NANFeatures/Vol.11/No.53/2017 (March 30)
NYSC: The merits and demerits
By Mercy Ugbogu, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) was established in 1973 to promote unity of the country and to enable the youth to appreciate values among other ethnic groups.
With the scheme, young graduates are directed to serve in other parts of the country different from their places of their origin for one year.
According to the objectives of the scheme, youths are expected, during the service year, to share experiences and have suitable trainings that will make them more engaging in national issues.
They are as well expected to develop positive attitudes and receive discipline, endurance and evolve a tradition of industry patriotism and loyalty to the service of the nation always.
During the service year, which exempts people living with disability and persons who are above 30 years in age, corps members have the opportunity of learning the cultures of other people.
Similarly, a forum dedicated to the NYSC members is built to bridge the gap among members serving across Nigeria which serves an avenue for them to share job information and career resources.
For more relevance, Mr Iboro Unanaowo, a civil servant, who served in the scheme and claimed to be one of the best serving corps members in his time, pleaded with the Federal Government to actualise the dream of the scheme.
“I served in the Ministry of Finance in 1998 and to the glory of God I was picked as one of the best in my time with immediate employment.
“Exposing corps members from different areas to mix with people they did not know before actually should be instrument of unity.
“But it occurs to me these days that corps members are rather choosing for themselves where to go to and this is the reason why government finds it difficult to actualise the dream of the scheme,’’ he said.
In spite of these laudable objectives, critics of the scheme have, on many occasions, called for the cancellation of the scheme, insisting that some of the objectives are just existing in theory.
They cite critical issues involving allowances for possible inter-ethnic marriages while in service among others as some of the policies of the scheme that might have worked when it began almost 44 years ago but which has somewhat been overlooked presently.
Unanaowo, therefore, advised the government to go back to the drawing board and bring back alive the comfort of the scheme.
“I feel within me, government should not have waited to be told or advised on what to do as regard welfares of any corps member in any parts of this country.
“Being in service does not mean you should pass through agony in life. No, I totally disagree; accommodation should be made ready ever before they arrive in their various places of primary assignments.
“When I look at a situation where a youth corps member pays for accommodation during his or service year, it is painful to me,’’ he said.
Corroborating Unanaowo’s view points, Mr Emmanuel Ekaenim, a Batch `B’ corps member currently serving in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), said he was passing through some difficult situation of accommodation and had to squad with his friend.
Ekaenim explained that many of the corps members were going through hardship in the area of accommodation and rejection of corps members by establishments in FCT.
Similarly, a corps member, Mr Endee Simeon, who is presently serving in Nasarawa, called on Federal Government to address security challenges to corps members in some parts of the country.
“With the rising insecurity in various parts of the country, especially the Boko Haram insurgency in the north eastern part of the country, the government should guarantee the safety of corps members posted to serve in the areas.
“Also, with the rising cases of ritual killings in the south eastern part of the country, NYSC programme is no longer a safe practice in some of these areas.
“I am appealing to government at all levels to put security measures on ground to protect corps members serving in any part of the federation,’’ he said.
Observers also note that in recent times, corps members have also complained about their stipends payments.
They note that corps members have complained of insufficient stipends or allowances or late payments of such stipends; the challenge they claim has somewhat made the scheme unattractive.
According to them, a scheme that exclude graduating part-time students or students studying through open and distance learning mode, needs to be thoroughly examined to determine its relevance.
Mrs Onwuama Nnenna, a resident of FCT, therefore, called on the Federal Government to work towards achieving the core objectives of the service.
“I think national development and the unity of this country is the original idea behind the establishment of the scheme by then military administration of General Yakubu Gowon in 1973.
“It is high time, we as a nation, considered the importance of this scheme as it will serve as a means of uniting the nation irrespective of ethnic and religion bias,’’ he said.(NANFeatures)
**If used, please credit the writer as well as News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)