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Tag: NYSC

  • Why I wrote book on Tinubu – Kaduna Corps member

    Why I wrote book on Tinubu – Kaduna Corps member

    A member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) serving in Kaduna, Olayinka Olusuyi has written a book on the National Leader of All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, titled; ‘Our Hero Democrat’.

    The 248 page book chronicled the immense contributions of the former Lagos State Governor to Nigeria’s democracy, especially in face of fierce military dictatorship and opposition to advocacy for democratic rule.

    Presenting the book to newsmen amidst his colleagues, during their Community Development Service (CDS) meeting in Kaduna on Wednesday, Corps member Olusuyi said, though he is not a politician, as it is against NYSC rules, but he belongs to a NYSC CDS club which creates awareness on politics, economy, socio-cultural and religious issues, hence his resolve to raise awareness on the contributions of Tinubu to Nigeria’s democratic development.

    Olusuyi said, he decided to write on Tinubu for what he described as his sacrificial ideological, nationalistic theoretical, opposition activism, daring and selfless commitment to the struggle, enthronement and nurturing of the nation’s democracy, as well as his present struggle to keep Nigeria democracy in a modern shape.

    According to him, “I tilted my book, ‘Our Hero Democrat’ because Tinubu is our hero of democracy, due to his bloody sacrifice for Nigeria. Categorically, Tinubu is Nigeria’s Democrat by work, battle, sacrifice, struggle and resilient fight. I did not give him these titles, but he earned them on the political battle ground”.

    “I wonder when some people still condemn such a man who has sacrifice for this great nation. A lot of those who attack Tinubu today were nowhere to be found during the real struggle for democracy. It is unfortunate that we live in a country where people’s sacrifice for their nation is easily forgotten or never rewarded and most times victimised.

    “My question is, do Nigerians not remember the annulment of June 12 election and those who led protest that the presume winner be enthroned? Tinubu was a founding member and a kingpin in the struggle to enthrone democracy in Nigeria.

    “The present government have tried to come to power times, but failed during election. Whether we like it or not, the truth can never be hidden. Asiwaju branded President Muhammadu Buhari. Asiwaju was almost crushed to death when he became a target during the Abacha led military government”, he said.

    Reacting to question on whether the book was politically motivated, the Corps member said, he has never met Tinubu or any of his close associates, not to talk of being contracted to write the book.

    He explained that, “Tinubu is a Nigerian who has contributed to Nigeria’s democracy Immensely. And I believe in whoever believes in Nigeria. He did not start promoting democracy when it was easy, he did it when others were scared of being arrested during military oppression.

  • Graduates to govt: NYSC no longer relevant

    Graduates to govt: NYSC no longer relevant

    Graduates of tertiary institutions have called for the scrapping of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), following a leaked memo urging schools’ managements to reduce the number of participants in the scheme from 2,314 to 894 per school, because of “tight budget”. Prospective Corps members no longer see the need to keep the scheme. They, therefore, urge the government to scrap it. FRANKLIN ONWUBIKO reports.

    Graduates of tertiary institutions going for the National Youth Service will no longer be automatically mobilised for the scheme by the Directorate of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC). According to a new policy, prospective Corps members will need to go through voting before they can participate in the one-year compulsory service.

    No thanks to the wind of recession blowing across the country. This directive has re-echoed the call for the scrapping of the scheme, which was created by the Federal Government 43 years ago to foster inter-ethnic relationships.

    CAMPUSLIFE learnt that the management of the NYSC, a few days ago, secretly wrote to higher institutions to slash the number of prospective Corps members, who are supposed to be mobilised for Batch B 2016, citing “tight budgetary allocation” to the scheme.

    When the rumour filtered in, not many believed it until NYSC’s memo to the Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK) in Awka, Anambra State, leaked. It was learnt that many tertiary institutions got the memo to reduce the number of graduates to be mobilised for the scheme from 2,314 to 894.

    To work with the new quota, CAMPUSLIFE gathered that the management of UNIZIK summoned Heads of Departments and introduced a balloting system to enable them pick graduates across faculties. The development sparked anger on the campus last week, with many graduates, who were awaiting mobilisation, expressing frustration.

    For higher institutions that have backlogs of students to be mobilised for the scheme, the NYSC’s directive may create a crisis because fresh graduates may have to wait for another two years to undergo the youth service.

    Last month, the NYSC Media and Publicity Director, Bose Aderibigbe, confirmed that the scheme was in need of funds to sustain its operations.

