National Youth Service as it is called in this part of
the world is before now the dream of every Nigerian graduate. The rude and
violent breach of the relative peace and security in the Northern part of the
country by the emergence of the Boko Haram militant group has done more harm to
the aims for which the NYSC was established. The use of the word ‘relative’ was
intentional; as far as I’m concerned, the North has never been stable. It has
always been a dangerous place for the non northerners. I know this because I
have lived in the north for two decades now.
Sadly, parents now consider the posting of their wards
to the volatile northern region as tantamount to granting them a death warrant.
To be fair to the north, death warrant may be a harsh word to use here; many
parts of the north enjoy relative peace by the Nigerian standard. But when one
considers the number of corps members that have fallen victim to the senseless
and unprovoked slaughtering that took place in the north during the post
election violence and several others; be it religious or ethnic, then a posting
to the north is no doubt a death warrant.
Why was the scheme introduced in the first instance?
After the Nigerian civil war, Nigerians were largely divided along ethnic lines. The Igbo man considered the Hausa man an enemy, the Yoruba man no longer trust the Fulani man. So, in a bid to reconcile these differences, it became imperative to introduce the National Youth Service Scheme.
The NYSC was set up by a degree no 24 of 22nd
May 1973 to among other things encourage and develop common ties among Nigerian
youths with a view to promoting national unity. And to also bridge the gap in
the supply of skilled labour in relevant field to parts of the country.
Twenty years later, the degree no 24 of 22nd
May 1973 was repealed and replaced with degree no51 of 16th June
1993.
Has the scheme achieved its aim?
The unfortunate murder of some corps members in the north during the spontaneous and violent reaction to the result of the last general elections provided the needed justification for those who no longer see anything good in the scheme to intensify the call for the scraping of the scheme. They believe the scheme has achieved its objectives and argued that it has outlived its purpose and thus no longer relevant.
The argument in support of the scraping of the scheme
Those calling for the scraping of the NYSC premised their argument on some of the following;
a. The scheme was set up by the military government to foster reconciliatory moves after the war. We are now in a democratic dispensation and no longer at war, so the scheme is no longer relevant.
b. Since the program of the scheme does not include military training, as compared to similar schemes in other parts of the world (a similar scheme in Israel involves military training) it is of no relevance even in times of war.
c. One of the primary reasons that informed its creation was the inadequate man power in the country at that time. Now, the situation has changed; in fact we now have excess man power and the society is now saturated with both unemployed and unemployable graduates.
d. The increasing number of corps members sent to teach in public schools has been blamed for the alarming rate of failures witnessed in exams conducted by the various examination boards in the country.
The scheme, like any other is no doubt enmeshed in series
of problems. But the question we should be asking ourselves is whether these
problems are enough to justify the call for its scraping. How come we just
noticed that the scheme is no longer relevant? Is it because of the present
security challenges the country is facing that we now see the need to bring to
light the numerous short comings of the scheme?
I don’t believe the scheme is no longer relevant.
Neither do I accept as true the idea that it is a short term employment for the
legion of graduates tertiary institutions in the country churn out every year.
The scheme was set up 40years ago and only reviewed,
from the available information once. It was reviewed in June 1993. As a result
of this, the degree no 24 of 22nd May 1973 was replaced with degree
no51 of 16th June 1993.
Clearly, forty years is enough time for the prevailing
socio economic condition at that time to change tremendously. We now have
different problems, faced with diverse challenges. So, what we should be asking
for shouldn’t be a total scrap but a review of the scheme to meet the peculiar
challenges of the 21st century. I therefore suggest that:
- In view of the prevailing security situation in the country, corps members should be allowed to serve only in states where their safety can be guaranteed. Until the challenge of terrorism is totally subdued, and peace restored in Borno and Yobe states, corps members should not be posted to these states.
- It is silly to post engineering graduates to teach in schools while graduates of education waste in ministries and other places. To be fair to the NYSC, this is a very rare situation. My point is this; corps members should be posted to places where they would be relevant. This is one area that needed urgent review.
It is foolhardy to call for the scraping of the scheme
anytime we are faced with a challenge; instead we are supposed to look for ways
to surmount these challenges. Why have we not called for the total closure of
police posts in states like Borno, Yobe and Kano, where police men are
constantly harassed and brutally murdered? Are we saying the lives of our
gallant police men who died while protecting us are less important? Of course
the importance of law enforcement agency such as the police cannot be over
stressed, but so also is the NYSC in its own capacity.
The loss, to violence in the north, of corps members is
very painful and tragic. I sincerely sympathize with the families affected but
the truth is, it is not enough to scrap the scheme. It is very unfortunate that
some people have capitalized on this calamitous event to call for the scraping
of this lofty scheme.
I’m currently serving in Akwa Ibom state and I must
confess it has been a thrilling experience. I plan to write about my Akwa Ibom
experience in the nearest future. It would be unfair to deprive others of the
experience of national service.
-Mark Ademola Israel - Oguntuase
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