As a post-civil war initiative, the one-year mandatory National Youth Service scheme of the Gowon military administration, no doubt had noble objectives when it came on stream in 1973, amongst these were the need to forge national Integration through playing up of cultural ethos and values that unite us as a people. The scheme is currently 52 years and deserves to be reviewed and reevaluated to validate continuous relevance in the light of the emerging social -economic realities across the country.
While we are waiting for that to be done, the Minister of Education Olatunji Alausa has come out with what he considers an expedient recommendation that the mandatory National programme be extended from one year to two years.
The minister also called for the expansion of the Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development Training Programme content for corps members to make participating youth to be more relevant to the emerging economy at the end of the national service scheme.
The primary goal of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme is to promote national unity and development by mobilizing and grooming Nigerian youths for national service as the anthem will say, “under the rain and in the sun/ With dedication and selflessness/ Nigeria is ours , Nigeria we serve”. It aimed at inculcating discipline, self-reliance and patriotism in young graduates while also fostering a sense of collective responsibility and common destiny among them.
The founding fathers of the scheme had hoped that it will Promote National Unity and Integration by encouraging youths to work and live in different parts of the country, exposing them to diverse cultures and helping them to develop a sense of national identity. All too sadly we can safely say today that these noble goals have been deflated and defeated by pervasive insecurity and weak economic institutions that have turned participating youths into vulnerable army of cheap labour to be exploited under the cover of mandatory national service. While this is going on, members of the ruling class are plundering the common wealth and making forlorn the hope of a great future for Nigeria. The scheme was also conceived to instill discipline and the spirit of self-reliance in young graduates by requiring them to participate in community development projects and other development activities and initiative. The current reality shows that majority of the participating youths are already despondent and frustrated at the trend of ongoing The young graduates no longer have compelling reasons or inspired motivation to serve their fatherland in the face of the politics of opportunism which has failed to present a convincing path of hope or abiding faith in the Nigerian dream or philosophy of State.
Fifty two years on, we have a discouraging experience that the envisioned spirit of National Consciousness and Patriotism has waned instead of being entrenched as part of our national ethos. The scheme was set up to help develop a sense of national consciousness and patriotism in youths by exposing them to the challenges and opportunities of national development.
Corps members were also expected to contribute to the acceleration and growth of the national economy by applying their skills and knowledge in their places of primary assignments. Sad to report that the venture of the scheme into Agricultural development for food security was not sustained. And so today, the NYSC can’t produce the food the participating youths consume during the three weeks orientation exercise.
There is still a preponderance of resort to food contractors. Even the uniforms for the scheme are supplied by contractors. Many are therefore not convinced that the scheme has been contributing to national economic development. Beyond the mini clinics run during orientation exercises by participating nurses and medical doctors, 52 years down the line, we are yet to point at operational NYSC clinics anywhere in the country. The result is that serving medical doctors are open to exploitation as healthcare institutions rely on the scheme as ready source of cheap labour. At the end of the day, there is little or no incentive for the employers of labour to retain the services of these young graduates because the scheme has become a ready source of supply of the trained professionals who are ever so poorly remunerated. The participating youths are meant to endure the frustration arising from the exploitation on the consolation that it is just for one year. The plan to make it a two-year program will therefore be tantamount to prescribing a double dose of frustration, which can result in depression.
The scheme also set out to provide opportunities for youths to acquire practical skills and experiences that can be used to enhance their employability and contribute to the national economy. This sounded noble in principles but has failed to be translated into practical reality by the operators of the scheme. Today, graduates are forced by prevailing circumstances to serve in brothels, filling stations and even night clubs .Beyond polemics and the tendency to pander to sloganeering, it remains a profound truth that any policy, no matter how lofty is only as impactful as its level of implementation. The vision of NYSC were indeed noble and far-reaching but the poor level of implementation has earned it an apt aphorism “Now Your Sufferings Commence.”
In spite of the degeneracy that has taken place in the nation’s security , the operators of the scheme are yet to fashion out a life assurance policy for participating members. In the face of this, the areas of exposure to vicious and virulent violence now includes election monitoring, supervision and service in communities under the control of insurgents and bandits. Before now, the scheme which was aimed at ensuring that resources and opportunities are equitably distributed among different parts of the country by assigning corps members to places of primary assignment in states other than their places of origin was used to bridge the education gap between sections of the country. That has however become very lopsided in application as graduates from the south are posted to the North whereas those from that part of the country are hardly ever available to be made to serve in the South. The envisioned goal of national integration has therefore been long defeated.
The minister’s recommendation is seen as being out of tune with reality just the same way that his predecessor in office pursued the policy of 18 years for candidates who apply for entry into tertiary institutions. He therefore should be told in very clear terms that his recommendation is out of tune with the prevailing social economic realities in the country . Because of our culture of unstable academic calendar, many students spend eight years in pursuit of a four year degree program. Some have spent as long as twelve years in pursuit of certificates in Medicine and Surgery as a result of ASUU strikes and accreditation challenges. Expecting these same people to spend additional two years on a mandatory national service will show us as a nation patently and scandalously insensitive to the yeaning, desires and aspirations of our youths. For now, let’s concentrate on how the one year NYSC program can be truly impactful in line with the noble and lofty aspirations of the founding fathers. Let’s not forget the wisdom in the popular saying that it is not necessarily how far, in terms of duration but how well, in terms of measurable tangible impact. One year NYSC, for now, is enough nightmare that should not be prolonged through whatever argument or illusionary presentation.
