An educationist, Dr Elechi Owhoeke, has described calls for the scrapping or suspension of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) as unnecessary, stressing that the scheme remains a vital tool for national integration and youth development.
Owhoeke, is a lecturer in the Department of Industrial Chemistry and Petrochemical Technology, University of Port Harcourt, Robert State.
According to him, scrapping the scheme would worsen the spate of insecurity being experienced in the country by leaving several graduates without productive engagement after completing their studies.
“If graduates are not engaged after leaving the walls of higher institutions, they may be tempted to engage in activities that could threaten public peace and security,” he stated.
Dr. Owhoeke commended the NYSC skill acquisition and entrepreuniship development programme which he noted, had in over ten years produced thousands of entrepreneurs who took so many Nigerians off the streets of labour market, thus, contributing immensely to the nation’s GDP.
The don, however, called for reforms to strengthen the scheme, recommending that government should redesign it to provide employment opportunities for corps members after the one-year national service by signing into law the bill on NYSC trust fund, which will further the course of the skill acquisition programme by providing a pool of funds that will expand the net of corps members that are provided with grants and credit facilities to fund their businesses.
Beside this, Owhoeke noted that the scheme has continued to provide critical manpower support to states and local government councils in key sectors, which cannot be wished away.
He listed efforts in health, education, agriculture, environmental sanitation and nutrition, among areas where corps members have contributed significantly to service delivery.
The educationist restated that the NYSC has achieved one of its core objectives by exposing young Nigerians to diverse cultures and lifestyles, thereby fostering national unity.
“The NYSC is a win-win for the country. Scrapping it or suspending it will not be in the nation’s best interest at all,” he said.
He recalled that the NYSC was established in May 1973 by the military administration of Gen. Yakubu Gowon to promote national unity, reconciliation and integration in the aftermath of the Nigerian civil war.
He stated that the scheme “remains as relevant as it was 53 years ago”, urging the federal government to strengthen the scheme through improved national security, rather than nurse the idea to suspend or scrap the scheme, which he noted, remains a critical national asset that also promoted thousands of inter-tribal marriages across the nation.