    Aderibigbe hinted that N10,500 budgeted by the Federal Government for Corp members’ kits was no longer enough.

    She said: “This year, for instance, since the Federal Government does not want a situation where youths, who are done with tertiary education to hang out longer than necessary before having their chance to serve. We were given a quota of 260,000 Corps members to mobilise.

    “So far, we are left with about 70,000. Once the present batch leaves in October, the outstanding number will be mobilised. This is not a hopeless situation as many people are made to believe. It should be noted that once the government gives us the figure to mobilise for a particular year, they back it up with funds to take care of that number.

    “We are in need of a lot of funds to ease our operations, but we will continue to cry to the government until the situation improves.”

    With the recession squeezing the nation harder and allocations to the NYSC directorate dwindling, Corps members said the N19,500 monthly allowance they are being paid was not enough to cater for their accommodation and transport.

    To the prospective Corps members, the move by the NYSC directorate to slash participants’ quota has raised questions about the relevance of the scheme. They contended that since the government did not have the resources to fund the scheme, it would be reasonable to scrap it.

    Chike Okonkwo, a prospective Corps member, said the scheme should either be scrapped or suspended till the government has money to fund it.

    He said: “Many graduates would be rendered lazy by this new development. My candid advice to the government is to either scrap the scheme or suspend it till the economy bounces back. It would be bad to make students wait for years before they go for the National Youth Service. I can tell you, many graduates are not interested in the programme. So, keeping them waiting for years is improper.”

    Chima Nkwonta, a graduate of Biochemistry, decried the development, saying it would only be in favour of a few privileged students.

    His words: “This issue of balloting will only favour the children of the rich. There is no way it would not be rigged against graduates who are supposed to be picked on merit. I don’t even know which method schools would use to pick people when the quota has been reduced. But, there is no way the selected method would not be corrupted. I don’t even see the need for the youth service any longer. They should simply scrap the programme and the funds being wasted on the programme can be consolidated and paid to graduates to engage themselves in small businesses.”

    Chukwuemerie Uduchukwu, a graduate, said: “If it is true that NYSC cannot adequately fund its activities, let the government scrap the programme and use the money paid as monthly allowance to give incentive to every graduate. This would encourage graduates to start small-scale businesses, rather than waste time waiting to participate in a meaningless scheme.”

    Ikemefuna Ugwu, a Corps member, supported the call for the scrapping of the scheme, saying: “If the Federal Government was aware of the pain graduates go through to serve the nation through the NYSC, it would not hesitate to stop the scheme, especially in this period of recession. At best, the NYSC should be made optional. Graduates should be allowed to choose whether or not to serve, because the NYSC discharge certificate does not guarantee instant employment anywhere.”

    On his part, Frank Arinzechukwu, a Corps member, said he strongly believed the essence of the scheme had been defeated, calling for a total review of the programme.

    Valentine Umego, a UNIZIK graduate, asked what would become the fate of more than 4,000 graduates if 894 slots were allocated to the school.

    “This is an indication that the NYSC is no longer serving its purpose. If there is no money to fund the scheme, there is no reason for the government to keep it. Reducing the quotas allotted each school would elongate the period graduates have to wait to be mobilised for the scheme. In view of this, it is proper for the Federal Government and other agencies of government to intensively look into the programme and take decisive action on it.”

     

  • NYSC member donates allowance for Akeredolu campaign

    NYSC member donates allowance for Akeredolu campaign

    A National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) serving in Ekiti State, Mr. Gbenga Oladimeji, yesterday donated his August allowance to the campaign of the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Ondo State, Mr. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu SAN.

    Oladimeji said he has observed with keen interest the political activities and evolution in relation to the forthcoming election in the state that Akeredolu mean well for the people of the state.

    The corps made the donation at A reception organised for Akeredolu in Akure, the State capital.

    Akeredolu was received by mommoth crowd as the vehicular movement was halt for hours at popular Oba-Adesida/Oyemekun road.

    Students, market women, pedestrians, road side traders as well as the people of the town trooped out to receive the APC candidate.

    The NYSC member noted that the state is in dire need of personality like Akeredolu, adding that he believes that the APC candidate would salvage the people of the state.

    Akeredolu while commending the  donor lauded the people of the state for trouping out to receive him.

    He said he is on a mission to rescue the state from the shackles of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led- government.

    He said the state can no longer afford not to join the mainstream, stressing that it is time to bring a change into the sunshine state.

