Unemployment and the need for slide change from the usual NYSC practice

By Bongko Maureen Nanna

The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), which was established in 1973 by decree No. 24 according to its founder, General Yakubu Gowan, was meant to serve as a unifying factor after the civil war of 1967, and to serve as a means to concretize the Federal government agenda of reconciliation, rehabilitation and reconstruction for national integration.

The Civil War in (1967-1970) had a devastating impact on the country, and it left Nigeria deeply divided along ethnic and regional lines, as such, the initiative was seen as a way to help heal the wounds of the war and to promote national unity.

The scheme was also targeted at enabling Nigerian youths to acquire the spirit of self-reliance by encouraging them to develop skills for self-employment and to contribute to the accelerated growth of the national economy, with Discipline, Integrity, Dignity of Labour, Social Justice, Religious Tolerance, Self-reliance and Patriotism as the scheme’s core values.

There is no doubt that since its establishment, the scheme has achieved some of the purpose for which it was primarily created.

However, over the years since inception, much still need to be done in order to attain the overall purpose of its establishment.

Nigerian youths graduates year-in-year-out, with many of them ending up frustrated in the labour market after serving the country. It is no longer news that at some points, there were reported cases of some establishments turning down request for service from NYSC members. If not for the constant appeals from the NYSC officials and top government officials to change the narratives, many would be facing challenges of not being admitted to serve the mandatory one year.

It is not doubtful that the current less than 40 thousand Naira monthly allowances for the NYSC members is no longer sustainable, considering the growing inflation in the country. This has not created the opportunity for any NYSC member to save little from the grossly inadequate allowance for the establishment of any business to become self reliant.

With the growing army of unemployed or underemployed youth, a lot of social vices ranging from Yahoo Yahoo, kidnappings, theft, and banditry has been associated with youth redundancy, hence the need for the Nigerian government to shift a little bit from the usual posting of youth on such National service to schools, public and private offices where they would not be retained after the one year mandatory service. What we now see, is frustration while looking for job in the labour market. Of what benefit it is for some of these youth to be left stranded with no meaningful source of livelihood even after serving in various places of their assignments?

For the federal government to reduce the number of unemployed youth, there is the need for the establishment of two or three skills acquisition centers across each senatorial district in the country. Such centers have to be equipped with modern facilities where each youth going for National Youth Service would be posted to learn the skill of his or her own choice. There should be starter packs with at least one million Naira as take off grant for each youth after passing out, including complete working tools to help them establish their own businesses. That’s how to grow a nation, we shouldn’t depend on government job opportunity, private sector should be encouraged and supported by government policies.

The scheme should be put under the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) to be strictly supervised by ministry of Labour and Productivity with strick monitoring from the anti corruption agencies in the country to avoid misappropriation and diversion of funds.

Available record indicated that, in China, there is China Youth Development Foundation or China Youth Development Fund (CYDF). It is a national non-profit and non-governmental organization founded in March 1989 in Beijing. The CYDF works to develop Chinese youth through education, science and technology, culture, physical education, health, and environmental protection.

It is high time Nigeria understands that the traditional practice where NYSC members are posted to schools, public and private offices has outlived its usefulness, since it’s no longer sustaining their livelihoods, thereby living them at the mercy of the labour market where the job slots have become a hot cake.

Bongko Maureen Nanna writes in from Bauchi