NYSC - national delay or service?

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At one point in my trip, the bus was told to slow down for workers ahead. We got close and it turned out to be NYSC people, clearing the road and packing sand into ditches (NYSC means National Youth Service Corps. It is a year long program that every graduate has to partake in, in Nigeria. Without the certificate that it has been completed, 99% of companies and 100% of the governmental ministries will NOT employ you). Some of them were a bit excited but I was not thrilled, honestly. These ones were the lucky ones, the ones that didn't get posted to danger zones like Port Harcourt (which, from the last I knew, was declared (or about to be declared) a state of emergency), Zamfara (a truly Islamic state), or the Eastern remotest villages where the rudimentary comforts of life that we have taken for granted are not available (like pipe - born water, and electricity). Come to think of it, every state has far - to - reach obscure villages that lack these things, and the danger of being posted to one of these places is not exciting at all. Then there is the travelling that you have to do before the program is over. Every year many Corpers (thats what the partakers are called) lose their lives travelling between home and station. The state of our roads and our transportation system is not something to write home about at all.
Granted, there has been a lot of improvement in the past years, but it seems the changes have reached a low and are not forthcoming anymore. Anyone that can, please help the powers that be see that it only makes sense to repair all those damaged roads, to reduce the death rates in the country.

Now to my question. Is NYSC really necessary? Recently the NYSC board announced that they were going to send only a quota of the graduates from all the schools in the country on National Duty, as they could not provide for the enormous number, with their current budget and allowance. Taking just 10% of all the graduates was a sure disaster. The new President came to the 90% of the graduates' rescue by ordering the board to send all and not part, of them on National Duty. But now the number of graduates that re due to serve is far more than the spaces available. Personally I think it should be scrapped.

What do you think?

Comments

Kafo said…
i think it has merit
and scrapping it adds a burden to the current public school edcuatinal system

yes ppl. bribed their way thru it and never actually serve but still some do

the death of the youth can not be blamed on service

our parents served
i think it is the whole national pride BS thing
i mean if not for NYSC most of us will just be born breaded and buttered in the west we would NEVER visit other parts of the country

i think it deepens our understanding of the nation
September 16, 2007 at 11:10 PM
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