Reasons Why Nigerians want NYSC to be scrapped

The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) was
initiated in 1973 to facilitate national integration
and bridge cultural and ethnic gaps in a
heterogeneous country like Nigeria.
The objectives of the one-year compulsory
program for Nigerian graduates are clearly spelt
out in Decree No.51 of 16th June 1993.

The programme is an avenue for Nigerians to
serve their fatherland in whatever part of the
country they are posted to.
Over the years, the scheme has been abused and
it appears it is no longer achieving its objectives.
Many Nigerians have been complaining about the
scheme and have been calling for it to be
scrapped.
Here are reasons Nigerians want NYSC to be
scrapped.
1. It has outlived its usefulness
The major aim of NYSC is to foster national unity
by posting Nigerian graduates to places other
than their home states. National unity has been
given as an argument for retaining the
programme. Many are of the opinion that the
scheme has outlived its usefulness and failed to
achieve its objectives to a large extent. The
scheme is now 43 years old but can Nigeria really
boast of being united?

1. It has outlived its usefulness

The major aim of NYSC is to foster national unity
by posting Nigerian graduates to places other
than their home states. National unity has been
given as an argument for retaining the
programme. Many are of the opinion that the
scheme has outlived its usefulness and failed to
achieve its objectives to a large extent. The
scheme is now 43 years old but can Nigeria really
boast of being united?

2. Turning corps members to corpse
There have been calls for the scrapping of the
scheme, following the death of some corps
members in some parts of the country. Some
corps members have lost their lives to election
violence, others to health challenges. Recently,
three Nigerian graduates, Ukeme Monday
deployed to Zamfara, Elechi Chinyerom deployed
to Bayelsa and Oladepo Ifedolapo deployed to
Kano passed away during the course of their 3-
week orientation program. Ukeme was said to
have passed away on Thursday, December 1
, after suffering from Diarrhea. Ifedolapo lost her
life due to negligence after they thought she was
faking sickness to avoid parade.
After studying hard and going through the
challenges of Nigerian universities for years, you
now end up losing your life in the course of
serving your fatherland.

3. Waste of time

For some the one year spent serving the country
is a waste of time. After graduating from school,
you have to wait for NYSC. If you are unlucky,
your school will keep you at home for months
before your name appears on the NYSC list. After
service, you also end up in the labour market like
every other person, so what is the essence?
4. Punishment of innocent graduates
NYSC is often referred to as ‘now your suffering
continues’ by people who have gone through the
programme. For some youths, the compulsory one
year service is nothing but punishment. Some
have complained about their orientation camps,
no water, dirty environment, and the food is
nothing to write home about. After orientation
camp, you might be unlucky to be posted to a
community without electricity and good water and
you have to endure this for one year.

5. Opportunity to employ cheap labour
Presently, the federal government pays corps
members N19,800 as allowance every month. To
an average Nigerian, that money is worthless
especially in this time when recession is biting
harder. Corps members are paid peanuts by their
employers. Some pay as low as N10,000. An
establishment which hires a graduate and pays
him or her N100,000 will hire a corps member and
pay N10,000. Is the corps member not a graduate
too?
6. It is no longer safe
There is rising insecurity in various parts of d
country and there are no security measures in
place. Innocent graduates are deployed to these
communities and some end up losing their lives.
Some have lost their lives to election violence. In
March, Okonta Samuel , who was serving in Rivers
state died while helping to facilitate the election
re-run.
If the government thinks the NYSC program is
safe enough, why don't they send their children to
an unknown land to serve their country? Instead,
they always end up serving in the Federal Capital
Territory, Abuja or close to home. If they can't
send their children to unknown regions, why
should other people’s children be forced to do
so?

7. It is a waste of fund and resources
Some are of the opinion that the government can
no longer afford the scheme anymore. To them,
the money spent on NYSC orientation camp every
year by the federal government is a waste. For
some, this money is enough to train Nigerian
graduates and equip them with skills that can
help them become self-employed.
Has NYSC done more harm than good? Are you
one of those who want the scheme to be
scrapped, what are your reasons?