A lot of people have argued that the National Youth Service Corp, as a scheme in Nigeria, has outlived it's necessity. In other words, the scheme no longer has an evident use. At first, at inception of the NYSC, Nigeria had just put an end to the civil war the war had extinguished a lot of people and had perhaps sown a seed of hate among some Nigerians towards some others. And so to foster unity, the scheme was introduced by the leader of the nation at the time, Yakubu Gowon, I think.
For those that either aren't Nigerian or have no idea what the NYSC is, let me explain, briefly: After graduation from the university — Nigerian or otherwise — every Nigerian youth (assuming every graduate is a youth, which is quite an assumption, to be honest) is required to make himself/herself available for a compulsory year of National service where they'd be sent to an alien state, probably one that they've never been in. Here, they'd be exposed to various activities including an orientation camp, community development service and most importantly, at least as far as I'm concerned, a year of work, any kind, could be teaching, could be farming, could be whatever (it's teaching for most people,) So that's basically what the NYSC is.
I also used to be of the opinion that NYSC should be scrapped, but my opinion was from the outside, looking in. Now that I'm in, I think it's a very good scheme and I think it's purpose cannot be defeated. It's purpose is unification and as I explained in the prequel to this post, here, you meet, especially at camp, all sorts of people. Nigeria is a great country seasoned with fantastically excellent cultures as well as individuals. The scheme unites people, it still does and it probably will not stop.
Fine, the NYSC at times defines gross mismanagement. Fine, there are more people coming out of school than the scheme, maybe even the government can handle, but still, still there's really no way one can isolate unification and 1. taking in and 2. understanding other people, other cultures, from the NYSC.
That's all I have to say, for now.
Till next time,, Keep dreaming!!
2 comments:
This sounds like a great Program, Bomi! To which countries are the young men and women usually sent? We currently have a volunteer program in place that is somewhat similar; young people who are just out of school can opt to work at a public institution (like a kindergarten, a nursing home, etc.) for a year before going on to college. I would not mind if this program became compulsory, to be honest, because it would teach the kids to give back after having received so much from society (like free schooling).
Here, people are sent to different states after they graduate. They become more or less indigent in the state for that one year period. It's also a way to give back to society, especially through the community development service. It really is a great program. Thanks for stopping by, Stephanie.
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