GARBA ABUBAKAR ALHASAN U15MM2002
The NYSC allowance popularly known as “alawee” is the monthly allowance paid by the federal government to all the corps members. This money is not a wage rather an allowance for the corps to take care of their needs during the one year of service. This amount is hardly enough for most of them to cater for their needs. This is the reason why most of the NYSC members, they do not want to stay on where they have being posted to, rather they have look for relocation in to their original destination, so that they can utilize what they have being given to the whole year.
NYSC programme is meant for graduated students from Universities and polytechnic who spent 4 to 5 years acquiring knowledge who have denied themselves pleasure, comfort, fun but have embraced education as the only tool that can illuminate the society from ignorance and mediocrity but have opted to be soundly educated in order for them to be able to serve their fathers land despite the stress and unpalatable educational system in Nigeria in acquiring a degree will be passing out today from the compulsory one year National Youth service corps (NYSC) programme.
The NYSC scheme was created in a bid to reconstruct, reconcile and rebuild the country after the Nigerian Civil war. The unfortunate antecedents in our national history , this gave impetus to the establishment of the National Youth Service Corps by decree No.24 of 22nd May 1973 with a view to the proper encouragement and development of common ties among the youths of Nigeria and the promotion of national unity.
The youth are the leaders of tomorrow, a tomorrow that can only be imagined by the elders of today of which they cannot be part off, their taught and imagination is channelled towards their home dream land (future). For any government to be termed serious about the development of its dear country the youth development must be a core program of such government and such Youth program as NYSC cannot be undervalued as a program that can bring the necessary change in the country in solving the problem of unemployment and fighting against terrorism in the country.
In recent time, the NYSC scheme as failed woefully to meet the expectations and necessity for the establishment of the scheme. The program needs not to be scrapped but restructured to solve some of the present challenges of the society from unemployment to terrorism. The government should transform the program into an empowerment/entrepreneurship scheme to help in solving the problem of unemployment which as gave rise to different social inequalities among its youth, which is now a headache for the government to solve. The government should also try and make the NYSC scheme an avenue to recruits young fresh graduates into the different ministries, department and agencies, providing loans for youth corps members who have the spirit of entrepreneurship in them. The purpose for which this program was set up has been lost. The NYSC is no more a platform to unite the various ethnic group in the country, instead, the perspective’s corps members now see NYSC as one year of waste of time. Government should make the program a unifying force among its youth from the different ethnic groups and religion. If the government can get it right through the NYSC scheme in using the platform to unify the youth and create employment, the government will be solving one of the pertinent issues of the society.
To my fellow colleagues, a final year students to know that you will be going to a compulsory one year service of the National Youth service corps, you have to put at the back of your mind whether there is an increment or not, you will diligently and faithfully sacrificed everything within the reach of that one year to serve your fathers land I wish you all successful graduation and welcome to the real typical society called Nigeria.
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