According to Sowore, a former presidential candidate, "the scheme has outlived its usefulness - if it was ever useful".
"#ScrapNYSC! Or at best make @officialnyscng voluntary! The scheme has outlived its usefulness if it was ever useful. scrap the damn scheme! #BuhariMustGo #RevolutionNow." Sowore wrote on his verified Twitter handle on Thursday.
#ScrapNYSC! Or at best make @officialnyscng voluntary! The scheme has outlived its usefulness if it was ever useful. scrap the damn scheme! #BuhariMustGo #RevolutionNow
— Omoyele Sowore (@YeleSowore) June 3, 2021
It would be recalled that Awaji Inombek Abiante, a member of the House of Representatives recently sponsored a bill proposing that the NYSC be scrapped.
The NYSC scheme was established in 1973 after the Nigerian Civil War, designed to promote Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Reconciliation.
The scheme was also set up to bridge ethnic and religious divisions in the country and to foster the spirit of nationalism.
It was mandatory at the initial stage for all graduates of tertiary institutions, but the age was later pegged at 30 years, while holders of National Certificate in Education (NCE) were excluded.
In spite the objectives of the NYSC, many Nigerians think it is high time that the scheme was scrapped, arguing that it has lost its relevance.
No doubt, Abiante’s suggestion to scrap the scheme is reinforcing that argument - that the NYSC’s objectives ought to be reviewed or updated to fit the current realities of modern Nigeria.
Abiante, in his explanatory memorandum of the proposal, gave reasons the NYSC should be scrapped.
He noted that incessant killings due to insecurity and frequent rejection of corps members by some public and private agencies as some of the reasons.
According to the lawmaker, “The bill seeks to repeal Section 315(5) (a) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, (as amended) on the following grounds:
“Incessant killings of innocent corps members in some parts of the country due to banditry, religious extremism, and ethnic violence.
“Public and private agencies/departments are no longer recruiting able and qualified Nigerian youths.
“They rely heavily on the availability of corps members who are not being well remunerated and get discarded with impunity at the end of their service year, without any hope of being gainfully employed.
“Due to insecurity across the country, the National Youth Service Corps management now gives consideration to posting corps members to their geopolitical zone.’’
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