    The legal luminary said the primary election is over, saying it is time for full-fledged campaign.

    He promised to not to disappoint the people, stressing that his government would be for the masses.

    Present at the reception rally were some aspirants, Victor Olabimtan, Tunji Light Ariyomo, Barrister Tunji Abayomi and supporters of Senator Tayo Alasoadura and Senator Ayo Akinyelure.

    Akeredolu later moved to his home town, Owo were he was also received by thousands of his kinsmen.

     

     

  • Corps member slumps, dies in Bayelsa

    Corps member slumps, dies in Bayelsa

    A member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) identified as Mr. Ogundare Lawrence Opeyemi, has slumped and died in Bayelsa State.

    Opeyemi, it was gathered, died in Nembe, Nembe Local Government Area, where he was posted for his primary assignment.

    It was learnt that the deceased corps member slumped a day after he had a party with his colleagues in the area.

    “A day after the party, he complained of a health-related issue and before we knew what was happening he slumped and died”, a source who spoke in confidence said.

    His death caused panic among corps members, who raised the alarm over incessant death of their colleagues in the state.

    His remains were later conveyed to and deposited at the mortuary of the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Yenagoa.

    But on Friday, corps members cried uncontrollably when kinsmen of the deceased came to convey the remains to his home state, Ekiti for burial.

    Hundreds of corps members trooped to the mortuary section of the hospital in solidarity with their departed colleague.

    Officials of the NYSC in the state were led by the corps’ state Coordinator, Mr. Anthony Ekeocha.

    Ekeocha reportedly described the death as painful and decried incessant death of corps members in Bayelsa.

    He said: “We are here to carry out an assignment and it is a painful assignment. Not quite long we were here to carry out same assignment, too much death in NYSC.

    “We all pray that we should not die prematurely but at an old age. I put myself in the shoes of the parents after much investment but at the end this is what they got but we cannot question God”.

  • Battered corps member: NYSC says both ‘fighters’ must serve their punishment

    Battered corps member: NYSC says both ‘fighters’ must serve their punishment

    •Says assailant must bear cost of treatment

    The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has maintained that the certificates of the two corps members, Temitope Adedewe and Oluwabusiyi Adeola Bolarin, who engaged in physical brawl in Abia State during the last service year are still with the scheme.

    The Director of Corps Welfare and Inspectorate, Mrs. Bose Okakwu, who gave an update on the issue said all what people were saying were mere presumptions.

    According to her, “What the media and the two corps members are saying are based on presumptions. Everybody is presuming; none of them have been issued the certificates. The two certificates are still with the NYSC Headquarters; let me make that very clear. When the case came to the headquarters, it was reviewed and with our bye-laws; both of them were given three weeks service extension and this was based on the fact that there was a law in place in the NYSC.

    “If you go through the NYSC bye-laws (1993), which has been reprinted; if you go to the miscellaneous penalties, it stipulates that engaging in physical fighting during the service year attracts an extension of service for not less than fourteen days.

    “When the state forwarded the case to us, we looked at it and we recommended that the male corps member should bear the cost of the treatment and that the two of them should undergo an extension of service for three weeks, and it is expected to take effect from the date of their passing out. But as at the time we came for the investigation about two weeks ago, none of them have showed up for the extension period,”Okakwu said.

    She also informed The Nation that as at the time of speaking, “only the male corps member has come to collect the letter for the extension of service but up till now, he has not showed up for the extension.”

    She said, as it stands, there is nothing the NYSC can do on this issue, except they served their punishments.

    On the allegation that the male corps member is already undergoing a master programme at the University of Ibadan, the NYSC said, “we also read that on the pages of newspapers and that became one of our references when we went for the investigation. We took our time and even called the girl to furnish us with the contact of the person that said he saw the male corps member writing his masters at UI.”

    We called the boy and he admitted that although they were mates at the Obafemi Awolowo University, he had not seen the boy (Bolarinde) since they graduated. He also confirmed that the guy had not started any master’s programme.”

    The NYSC Director of Public Relations, Abosede Aderibigbe urged this newspaper to confirm the fact from the UI authorities.

    She said anybody that is in doubt is free to come and see the certificates and may also go to the University of Ibadan to confirm if the male corps member is undertaking his masters as is being speculated.

     

  • Battered corps member: NYSC to decide next week

    Battered corps member: NYSC to decide next week

    Two weeks after the story of the female corps member Temitope Adedewe, who was battered and her two teeth removed with a hammer by a male corps member broke, the National Youth Service Corps headquarters Abuja is yet to officially respond.

