2nd May, 2013
By Tosin Adu
Few years after the 1973 inauguration of the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, as one of the post-civil war strategies to achieve national reconciliation, reintegration and development through the activities of corps members who are posted to regions of the country other than theirs, the Federal Government introduced the yearly presidential merit award to some deserving corps members who distinguished themselves in service to their fatherland. This wonderful gesture by the presidency over the years has added to the spark and vigour with which corps members had tried to outsmart and outdo one another in service rendering and carrying out different developmental projects which have direct bearing and impact on communities especially those in the rural areas. This has been a yearly event and has never been interrupted since its inception except for the time of political instability as suffered during the IBB’s regime following the annulment of 12 June presidential election, when the exercise was suspended for some years.
Upon the assumption of office by the present government, some laudable adjustments were made to the NYSC scheme, and more incentives were added to include a federal scholarship of post graduate studies up to PhD level as well as automatic employment and some monetary rewards. This was seen as a great move towards youth empowerment and a step in the right direction towards instilling hard work in Nigerian youths and also a strategy to give credence to the NYSC scheme, but this euphoria seems short-lived as the nominees for 2011/2012 batch have neither been short-listed nor awarded anything and no reason has been given for the delay.
I learnt this event which is conducted by the president of the federal republic Nigeria was supposed to hold in December, 2012 which signals the end of NYSC service year, which is usually batch C of a previous year and batches A and B of the current year. Presently, another service year is counting as batch A of 2012 has already passed out.
This topic is worth discussing and if possible let the concerned authorities know that issues like this that affect the behaviour and attitude of Nigerian youths shouldn’t be toyed with because of the multiplier effects( positive or negative alike) it could have on the country. The National Youth Service Corps has over the years played a very significant role in national development especially in the rural communities where basic infrastructures are lacking. These youths who work with the aim that their country may recognize them by awards or recommendation should not be let down by the lackadaisical attitude of some of our leaders.
•Adu wrote from Lagos.