BUHARI, PLEASE SAVE NYSC FROM CRASHING By David Fidelis

Historically,the National Youth Service Corps ( NYSC ) scheme, was born by former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon on 22nd May, 1973 by Decree 24 to foster or promote unity and develop ethnic ties among youth from the various states of the federation irrespective of their background.
Under the programme, corps members are posted to states other than their states so that they can live with people of different backgrounds, cultures and peacefully co- exist with such people thereby promoting brotherliness in Nigeria.
Undeniably, the 21 days orientation part of the programme makes it thrilling, intriguing, hectically sport- like, funfair, enjoyable and inspiring for participating graduates from all parts of the country.
Impeccably, NYSC has been promoting inter – tribal marriage whereby an Igbo man comes together courtesy of NYSC, where a Yoruba lady gets married to an Hausa man, where a Calabar man marries an Ijaw woman, where Bekwarra man marries a Tiv woman etc.
Permit me to give kudos to Buhari for considering and including the corps members in the National Health Insurance Scheme ( NHIS). This is a great and right step in a right direction because it has actually given hope to Nigerians that the present government isn’t taking NYSC with kid gloves.
Be as it may, there have been divergent interests for the scheme among young graduates. While some see it as an avenue to explore other people’s culture and tradition outside theirs, others see it as an opportunity to recreate, catch fun and make some savings for future use. In fact, the desperation of some young graduates concerning NYSC makes one wonder what is actually in it for them. There have been instances where some generate fake call-up letters while some others falsify their age just to be enlisted in the scheme.
Today, the NYSC has taken a new shape from what was obtained two and three decades ago. For instance, there were adequate security for corps members serving there father’s land but today, the reverse is the case as these Innocent souls sometimes are killed by rogues like animals. There have been cases where corps members were slaughtered, maimed, dehumanised and amputated. Oh! goodness. For instance, the crises in most parts of the country including Benue, Taraba, Platue, Borno, Adamawa e.t.c has made the scheme scarring and uninteresting.
On Saturday, the 6th of August 2018 alone, Nine Youth Corps members serving in Taraba State, drowned in the River Mayo – Selbe, in the Gashaka Local Government Area of the state. It was reported that the corps members were on a picnic when the incident happened. What is the faith of the parents of those dead corps members who seemingly laboured in vain?
Sincerely, the scheme has actually deviated from the original purpose and intention it was meant to serve. It is now almost of little or no relevance to the economic aspirations of the country. Of late, the interests of corps members are not adequately protected, as they were was in the past. Many public/private business enterprises that used to patronize the services of corps members have either closed business or downsized due to insecurity and general state of the nation’s economy.
It is an understatement to state that the facilities at the orientation are sometimes inadequate for the population this scheme caters for each year; the meal or food given to this corps members can best be described as or let me say , it’s a prototype of food given to prisoners; some of their bathrooms are disgusting, irritating, uninviting with a malodorous and unhygienic smell; some of their toilets is a good paradigm of those in the Police college in Lagos before it was renovated; some of the camps environment are dusty, weedy, dirty, unkept and in a sorry case.
In the state where am currently serving, it will baffle you to know that prospective corps members sleep in darkness as if they are in hell. We line up in queue for more than one hour in order to get a bucket of water as there are no adequate water supply.
We wine and dine with bed burg as if we are animals. Is this what the scheme is meant for? Is the scheme not going moribund? Hence, BUHARI, PLEASE SAVE NYSC FROM CRASHING.
Also, worthy of note of this NYSC scheme shenanigans is the actual work the corpers get to do. Observation shows that graduates are being posted to workplaces that don’t relate to their degrees at all! For example, you can imaging someone who studied Mass Communication Engineering working at a building construction company. please, is that related? Some corps members are posted to places where they do nothing than filing paper and running errands for older staff. How will that improve their horizons and practical skills?
Serving in the rural areas is now a taboo and aberration as corps members all want to serve in the metropolis in order to enjoy social amenities like electricity, good road, good network amongst others. Perhaps, this is why some corps members who have the financial capacity, in order to secure juicy ‘primary places of assignment’, many now use personal influence such as letters from well connected ‘powerful’ individuals to secure favourable postings. Isn’t sad to note that the crop of corps members that are to reconstruct and rebuild the nation’s economy are idle with unutilized potentials?
It is not an understatement to state that the scheme needs to be overhaul or reviewed. Like most of our national projects, the scheme is fast declining in value and usefulness. It is no longer shocking that the scheme is broke with funds barely sufficient to cater for the young graduates presented for national youth service.
Regrettably, with the allowance of N19, 500 corps members find it extremely difficult to eke-out a living because the money can’t feed any person for two weeks in the present day Nigeria where a bag of rice is sold ranging from N17,000 – N20,000 respectively. What will N19,500 afford to buy in the present day Nigeria where price of Petrol has been caterpillar to N150 per litre? What a shame for a country that is regarded as ‘giant of Africa!!’
The Federal government has a great and herculean role to play in order to return NYSC to what it was ab- intio created for by ensuring that adequate security, peace and tranquility returns to states that seems unsecured for corps members.
Haaaaaaaaa!!, why will you shy away from rural area? Corps members must not see the programme to share from the national cake but an opportunity for them to engage in selfless service geared towards contributing their own quota to the building of Nigeria.
How can a countryWith 923,768km landmass and over 80% of arable land, with less than 40% of it under cultivation, tropical climate, lots of rainfall and aquatic splendor, find it difficult to feed it’s citizens and corps members at the orientation camp? This is time to shun mono-ecomy as adequate attention must be given to agriculture not only to feed corps members and Nigerians but but also generated employment as well as earned enough foreign exchange for development of each region.
Again,this is the time to move away from a mono-economy. It is high time the government of Nigeria looked at the strength the nation has in her pool of labour, most especially in the manpower being released every year into the National Youth Corps Scheme.
All the 36 states in Nigeria encompassing FCT has comparative advantage in specific areas of agriculture. The capacity of the various states to boost food production can be enhanced by the National Youth Service Corps with adequate structure and remuneration for corps members. The power, vigor, dynamism and adventurism of youth, the strength of the youth could be directed towards boosting the agricultureal sector to address the twin issues of food security and unemployment
NYSC should be strengthened by introducing more skills acquisition training for corps members during and after the orientation camp and providing all necessary facilities and equipment legitimately needed to be self independent and reliant. This will make corps members to depend less on government after serving their father’s land for one year.
Comrade Kenny Ogunkorode while we were conversing few months ago, opines that the allowance should be paid at once so that graduates can invest with such fund.
Sincerely, the allowance of corps members must be revisited and reviewed considering the fact that N19,800 can’t afford to feed prospective corps members for a month, let alone, transporting them to their Personal Places of Assignment ( PPA ).
Also, Corps members must serve bearing in mind the NYSC anthem which goes thus :

Youth Obey the Clarion Call

Let us Lift our Nation High

Inside the Sun or in the Rain

With Dedication and Selflessness

Nigeria is Ours, Nigeria we Serve.
On a final note, President BUHARI, PLEASE, SAVE NYSC FROM CRASHING by putting up policies in place that will encourage and make the scheme more attractive.
Fidelis David studied Mass Communication at Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo formally known as Ondo State Polytechnic, Owo and currently serving in one of the North Central States.