The Federal Government has said it will
not succumb to agitations from some quarters to scrap the National Youth
Service Corps scheme.
The Minister of Youth Development and
Sports, Mr. Solomon Dalong, in Lagos on Tuesday said the NYSC had come
to stay, adding that its merits outweighed its disadvantages.
Dalong said this during an inspection
tour of the Lagos State NYSC orientation camp in the Iyana Ipaya area of
the state on Tuesday.
He pointed out that the scheme had not
only enhanced the socio-cultural and ethnic integration in the country
but had also promoted national unity.
He said, “We cannot dismiss the gains of
the NYSC scheme in integrating Nigeria; I will stand firmly for the
sustenance of the system, to continue in its capacity-building of
Nigeria citizens because, it is an indispensable aspect of diversifying
our culture.”
While pledging the Federal Government’s
continued support for the scheme, the minister said that plan was in
place to train interested graduates in skills acquisition after the
mandatory one-year service.
He said such graduates would be provided
with a start-up capital at the end of the training, which according to
him would indirectly stimulate interest in education.
“Apart from the basic orientation
programme, the NYSC scheme should also move into including professional
and enterprising programmes to support and motivate those who would not
want to embrace public services in the country.
“After the mandatory one-year service,
the Federal Government is planning an extension, to professionally train
interested corps members in skill acquisition, enterprising and
professional programmes.
“Corps members with keen interest would
be retained and some financial token given to them as start-up capital
in furtherance of their skill. This is because due to our research, we
find out that people abandon school due to uncertainty of the future.
Hence, we believe this would help reduce the unemployed graduate ratio
and curtail pressure on white-collar job as a means to win the war
against poverty.”
Dalong expressed satisfaction at the
state of the Lagos NYSC orientation camp, and thanked the Lagos State
government for its support for the scheme.
The minister, however, noted that inadequate facilities at the NYSC orientation camp was one of the challenges of the scheme.
He said, “Nigeria did not plan to have
the number of graduates in this present dispensation. If we had planned
effectively, the concept of NYSC camping would have started with a
permanent and effective structure.
“The visionaries of the scheme did not
anticipate the lifespan of the scheme after the Civil War; the
implementation of the scheme was a strategy to mobilise and integrate
Nigerians together, hence, the huge number of graduates each year has
put much pressure on the facilities, calling for constant renovation and
upgrading,” the minister said.
Responding, the Director General of
NYSC, Brig. Gen. Johnson Bamidele Olawumi, expressed gratitude to the
minister for his visit and promised that his administration would do its
best to uplift the NYSC scheme towards the economic growth and
development of the country.
PUNCH.
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