BY JIDE AYOBOLU
The Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC),
Brigadier General Shuaibu Ibrahim has said the monthly allowance of corp
members has been increased to N33,000. Ibrahim revealed this while
addressing corps members during a working visit to the NYSC secretariat
in Bauchi State. He said the increase is in line with the new minimum
wage approved by the federal government. According to a statement
released on NYSC’s official Facebook page, Ibrahim said provisions for
the new allowance have been made in the 2020 budget and “payment would
commence as soon as funds are released by the appropriate
authorities”. The statement added: “_IBRAHIM EXPLAINED THAT CONTRARY
TO THE VARIOUS AMOUNTS BEING CIRCULATED ON THE SOCIAL MEDIA, THE SUM OF
THIRTY-THREE THOUSAND NAIRA HAD BEEN APPROVED AS THE NEW RATE._ _“HE
ADVISED THE CORPS MEMBERS TO ALWAYS BE SECURITY CONSCIOUS JUST AS HE
WARNED AGAINST RUMOUR-MONGERING AND NEGATIVE USAGE OF THE SOCIAL MEDIA._
_“HE ADMONISHED THEM TO AVOID UNAUTHORIZED JOURNEYS AND WHEN
AUTHORISED TO TRAVEL, NOT TO DO SO AT NIGHT BECAUSE OF THE INHERENT
DANGER.”_ _IN SEPTEMBER, IBRAHIM HAD HINTED THAT THE MONTHLY ALLOWANCE
OF CORPS MEMBERS WOULD BE INCREASED “IMMEDIATELY THE FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT STARTS THE PAYMENT OF THE NEW MINIMUM WAGE”_.
The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) is an organization set up by the
Nigerian government to involve the country’s graduates in the
development of the country. There is no military conscription in
Nigeria, but since 1973 graduates of universities and later polytechnics
have been required to take part in the National Youth Service Corps
program for one year.
“Corp” members are posted to cities far from their city of origin. They
are expected to mix with people of other tribes, social and family
backgrounds, to learn the culture of the indigenes in the place they are
posted to. This action is aimed at bringing about unity in the country
and to help youths appreciate other ethnic groups. There is an
“orientation” period of approximately three weeks spent in a
military-controlled boot “camp” away from family and friends. There is
also a “passing out ceremony” at the end of the year and primary
assignment followed by one month of vacation.
As a developing country, Nigeria is further plagued by the problems
attendant upon a condition of underdevelopment, namely; poverty; mass
illiteracy, acute shortage of high skilled manpower (coupled with most
uneven distribution of the skilled people that are available); woefully
inadequate socioeconomic infrastructural facilities; housing; Water and
sewage facilities, road, healthcare services, and effective
communication system. Faced with these almost intractable problems,
which were further compounded by the burden of reconstruction after the
civil war, the government and people of Nigeria set for the country,
fresh goals, and objectives aimed at establishing Nigeria as:
•A united, strong and self-reliant nation
• A great and dynamic economy
•A land of bright and full opportunities for all citizens
•The government and people of Nigeria are not aware that sound and
patriotic leadership is a precondition for the rapid social and economic
development of the country. As a nation, Nigeria has been less fortunate
in the kind of leadership that emerge to govern the affairs of the
country in the period immediately after independence, a leadership whose
achievements notwithstanding, was none the less ill-prepared. and
generally not properly motivated to tackle the problems of socioeconomic
under development, in the interest of the country as a whole.
•There is no gainsaying the fact that the future of any country
depends on the youths. The youths of Nigeria acknowledge this fact and
have consistently laid claim to the nation’s leadership.
•While one may give credence to the saying that leaders are born, not
made, one must also concede to the fact that leadership in a modem
society requires a certain degree of preparation and orientation before
the assumption of that role.
•The universities and other institutions of higher learning are
normally expected to be training ground for future leaders, except that,
as we are all aware, these institutions are first and foremost committed
to the advancement of learning and knowledge, training of people for
good citizenship. Little wonder that the products of these institutions
have been accused of being too elitist in their outlook, of not
identifying with the plight of common man, and of inability to
appreciate the predicament of the vast majority of our people who live
in the rural areas.
• It was the need to look beyond the immediate present and to think of
the future leadership of the country that necessitated the mobilization
of certain categories of our youths through the National Youth Service
Corps Scheme. This was done with a view to giving them the proper
guidance and orientation relevant to the needs of the country. The
National Youth Service Corps Decree No. 24 which has now been repealed
and replaced by Decree 51 of 16th June 1993, was then formally
promulgated.
•The purpose of the scheme is primarily to inculcate in Nigerian
Youths the spirit of selfless service to the community, and to emphasize
the spirit of oneness and brotherhood of all Nigerians, irrespective of
cultural or social background. The history of our country since
independence has clearly indicated the need for unity amongst all our
people and demonstrated the fact that no cultural or geographical entity
can exist in isolation.
Nigerian Graduates are ineligible for employment till they have
completed the mandatory one year service, Graduates who are exempted
from the service include those above the age of thirty (30) and those
with a physical disability, therefore completing the service year
entitles one to employment. During the service year, Corps members have
the opportunity of learning of the cultures of other people an
opportunity many Nigerians never get in their lifetime. The program has
also helped in creating entry-level jobs for much Nigerian youth. An
NYSC forum dedicated to the NYSC members was built to bridge the gap
amongst members serving across Nigeria and also an avenue for corpers to
share job information and career resources as well as getting loans from
the National Directorate Of Employment.
The objectives of the National Youth Service Corps Scheme are clearly
spelt out in Decree No.51 of 16th June 1993 as follows 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. 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 To
develop in the Nigerian youths the attitudes of mind, acquired through
shared experience and suitable training. which will make them more
amenable to mobilization in the national interest To enable Nigerian
youths acquire the spirit of self-reliance by encouraging them to
develop skills for self-employment To contribute to the accelerated
growth of the national economy To develop common ties among the Nigerian
youths and promote national unity and integration To remove prejudices,
eliminate ignorance and confirm at first hand the many similarities
among Nigerians of all ethnic groups. To develop a sense of corporate
existence and the common destiny of the people of Nigeria. The equitable
distribution of members of the service corps and the effective
utilization of their skills in area of national needs That as far as
possible, youths are assigned to jobs in States other than their States
of origin That such group of youths assigned to work together is as
representative of Nigeria as far as possible That the Nigerian youths
are exposed to the modes of living of the people in different parts of
Nigeria That the Nigerian youths are encouraged to eschew religious
intolerance by accommodating religious differences That members of the
service corps are encouraged to seek at the end of their one-year
national service, career employment all over Nigeria, thus promoting the
free movement of labour That employers are induced partly through their
experience with members of the service corps to employ more readily and
on a permanent basis, qualified Nigerians, irrespective of their States
of origin
The program has been met with serious criticism by a large portion of
the country. The NYSC members have complained of being underpaid, paid
late or not paid at all. Several youths carrying out the NYSC program
have been killed in the regions where they were sent due to religious
violence, ethnic violence or political violence.
However, the increment the pay package of corp member is a major
achievement of the present administration.