Members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) will no longer be posted to unsafe states due to the worsening state of security in the country, the Federal Government of Nigeria has said.
This was disclosed by the Minister of Youth Jamila Ibrahim who said the scheme has made several efforts to ensure the security of NYSC members, which includes posting them to states deemed safe.
There has been a rise in the kidnap of corps members in some parts of the country, which has raised questions about the sustainability of the programme.
“As an immediate intervention of the government and the NYSC as an agency, we have actually stopped posting corps members to the very unsafe states,” Jamila said while speaking during a Television interview on Sunday.
“We have been doing it. We have been doing it in the past. There are states we have not been posting corps members to to ensure their safety,” the minister added.
She explained that the safety of NYSC members requires the collaboration of several government agencies in the country.
“When it comes to security matters, it is a multi-sectoral approach. So, it is not the NYSC alone and the ministry that is involved. We are working with security outlets to ensure corps members are safe,” Minister Jamila stressed.
“We are also working on group transportation strategies for them to ensure that they are transported to and from camps safely and to their destinations.”
She also added that the Nigerian federal government was working on making some reforms in the scheme to reflect the current economic realities, particularly in the area of remuneration.
“When it comes to remuneration, we are looking at the holistic funding of the NYSC. You are all aware that we have announced a reform of the NYSC scheme itself. We want the scheme to go beyond being a social programme of the government.”
“The reforms will actually transform the NYSC into a revenue-generating agency and prepare corps members for the job market…” The minister said.
What is the NYSC Scheme?
The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) is a compulsory one-year national service, which was set up during Nigeria’s military regime.
It was created in a bid to reconstruct, reconcile and rebuild the country after the Nigerian Civil War.
The unfortunate antecedents in national history gave impetus to the establishment of the National Youth Service Corps by decree No.24 of 22nd May 1973.
The decree states that the NYSC was established “with a view to the proper encouragement and development of common ties among the youths of Nigeria and the promotion of national unity”.