    Also her NYSC discharge certificate, which was withheld for purportedly breaching the NYSC code of conduct and reporting the matter to the police in Arochukwu, Abia State, where the incident happened, is yet to be issued to her. This is despite a strong allegation that her assailant, Oluwabusiyi Adeola Bolarinde is already studying for his master’s degree at the University of Ibadan, which could not have been possible if he didn’t produce his NYSC discharge certificate.

    The corps’ Director of Public Relations, Mrs. Abosede Aderibigbe was not available for comments on the issue. Efforts to reach her on phone were also abortive, as her phones were switched off and she did not respond to text messages.

    A source at the Welfare Department in Abuja, who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity, however, admitted that they are aware of the case and have started looking into it.

    He said steps are being taken to resolve the issue, and that a concrete decision is expected to be reached on the matter next week.

    Our correspondent in Abia State, who visited the NYSC Zonal Office in Umuahia, reported that a source, who does not want to be quoted, told him that the matter has been taken over by the national office in Abuja.

    He said an investigative team had visited the zone from Abuja on a fact-finding mission and promised to respond accordingly soon. The source therefore concluded that the case, as it is, has left their hands and pleaded that the public and all stakeholders in the matter wait for an official response from the national office.

    Meanwhile, the victim of the battery, Miss Adedewe told our reporter that she is yet to get any concrete information from the Abuja office or anywhere. According to her, she only got a call from a lady, who claimed to be of the NYSC Abuja head-office. The caller who initially did not reveal her identity or position later gave her name as Benedict E. She refused to reveal her official position and requested the aggrieved ex-corps member to come to Abuja to tell her side of the story, since they have commenced investigation on the matter.

    Miss Adedewe said the lady told her they had visited the Abia State Zonal office in Umuahia and the venue of the incident in Arochukwu on a fact-finding mission. She said while there, they had asked Mrs. Akuma, one of the zonal office’s staff and a principal player in the issue to send for her and that she said all attempts to reach her from Umuahia had failed.

    Adedewe however revealed that she never got any call or messages from Mrs. Akuma. She also said the purported caller from the NYSC behaved in a suspicious manner by refusing to disclose her identity incomplete.

    However, Mrs. Busayo Obisakin, facilitator of Women’s Inspiration Development (WID), the NGO that had originally taken up her case and petitioned the NYSC, advised her not to make any trip to Abuja but to insist on telling her side of the story on phone.

    She said the caller had asked her for some phone numbers, including that of the nurse who treated her at the hospital in Arochukwu, which she said she did not have. Adedewe wondered why she didn’t visit the hospital and get the nurse’s phone number, while she was in Arochukwu.

    She also told our reporter that the caller directed her to stop any media attention on it as they are already looking into the matter because they understand her plight.

  • Attention, NYSC!

    Attention, NYSC!

    The police have a duty in this matter involving two corps members over rejected love advances

    It looks more like some tales by moonlight; a case of the more you read; the more incredible it looks. So, this could happen in 21st century Nigeria? And in what was designed to be a uniting institution in the country — the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC)? Wonders truly will never end if indeed it happened!

    A summary of the story as told by one of the parties involved in the matter, Temitope Adedewe: She said she and one Oluwabusuyi Adeola Bolarinde were undergraduates in the History Department of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State; but she always avoided him in the university “because he was the aggressive type.” Somehow, they were both posted to Abia State for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and ended up being posted to the same place of primary assignment. Not only that: they were about eight corps members (including the two of them) living in the same house. This gave Bolarinde the opportunity to press her for a relationship, which she continually turned down. This was allegedly followed by insults from Bolarinde, then threat messages.

    Late January 2015, on a particular evening, he started knocking on their common door and when she opened it, after ascertaining  he was the one knocking, he allegedly started to beat up Adedewe with the iron end of his belt and blood started oozing out of her body and face. As she was going to wash off the blood, Bolarinde allegedly caught up with her and gave her a blow; after which he went for a hammer in his room and hit her in the mouth with it. According to Adedewe, “that’s how I lost my teeth. Everything happened so fast. This was around 11pm. It was already too late for me to go to the hospital. In fact, it was later I noticed the bite on my face. I didn’t and still can’t recall the exact time he bit me.”

