The National Youth Service Corp (NYSC), a scheme initiated by the General Yakubu Gowon administration in 22 May 1973 celebrates her golden jubilee. This celebration came with mixed reactions from Nigerians, as many pointed out the impact of the scheme in the development of the country, however others call for scrapping of the scheme as it has not met its objectives and the expectations of Nigerians. Also, as part of the celebration, Nigerians took to social media to show off pictures and videos of their time in the NYSC, recreating memories and having further discussion on possible ways the scheme can be sustained to best contribute to the nation, and the life and career development of the present and prospective youth corp members. The NYSC was created 50 years ago to be an avenue for the reconciliation, reconstruction, and rebuilding of the nation after the civil war. It was established based on decree No. 24 which stated that the scheme was created “with a view to the proper encouragement and development of common ties among the youths of Nigeria and the promotion of national unity.
Mr. Dandyson Harry Dandyson, the Executive Director of Centre for Human Rights, Health, Ethnic Harmony and Livelihood Development (CHHELD) was a guest on Real talk radio program on Wave (91.7) Fm with OAPs Marvin Ukwuoma and Chioma Nkwonta to discuss the impacts of the NYSC scheme. Mr. Dandyson stated that the core purpose of the scheme has been eroded, as the objectives have not been met in our contemporary time, as Nigerians are further divided across various ethnic lines, and the scheme hasn’t met the objectives of integrating Nigerians to live in unity. He expressed dissatisfaction with corpers residing only in the corpers lodge in their respective host communities, he called for corpers to be distributed round their host communities to interact and relate with other Nigerians residing in these communities. Mr. Dandyson pointed out that the major reason Nigerian youths enrol for the NYSC is because of its compulsory nature in order to be gainfully employed in government parastatals and some organizations in Nigeria. He pointed out the poor facilities and infrastructure in the NYSC camps poses as a health risk to campers. These poor facilities includes bad toilets, unhygienic kitchens, congested rooms and dirty surroundings.
Mr. Dandyson called for an increase in the remuneration of youth corp members, he pointed out that the government should pay corpers wages deserving for graduates working for government agencies. With the NYSC having over 400,000 corp members, he said that the manpower of the NYSC should be maximized to contribute to the economy of the country. He stated that the Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) program of the NYSC is not beneficial to the corp members as some of the skills learned are not relevant to the present realities of the country. He called on the government and the Director General of the NYSC to invest into agricultural and digital skills, and give corp members the opportunity to choose skills that can be a major source of livelihood and also contribute to the economy.
The real talk radio program gave callers the opportunity to call in and express their views and concerns. The callers on the radio program called for the scrap of the scheme, because of the insecurity and poverty in the country. Some callers said the resources channeled towards the NYSC be used to address other problems in the country. As regards the budget of the NYSC annually, Mr. Dandyson pointed out that the resources budgeted for the scheme are been laundered, thus the poor facilities and infrastructures in the NYSC camps. He called for a forensic audit of the NYSC to handle the problem of corruption.
He recommended to the NYSC to put an end to corpers lodges and encourage and provide accommodation of corpers in the host communities, that way it can contribute to national integration and unity. He enconcourage the management of the NYSC to call for a stakeholders meeting to formulate policies, develop programs that can fit in to the current realities of the country.