By Chisom Winifred
In the year 1973, three years after the civil war, General Yakubu Gowon in an attempt to work on the 3R principles (Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Reconciliation) created the National Youth Service Corps NYSC scheme.
According to the Decree No.51 of June 16, 1993, the NYSC scheme was set up to achieve these objectives;
(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 mobilisation 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 prejudices, 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.
Forty-five years after its establishment, there have been strong murmurs for the NYSC to be scrapped especially from young Nigerians.
Our correspondent reached out to young Nigerians, currently serving in the scheme and others who have passed through the NYSC scheme to share their views on whether NYSC has been beneficial or it should be scrapped.
Samuel Oluwatosin, Batch ‘A’ 2018 Corp member serving in Calabar Cross River State stated that the scheme has several advantages such as the willingness to learn other languages and assimilate their way of life.
“Not for any selfish reason but for the purpose of association and learning. NYSC has given more room for inter- tribal marriage which is one of the recipes for national integration. We cannot pretend to be ignorant of this. The scheme should not be scrapped”, Oluwatosin said.
Favor Ugwu however, held a different opinion, “The only advantage of the scheme is that you get to visit and live in places where you would have never ventured into. But I feel that if this 19,800 is bundled together and given upon graduation, one can use it for a profitable business and this will reduce unemployment. It’s very unsafe for people to travel very far from home all in the name of service”.
Seyi Oluwasegun was full of praise for the scheme. He stated that the scheme has allowed him to make friends with people of different tribes and cultures. He found peace in communal living, the benefits and importance of team work and most especially impacting positively on his students.
He said, “Rather than scrap the scheme, government should look at the challenges facing the scheme such as insecurity, poor incentives and welfare of the corps members.
“Government can also try to look into restructuring the scheme for better efficiency and coordination; it can be made a skill acquisition centre for youths.
It is obvious from the reactions of current Corp members that the advantages of the NYSC scheme, overrule the disadvantages.
Some serving Corps members during their Community Development meeting
A scheme put in place to unite the people of a country ought not be scrapped, but can be reformed to meet the yawning and aspirations of potential corps members and make the Scheme more relevant to the socio-economic and cultural development of Nigeria.
The NYSC is very important to Nigeria at this point.