    It is a long story. However, she went to the hospital and incurred a bill of N18,000 initially while the doctor said she required another N300,000 to replace her teeth. The police were brought in, according to her because the nurse on duty when she went to the hospital insisted on having a police report before treating her. But the local NYSC official intervened and told the police to hands off the matter and that it would be handled administratively by the NYSC authorities. Since then, she was being tossed around by the NYSC officials at both her place of primary assignment as well as the zonal level. The NYSC officials claimed that they had dealt with the matter administratively, leading to the withholding of the discharge certificates of the two of them.

    However, while Adedewe had lost an opportunity for a scholarship due to non-release of her certificate, Bolarinde is said to have proceeded to the University of Ibadan for further studies. This is the crux of the matter. How did Bolarinde who allegedly plucked out the teeth of a fellow corps member get his discharge certificate to process his admission, whereas Adedewe could not have hers?

    All said, it is incredible that anyone who has passed through the four walls of a university and was awarded a degree after being found worthy in character and learning would behave in the way that Adedewe said Bolarinde did over his love advances that were rebuffed. This is why we want the matter thoroughly investigated. The way things stand; it does not seem the NYSC can do justice to the case. Hence, we urge the police to take it up from where they stopped. This is now beyond the NYSC not only because reports seem to suggest that its officials were complicit in the matter but also because a hammer was allegedly used to remove the teeth of the female youth corps member.

    Therefore, it is no longer a case of two youth corps members fighting; it goes beyond whatever the NYSC bye-laws stipulate. It is now purely a criminal matter because the person allegedly hit with a hammer could have died or suffered permanent disability in the process.

  • Contrasting tales of two unemployed graduates

  • Is NYSC still relevant?

    SIR: Presently, one will be hard put to find a Nigerian that is not aware or in agreement with the fact that the government is hard pressed to save money by reducing the cost of running the country while trying to plug loopholes through which the available funds are being frittered away.

    In this light, it is important to bring the attention of the government back to the National Youth Service Corps – a scheme that has lost its usefulness over the years and has gradually become a heavy burden on the nation’s lean finances.

    Forty-three years after the formation of the scheme, it has become largely unproductive and is perceived by graduates as an unnecessary encumbrance to be endured before one can seek paid employment.

    Established to foster national integration, those who participated in the early days of the scheme were posted to places far from their areas of origin to promote inter-ethnic interaction and help to bond the country tighter.

    In contemporary times however, with the greatly increased mobility of Nigerians and a whole new level of social interaction, you would find in every town, people from virtually all the states of the federation in temporary or permanent residence, effectively neutralizing the usefulness of the NYSC as a means of facilitating the relocation of Nigerians to different places for integration.

    Although it is often argued that the NYSC provides hands-on training for young graduates and is also a kind of middle ground to help with the transition from student to worker, it is not entirely the case as students, in the course of study, do undergo a compulsory period of training called SIWES – Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme. It is compulsory for SIWES students to be attached to industries or organizations for practical training to gain skills and relevant experience. It is a requirement which must be fulfilled before graduation. This renders preposterous the argument that the NYSC should be sustained on the grounds of skill acquisition.

    To add to the issues militating against the scheme, corps members now get transferred to places of their choice. After the NYSC posting, those unsatisfied simply grease a few palms to get themselves re-posted, most times to their home states which defeats the intent of the entire process.

    In the last eight years alone, roughly N500 billion was spent on the scheme. The larger slice goes to pay the monthly allowance of corps members while another huge part oils the bureaucracy running it. We all remember how the scheme was almost grounded some time ago when its budget was downsized by 13 billion, a small fraction of the total figure. If the NYSC scheme is discontinued, part of this huge sum could be used as seed capital for fresh graduates who wish to be entrepreneurs and job creators as it will be of greater benefit to them and the Nigerian society.

     

    • Joseph Oko Odey

    Garki II, Abuja.

  • NYSC and the quest for food security

    Youth obey the clarion call.  Let us lift our nation high. Under the sun or in the rain. With dedication and selflessness, Nigeria is ours, Nigeria we serve”. The National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, anthem is still fresh in my memory, 20 years after completing my service to the nation. It is an anthem which every graduate is spiritually and physically committed to in the process of service to the nation.

    The NYSC scheme, a once in a lifetime experience which every young graduate yearns for, was established on May 22, 1973 by Decree 24  to promote unity and develop ethnic ties among youth in their various states of the federation.  The thrills, frills and funfair usually associated with the programme, most especially the orientation part of it, make it enjoyable and inspiring for participating graduates from all parts of the country.

