Commemorating the anniversary of the National Youths Service Corp (NYSC), which will on May 22nd turn 50 years of establishment, a Lecturer at the Department of Linguistic, Kaduna State University (KASU), Professor Ahmad Babajo said the scheme has to an extent achieved its fundamentals of achievement in spite of numerous challenges.
Babajo state this in Kaduna at the scheme’s 50th anniversary lectures titled: “NYSC: Five Decades of Fostering National Unity and Development”.
He noted that numerous problems and challenges had tend to militate against progress of the NYSC, but had in spite that, unite the diverse communities of Nigeria.
The KASU don identified some of the scheme’s challenges to include inadequate monitoring of corps members and perennial under-or non-utilization of their skills.
He also identified discriminatory employment practices in some states where ‘non-indigene’ corps members are not absorbed into work force upon completion of their service and the almost certain prospect of unemployment that participants have to face after the completion of the service year.
Babajo also identified corruption as one major, often ignored problem of the scheme, lamenting that it has soiled the image of the NYSC directorate.
“In NYSC official history, the huge corruption uncovered in the early 1980s after a probe, led to the imprisonment of the military head of the scheme and its chief accountant,” he disclosed.
“For an organisation created to instill discipline in youth and train them towards national redemption, this uncovering of massive corruption was an indication that whatever was being preached was not shared by those saddled with preaching it,” he lamented.
The Don however said that despite all the scheme’s shortcomings, it had enabled Nigerian youth to explore variety of life opportunities beyond their native states and fostered sense of community and worth through interactions with experienced people.
“It provided the youth a unique opportunity of understanding the nature of diversity in Nigeria. Without such opportunity, the youth may not appreciate the socio-cultural realities in the contemporary existence in the country.
“Several young men and women met in the course of NYSC scheme and established a lifelong relationship through intermarriage”, he said
He recommended that the scheme should be strengthened in many ways possible, such as making it to be project oriented and introducing skill acquisition.
Earlier, the Kaduna Coordinator of NYSC, Mr. Hassan Taura explained that the 50th anniversary lecture is one of the programmes lined-up to commemorate the NYSC golden jubilee celebration, as approved by the Inter-Ministerial Committee on the celebration of NYSC 50th anniversary.
Taura recalled that the NYSC 50th celebration which commenced on May 8 with the unity walk across the 36 states and Abuja, would be rounded-off on May 22nd.
The Coordinator noted that the scheme, established in 1973, by Gen. Yakubu Gowon through Decree Number 24 of 22nd May 1973, was aimed at reconciliation, reconstruction and rehabilitation of Nigeria from the devastation of three years of the civil war.
“We are here today to celebrate 50 years of the existence of this National unifying scheme which has made lots of progress in meeting the realities of modern times and has achieved a lot in unifying our great Nation.”
