation.

“Corps members have trained in skill areas such as agro-allied; food preservation and processing; culture and tourism; cosmetology; information and communication technology; environment; beautification; construction; education; power and energy; film and photography; and automobile technology,” said the Director-General,  Brigadier General Yushau Dogara.

He said in 11 years, about two million Corps members have passed through the skills acquisition and entrepreneurship programme with 517,486 receiving training in the skill areas earlier mentioned.

“37,246 of them have established verifiable, successful, and thriving businesses.

“Construction and equipment of mega skill acquisition centres for the North East Zone in Gombe; North West Zone in Jigawa; South West in Ekiti; and North Central Zone in Keffi, Nasarawa State,” he added.

Similarly,  the NYSC established its venture initiative to serve as avenues of vocational and entrepreneurial training for Corps members in addition to meeting some of the basic needs of the scheme, such as the provision of kits for the Corps members.

The ventures include garment factories located in Anambra, Nasarawa, and Niger States, which currently produce some percentage of the kit items used by Corps members.

Others are water bottling plants and bakeries in FCT and Nasarawa State, printing press in Kaduna, and NYSC farm settlements in the FCT, Bauchi, Kebbi and Oyo States.

 

Challenges and constraints

In recent years, there have been calls for the scrapping of the scheme by stakeholders.  No doubt, the Scheme has in the last five decades made an indelible mark across all spheres, it is however without its own challenges.

A former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Prof. Attahiru Jega while delivering a lecture recently at an event to commemorate the NYSC 50th Anniversary said the scheme in the last five decades, would have been much better but for many challenges and constraints, bedevilling it.

He identified these to include; increasing enrolment amidst dwindling, the inadequacy of resources, a massive rejection of Corps members, creating under-utilisation and demoralisation among participants.

Also, he noted that the heightened and unchecked insecurity in many parts of the country has put Corps members at great risk, thus preventing deployment in certain areas, or even when deployed, creating fear and refusal to deploy.

“Many states and local governments, contrary to provisions of the law establishing NYSC, have given little, if any support to ensure an enabling environment for the sustainable growth and development of the scheme,” he added.

However, he noted that the future prospects of the NYSC would depend on addressing the identified challenges and constraints and appropriately repositioning it, consistent with global best practices.

Specifically, he stressed the need for the government to substantially increase the funding provisions for the scheme while also ensuring the security of corps members in their areas of deployment.

Alternatively,  he advised that the government,” trim down the number of participants by making the scheme voluntary, rather than mandatory, with high CGPA as prequalification for participation.

“This is a recommendation made by a technical committee for the review and reorganization of the NYSC in 2002, which I had the privilege of chairing. The Report and recommendations of that Committee may need revisiting, a new review would indeed be timely.

“The global best practices are that compulsory or mandatory national services are of a military or national defence nature. Otherwise, national service should be voluntary, with carefully defined qualifications that help to limit the number of participants for a well-structured and impactful service.”

There is no gainsaying that in spite of the identified challenges, the NYSC has continued to deliver on its lofty objectives. However, it needs to be repositioned for greater value addition to national unity, integration and development in Nigeria.