Let’s transform the NYSC scheme

When former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon created the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme, he was focused on the biggest problem in Nigeria at the time – cultural integration after a terrible civil war that divided the country across ethnic lines. While the problems of ethnicity and tribal divides may not have abated completely in Nigeria, I think there are other issues of grave national importance that the NYSC scheme can resolve, while still trying to continuously integrate the varying cultures and tribes of our country. I for one from the South-South took advantage of the NYSC to find a bride from the North-Central part of the country, and my story is quite common across Nigeria, so NYSC has made a significant impact in that regard.

The challenge however is that in every country in the world where there is a mandatory national service for the youth, it is focused at solving a burning national issue. If you fast-forward from Nigeria of the mid-1970s to Nigeria of today, you will see that perhaps one big issue is our weakening economy, due to its mono-product status, and the need to create an agrarian revolution that will put food in the bellies of Nigerians, reduce our dependence on imported food, save our foreign exchange, revive our drooping economy and inspire us to higher levels of innovation and the much needed industrial and technological revolution we desire. The truth be said, we do need to deal with our stomach-infrastructure issues – but in a more sustainable manner than doling out handouts to the masses. We need to teach our young Nigerians how to farm and focus on agriculture during that year of national service – this way we will truly be dealing with a big national problem while simultaneously building the cultural bridges across the country – it is like “2” for the price of “1”.

The argument for a more productive NYSC is also hinged on the reality that we face currently. Organizations (public and private) are not as enthusiastic as they were in the past about giving opportunities to corps members to work. The retention rates, post-NYSC, are dwindling. A lot of corps members are forced to become teachers (creating a bigger problem of disgruntled square pegs in round holes in our schools) and for those who get placements, many spend the entire service year as errand-boys and girls, learning very little and contributing very little to the organizations or to our economy. In countries like Israel the year of military service is very strategic – in Nigeria, we need to create a year of farming service that will not only teach our young graduates the skills for self-sufficiency that they will use in future, but will also bolster the food supply all year round, in the present.

My recommendation is simple: the NYSC should partner with the various state governments and institutions in each state to create large commercial farm plantations run by the NYSC, farmed by corps members and jointly owned by the NYSC/state governments and interested private sector agriculture investors. This could support the conversations that are being touted in many circles on the issue of Commodity Exchanges and a more sophisticated approach to the storage, pricing and distribution of agricultural commodities in Nigeria. The NYSC farms could therefore serve as a major input into this larger strategic framework and significantly transform Nigeria’s agricultural potential. So, maybe rather than spend a year of National Service, six months will be appropriate. The commercial plantations will provide accommodation and meals for the corps members and give them more than enough time for cultural integration than the 2-3 weeks of orientation camp and once in a week community development day is able to achieve.

I remember sharing this idea with a prospective corps member almost a decade ago just when she was about to begin Youth Service. She thought it was a good idea but commented that it would be better if it started after her own time – she didn’t particularly like the idea of living on a farm. I think that well-run Youth Service programmes should generally challenge the young graduates to do things outside their comfort zone. I won’t be surprised that many young people will not find my proposed farming scheme attractive (just the same way that some people may not find reserve military training attractive either). I wouldn’t be surprised if that lady today wishes she knew more about agriculture today as many of my friends and family members do these days – maybe if we had a farming NYSC, we would have branched off to some serious farming by now.

The current structure of the NYSC scheme in all honesty is not a very productive endeavour for Nigeria compared to this alternative that I am suggesting. With this new framework, we still get all the benefits of the existing scheme (cultural integration), and significantly eliminate some of the drawbacks (idle, underemployed, exploited and under-nourished corps members). We also get some new awesome benefits – food security via the increased food supply and better empowered (and fed) young Nigerians to drive the much needed agrarian, industrial and technology revolutions that our society is seriously in need of.

Omagbitse Barrow