    There have been divergent interests for the scheme among young graduates. While some see it as avenue to explore other people’s culture and tradition outside theirs, others see it as opportunity to recreate, catch fun and make some savings for future use. In fact the desperation of some young graduates concerning NYSC makes one wonders what is actually in it for them. There have been instances where some generate fake call-up letters while some others falsify their age just to be enlisted for the scheme.

    However, away from the glorious and storied past of the scheme, presently the programme is searching for relevance. It has actually deviated from the original purpose and intention it was meant to serve. It is now almost of little or no relevance to the economic aspirations of the country. Of late, the interests of corps members are not adequately protected, as it was in the past. Many public/private businesses enterprises that used to patronize the services of corps members have either closed business or downsized due to insecurity and general state of the nation’s economy.

    Whether the large turnout of fresh graduates are overwhelming or not, facilities for orientation are sometimes inadequate for the population this scheme caters for each year. Political and religious insecurity have equally exposed many corps members to needless death. There have been instances where some states had to send rescue team to bring back their indigenes during political or religious crisis. To this end, many parents have resisted posting of their wards to states on red alert.

    To say the scheme needs an overhaul or speedy review is like citing the obvious. Like most of our national projects, the scheme is fast declining in value and usefulness. It is no longer shocking that the scheme is broke with fund barely sufficient to cater for the young graduates presented for national service. Food/structural facilities, essential for the up keep of corps members are grossly deficient in some orientation camps.

    Against the glorious past of secured primary places of assignment, corps members now struggle with the problem of rejection. In desperate attempt to secure the few available ‘juicy’ placements, many now use personal influence such as letters from well connected ‘powerful’ individuals to secure favourable postings. It is, of course, sad to note that corps members that are to reconstruct and rebuild the nation’s economy are idle with unutilized potentials.

    Massive influence of posting to highly density places like Lagos, Ibadan, Port Harcourt and Abuja puts pressure on already saturated associated environment with accommodation problem of corps members, to the detriment of the scheme. So bad is the situation now that some people are calling for outright scrapping of the scheme, arguing that it has outlived its purpose and outgrown its usefulness. Must we then throw away the baby with the bathe water?

    With 923,768km land mass and over 80% of arable land, with less than 40% of its cultivation, tropical climate, lots of rainfall and aquatic splendour, nothing stops Nigeria from being the food basket of entire Africa, if serious attention is given to agriculture. In the years of regional government, Nigeria did not only feed herself from her rich and vast agricultural  interests, but also generated employment as well as earned enough foreign exchange for development of each region. Then, revenue from agriculture produce helped the federating units to develop in their own pace without depending on the centre for any bail out.

    The discovery of oil, however, has turned things upside down for us as the federating units now wholly depend on the centre for bail outs and handouts. Unsurprisingly, young graduates have equally developed job-seeking mentality. The youth that are supposed to drive agriculture with technology and renewed vigour would rather prefer to go job hunting for years, even when it is obvious that the jobs aren’t just there.

    United Nation statistics estimates Nigeria’s population for 2015 to be 178,841,235 with growth rate of 1.94%, making the population182, 307,178 by 2016, all things being equal. Yet, the population, especially of youth, did not reflect on the nation’s agricultural production. We import $4billion worth of rice annually to supplement domestic shortfall, despite the suitability of our land for local rice production. Nigeria tops the list of importing nations, growing other nations’ economy to the detriment of hers. With an annual bill of N1.3trillion, you may wonder where the money spent on importation of food comes from, in view of agricultural potentials of the nation.  Of course, proceeds from crude oil are used to settle the bill.

    Now that the price crude oil price has dropped in the international market coupled with the instability at the Niger Delta, there is dire need to look inward and diversify our economy. The time is the time to move away from a mono-economy. It is high time the government of Nigeria looked at the strength the nation has in her pool of labour, most especially in the manpower being released every year into the National Youth Service Corps programme.

    Each state of the federation has comparative advantage in specific areas of agriculture. The capacity of the various states to boost food production can be enhanced by the NYSC scheme with adequate structure and remuneration for corps members. The power, vigour, dynamism and adventurism of youth, the strength of the youth could be directed towards boosting the agriculture sector to address the twain issues of food security and unemployment.

    The clarion call today is for our nation to rekindle youth’s interest in agriculture. It is a call geared towards making the NYSC scheme become very relevant by transforming into a scheme that enhances food security in the country, thus supporting the growth of the national economy. It is a worthy call.

     

    • Odumade is of the Ministry of Information & Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos.