The NYSC scheme needs some reforms for continued relevance
The progressive decay in most institutions of state is worrying. The latest to come into view is the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme. Introduced in 1973 as a vehicle for national integration following the civil war, NYSC has surely contributed a lot to national harmony and development. But the scheme has also been bedevilled by a host of challenges that grossly limit its impact, reduce its appeal, and undercut the ennobling idea of national service. It is therefore little surprise that not a few Nigerians continue to question the scheme’s existence.
It is against this background that the bill sponsored by Awaji-Inombek Abiante, which has passed through second reading at the House of Representatives, becomes worthy of attention. In the explanatory memorandum, the lawmaker listed the various reasons why the NYSC should be scrapped. Most of those reasons border on institutional dysfunction. But the ultimate argument is that the Nigerian system would seem to have come to that point where it no longer needs a scheme like the NYSC to teach and inculcate national unity. We consider the bill very drastic in its intention.
Whatever may be its challenges, the NYSC remains one of the few national institutions that has strained to abide by its original objective. It has served, with varying levels of success, as a veritable agency of national integration. It has taken young Nigerian graduates to states far away from their places of origin. It has given some of them opportunities for employment and social integration in distant locations. It has also helped less privileged states of quality manpower that they needed to advance the cause of national development especially in the areas of primary healthcare delivery and education.
Unfortunately, in recent years, there has been a gradual erosion of the operational effectiveness of the scheme and the overall attention to the welfare of corps members in many states. Some of these young citizens have found themselves being rejected in their places of primary posting. Some states have exploited the labour of the corps members without making any provisions for their welfare in terms of accommodation, transport and logistics. In times of national upheaval, (and we have had quite a number recently), many corps members have been at the receiving end of violent attacks and outright homicide. Corps members sent on electoral assignments, to internally displaced peoples (IDP) camps as well as others deployed to help with medical emergencies have found themselves exposed to dangers.
In terms of the general administration of the programme itself, the scheme has been a mixed experience from state to state. Sometimes provisions are inadequate in NYSC camps while there have been reported delays in the payment of the allowances of corps members. Also, the general demand for corps members seems to have declined in recent years as the areas of need such as education and primary health have received scanty attention in most states. The nationwide report is one of under-utilisation of corps members or their treatment as unwanted free additions to already bulging manpower pools. There has therefore been a consensus among the elite that the time has come to review and perhaps reform the NYSC scheme.
While no one can deny the institutional decay of the scheme, the question remains of whether to reform or replace it with something more suited to the current state of the nation. If the scheme were to be reformed, it would have to be on need-based so that states and corporate organisations are given scope to demand NYSC members with specific disciplines.
