THERE ARE STRONG
MURMURS FOR THE NYSC TO BE DONE AWAY WITH.
The National Youth Service
Corps was established in 1973.
General Yakubu Gowon in an
attempt to work on the 3R principles (Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and
Reconciliation) created the NYSC scheme under Decree no. 24. This was three
years after the civil war.
REASON WHY THE NYSC SCHEME WAS
CREATED
According
to the Decree No.51 of June 16, 1993, the NYSC scheme was set up to achieve
these objectives:-
a. To inculcate discipline in
Nigerian youths by instilling in them a tradition of industry at work, and, of
patriotic and loyal service to Nigeria in any situation they may find themselves;
b. To raise the moral tone of the Nigerian youths by giving them the opportunity to learn about higher ideals of national achievement, social and cultural improvement;
c. To develop in the Nigerian youths the attitudes of mind, acquired through shared experience and suitable training, which will make them more amenable to mobilisation in the national interest;
d. To enable Nigerian youths acquire the spirit of self reliance by encouraging them to develop skills for self employment;
e. To contribute to the accelerated growth of the national economy;
f. To develop common ties among the Nigerian youths and promote national unity and integration;
g. To remove prejudices, eliminate ignorance and confirm at first hand the many similarities among Nigerians of all ethnic groups; and
h. To develop a sense of corporate existence and common destiny of the people of Nigeria.
b. To raise the moral tone of the Nigerian youths by giving them the opportunity to learn about higher ideals of national achievement, social and cultural improvement;
c. To develop in the Nigerian youths the attitudes of mind, acquired through shared experience and suitable training, which will make them more amenable to mobilisation in the national interest;
d. To enable Nigerian youths acquire the spirit of self reliance by encouraging them to develop skills for self employment;
e. To contribute to the accelerated growth of the national economy;
f. To develop common ties among the Nigerian youths and promote national unity and integration;
g. To remove prejudices, eliminate ignorance and confirm at first hand the many similarities among Nigerians of all ethnic groups; and
h. To develop a sense of corporate existence and common destiny of the people of Nigeria.
44
years after
its establishment, there have been strong murmurs for the NYSCto
be scrapped especially from young Nigerians. It is unlikely that the one-year
mandatory service would be scrapped anytime soon as the
debate still rages on.
For those who want the NYSC to
be gone, here are five reasons why they feel it has no place in today’s
Nigeria.
SEE REASONS WHY NIGERIANS WANT
NYSC SCRAPPED
1. The
NYSC has done nothing to accelerate the growth of the Nigerian economy or
contributed much to it. The economy is still reeling from a recession and
despite decades of its existence, there is no concrete data that NYSC
contributes to the economy in whatever shape or form.
2. The ghost of Biafra
still haunts Nigeria. The unfortunate rise of Nnamdi Kanu is a strong example
that the NYSC has failed in its objective to unite Nigerians. Boko Haram,
Niger-Delta militants and Arewa youths clearly show that Nigeria is far from
united. Yes, inter-tribal marriages exist but tribal prejudices are still very
strong in Nigeria.
3. Young Nigerians don’t need
the NYSC to be self-reliant. Successive governments have ignored the youth by
neglecting the educational system. Young Nigerians have learnt to be
self-reliant a long time ago without the help of the government or NYSC.
4. A governmental scheme
can’t teach morals. This is up to the job of families. The family is the
smallest but strongest social group in a society. To fix morals in young
people, you have to fix Nigerian families. This is another clear cut example of
the government putting the cart before the horse. You learn morals when you are
a child and not as a young adult.
5. The NYSC scheme has
been used to create more teaching jobs. The unfortunate thing about this is
that young Nigerians who have been exposed to sub-standard teaching over the
years impart their half-baked learnings to children in dire need of a solid
education. This is a case of the blind leading the blind.
pending
one year in mandatory service is outdated.
While our counterparts abroad
start to do positive things from an early age, the Nigerian youth is bugged
down by a horrible educational system and a mandatory one-year service to a
country that has done nothing for them.
What
do you think about the NYSC Programme – Do you want it Scrapped or Not?
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