G-BOX: EXTENSION OF NYSC TO 18 MONTHS, Oluwagbemiga Oyeneye Speaks......

1.    Please kindly tell us about yourself Sir.  

My name is Oluwagbemiga Damilare Oyeneye. I hail from Odedah in Ogun State. I was born and brought up in Jos, Plateau State where I had both my Primary and Secondary School Educations. I attended the University of Jos where I first earned in 2005 a Diploma in Law Certificate. From the same institution I earned a B.A Degree in History and International studies, graduating as the Best Student of the department in 2012. I am presently serving as a Youth Corp in Okigwe Local Government, Imo State.

1.    How has been your experience as a National Youth Service Corps member?

The experience as an NYSC Member in all honesty has been a thrilling one; occasionally marred by ambivalent feelings though. It has basically been for me a time of more self discovery and exposure. I have had the opportunity of getting exposed to different kinds of people with different kinds of orientations from across the federation.

    Should NYSC be scrapped as proposed by some people? 

During my time as an undergraduate and especially in my final year, I had been a staunch advocate of the NYSC scheme being totally scrapped because I, like many others then believed that the scheme is a complete waste of a whole year and a waste of national resources. The idea of the scheme was great at its inception. Traditionally, it has been an important vehicle of national integration. But recent events such as killing of Corp Members in some parts of the country, the inability to effectively channel the skills and competencies of Corp Members towards national development, and poor monitoring of the scheme to name but a few reasons has placed the relevancy and continuity of the scheme into serious question. However, I strongly believe that if these issues are addressed and dealt with, then the scheme would be desirable for all and beneficial to the nation.

Should it be extended to 18months as recently proposed by Gov. Babangida Aliyu of Niger State? 

Gov. Aliyu’s call for an extension of the scheme was in his words meant “to give more room for the Corp Members to be exposed to more training.” I am therefore inclined to ask: what training? Corp members are not exposed to any form of tangible training during the service year. Hence such calls for an extension of the scheme only demonstrate a lack of proper knowledge of the operations of the scheme. I would say we need only to first think of how to meaningfully engage the youth within the already existing 12 months of service year before ever thinking of an extension.

1  In your own opinion, what do you think is the problem with the scheme and what is the way forward? 
      There are myriads of problems but notable among them are; the loose monitoring of the scheme. Many Corp Members are influencing postings to their own preferred state or Place of Primary Assignment, thereby defeating the purpose of the scheme. Still, many others do not even report to their Place of Primary Assignment yet they are on the Federal Pay Roll. Another major problem of the scheme is the lack of visionary leadership and the resultant consequence of failing to see a need to reform the scheme to accommodate modern day exigencies of the nation. Again, I talk of the improper utilization of youths who have usable skills for national development due to the crude methods of deployment. 
           A lot of the Nigerian youths serving are not deployed to sectors that would allow for the proper utilizations of their skills and competencies. For instance, an accountant posted to a planning department in a Local Government Secretariat, or a Historian in an accounting department. There are many such cases across the federation. Closely associated with the above is the idea of deploying Corp Members to teach in schools. Majority of the Corp Members that are being deployed to teach in schools across the nation are not trained as teachers. I asked a friend how she teaches her student. She responded: “I just read out the textbook to them because I am asked to take a course that I know nothing about.” Again, some of these Youth Corp teachers are incompetent. Hence the circle of our degraded educational state tends to be self perpetuating. And we must not forget the immortal words of the great renaissance thinker Erasmus; “The best Hope of a Nation Lies in the proper education of its youths.”

The way forward is simply to have a redefined scheme, one that aims at addressing some of the modern day challenges we face as a nation. A friend of mine had suggested that the scheme should take the form of an internship program where Corp Members would have the option to work in their area of study or discipline. Imagine the concerted efforts of promising Nigerian youths in different sectors of the economy in a whole year; the results would be massive. Again if the scheme is to maintain its traditional purpose of national integration, then the safety of Corp Members across the federation must be guaranteed and this time without compromising standards.

1.    What is your advice for the Nigerian youths?

Well, my advice for Nigerian youths is that we must learn to define our own realities. What works for others might not necessarily work for us.

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