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The Future of NYSC -By Julius Ogunro
Newsdiaryonline Fri Aug 19,2011
The three weeks I spent in the NYSC Orientation camp in Argungu,
Kebbi State in 2002 were some of the best weeks of my life. A
Lagos ‘boy’ who schooled in Delta, I used to think that the sun
rose and set in the South. So you can understand my surprise at
the wonderful things and people I discovered during the NYSC
Orientation and later as a year-long resident of Birnin Kebbi,
the capital of Kebbi. It was my first practical training on the
plurality, vastness and beauty of this country; and it provided
me too with the opportunity to shed some of the rather dangerous
stereotypes I had acquired over the years.
But none of it would have happened if I hadn’t been part of the
NYSC scheme. Chances are that my worldview would have still
remained limited and some of the great friendships of my life
wouldn’t have happened. So whenever the NYSC issue comes up, I
am always emotional about it. And lately there have been no
shortages of conversations about what to do with the NYSC, to
make it deliver on its original mandate, and much more.
These debates were triggered off by the killing of five youth
corps members in Bauchi and Kano States during the post-election
violence that erupted in parts of the country. The fact that
youth corps members had played a vital role in the success of
the 2011 general elections which were adjudged to be the fairest
since the return of democracy in 1999 did not in any way shield
them from attacks.
The death of the corps members naturally caused furor and drove
home the urgency for reforming the NIYSC. But like most Nigerian
debates, everyone has an opinion on what the best strategies
should be and what should constitute the key ingredients of the
reforms. From the
heated conversation, however, one could glean some common
concerns. These include:
How successful has the scheme been in delivering on its primary
mandate of serving as a platform for national integration? More
than forty years after the civil war that led to its institution
and thirty-eight years after its setting up, is the scheme still
relevant? Does the scheme serve any practical purpose in
preparing the corps members to face modern day challenges like
unemployment? Is it possible to refocus the scheme on current
national challenges, while still delivering on its original
mandate?
As the debate was raging, a fresh batch of university and
polytechnic graduates were being called-up by the NYSC, just as
the new administration was taking shape with the appointment of
ministers. It thus seemed as if the questions raised in the
debate were being directly posed to the new Minister of Youth
Development, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, in whose portfolio the
scheme falls. Incidentally, he assumed duty at the Ministry when
the newly deployed corps members were just about rounding off
their one-month orientation exercise. In keeping with President
Goodluck Jonathan’s charge to hit the ground running, the
Minister hit the road to visit some camps to see things for
himself and personally give his gospel of transformation to the
corps members. The Minister visited the camps in Nasarawa State
and Kubwa in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
Mallam Adullahi was not oblivious of the conversations going on
about the NYSC. In fact, just before the trip to the Orientation
camps, the minister had attended the first meeting of a brain
trust, made up of top experts and professionals on youth
development, which he set up to help him deliver on
his mandate. Mallam believes that one person or
institution cannot claim to have all the answers and that these
days there are more answers out of government than in it.
At the meeting, the issue of the NYSC came up again and
again, and while there was no consensus on one grand approach,
it was generally agreed that the scheme is in need of reforms.
It was this gospel of reforms the minister took to the NYSC
camps. In Lafia, he told the corps members that refocusing of
the scheme will go more than just ensuring the security of corps
members. “Security is very important issue but the kind of
reforms we plan must be able to bring huge returns on the
investment not only to the participating youth corps members but
also to Nigeria as a country,” he stated. The thinking of the
minister was that while security is the current concern driving
the call for the restructuring of the NYSC, any reform of the
scheme will need to go deeper than just ensuring the safety of
corps members if it is to provide quality returns on the huge
funds invested in it yearly. The minister hinted on the
direction the planned reform would go when he stated that “we
think that national integration is no longer enough
justification for the NYSC. We have to also start to think of
the role that the scheme can play in the President’s agenda for
national transformation."
The NYSC was founded about 38 years ago after a bloody civil war
had left the country polarized. General Yakubu Gowon, the then
head-of-state, initiated the scheme as one of the strategies to
achieve national reconciliation and heal the wounds of the war.
Over the years, the NYSC has fulfilled this vision by producing
broad-minded Nigerians who have become more knowledgeable about
their country and familiar with other cultures and people, apart
from their own. This role has no doubt deepened integration and
in spite of our contentious politics, produced Nigerian citizens
with a pan Nigerian outlook.
Gen. Gowon deserves kudos for making national integration one of
the key goals of the NYSC, but the challenges facing the
country, especially the youth today are deeper and more complex
than integrating the different segments of our society. The
number one concern of young Nigerians today is lack of jobs.
Among graduates, this is usually the result of low capacity, or
not having the right kind of training that the market requires.
It has got so bad that if a reputable company or government
agency should advertise 10 vacancies, tens of thousands of
applicants are likely to turn up. No nation can make real
progress when its most important resource, its youthful
population, are out of work.
Resolving this low capacity puzzle will take a multi-sectoral
approach, with the Ministry of Education playing the lead role.
It may require reviewing our current curriculum to prioritize
training that will produce job creators rather than job seekers.
But that is the world as it should be. What can we do now? What
role can the NYSC play to help close the skill gap and prepare
our young graduates for a life of productivity and employment?
Should it be used as a finishing school where graduates
in Camp are provided additional training to adequately prepare
them for life after service?
These are some the questions that come up in the conversation
about what to do with the NYSC. Whatever shape the reforms will
take, one thing is sure and that is the coming makeover of the
scheme will be deep-rooted and will ensure that Nigerians and
Nigeria get real value for the huge investment in it.
Ogunro is Special Assistant on Media to the Minister of Youth
Development
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