Youth Corps Members And Hardtimes: Can They

Build The Bridge?

By

Adeaze Okonkwo

adayrich2003@yahoo.com.au

 

When the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme was established by the then Head of states, General Yakubu Gowon through the promulgation of Decree No. 24 of 1972, most Nigerians were not skeptical about it; there were no hard feelings, especially not the type that were usually associated with the unknown soldier. The scheme was an instant welcome development to Nigerians, who had long anticipated practical measures for the actualization of a much touted and perhaps, lip-serviced reconstruction, rehabilitation and reconciliation policies of the post-civil war era in Nigeria. Indeed, the fundamental objective of the NYSC was to use fresh graduates from Nigerian universities, who were perceived leaders of tomorrow in building a bridge of unity-in diversity across the tripartite branches of the River Niger divide. Although the initial decree establishing the scheme was repealed and replaced by NYSC Decree 51 of 16th June 1993, the objectives remained in charged, especially as concerning inculcating discipline, among Nigerian youths, raising youths moral tone in line with national achievements; developing attitudes that are amenable to national interest mobilization; acquiring the spirit of self-reliance and self employment; contribution to accelerated growth of national economy; developing common ties among Nigerians of all ethnic groups; and levels ping sense of corporate existence and common destiny of the people of Nigeria. How noble these ideals! Yet many dissent voices advocate the scrapping of the scheme. It does sound pessimistic but the doom-NYSC-advocates are too sure of  their  position on the matter, especially on the ground that present realities fall short of the initial underpinning of the project. Of  course quite a good number of Nigerians maintain an unalloyed loyalty to the  NYSC mission even in the face of obvious hardship bedeviling corps members in various states across the Nigerians state. Then, the big question come: in the such hard times, can the corps members build the much-desired bridge? If they can, how strong and durable will it be? There are explicit and implicit queries on the lips and minds of most Nigerian observers begging answer from God-knows whom-it’s quite rhetoric!

        

Sadly enough, most elderly Nigerians easy recount past experiences of the good-old-days without considering twisted and wrangle-infested faces of their young listeners, who, obviously, seem to be engulfed in nothing but thought of generational decay and  move towards seemingly endless hopelessness. Truly, the  olden days were good indeed but the “now” that matter  most is full of troubles for the young graduate, who must is full of troubles for the young graduate, who must face the hard times squarely without any assurance of light at the end of the tunnel after youth s ervice it’s all about the survival of the fittest for are, some years ago, corps members were respected and they had everything at their disposal. But presently, the situation has nose-dived for the worse. Corps members have no choice in their posting; that’s an acceptable condition but those born with a silver spoon in their months have a plethora of choices in not only choosing or influencing the state where will serve but also in determining where their perceived enemies must go. With such allegation from some quarters, it then means that the destiny of some Nigerians is no longer in their own hands but in the hands of a privileged few, all for reasons of vendetta. Perhaps you may call that another kind of clarion call since it does not matter where one is posted to, what matter is that while some people, are manipulatively placed in their areas of choice, others are left to the whims of chance. The worry here is on why we seemingly can’t have a level playing ground with equal c hances for everyone in this country.

        

Well, let us say that the deployment corps members it states of service is an exclusive issue meant for exclusive persons what about the glaring negligence of corps members by most State Governments. This is one of the observing most disheartening factor to the hardship experienced by serving corps members across the nation. Most State Government overlook the importance of youth service to the unity and development of the nation. They see corps members as Federal Government’s responsibility without Nursing the slightest though  that their people are the immediate beneficiaries of the selfless services rendered by the young graduates of Nigerian higher institutions. The situation is like paying someone to sweep another man’s house. Good a thing, the Federal Government just increased then allowance of Corps Members from N7,500 to N8,500. Though this amount leaves leave more to be desired when considered in tandem with the huge expenses incurred in the course of feeding and transportation of individual members let alone taking care of their other needs but it is a step in the right direction to show, at least, that government still has interest in achieving the objectives of the scheme. The FG’s gesture cannot be said to be the same with the attitude of some states government in the country, who evidently devote time energy and money in politicking and spraying millions of naira on people along the roads for support instead of touching the lives of suffering corps members with just a can’t. Is it not worrisome to learn that while some state governments can pay as much as N5,000 others, part with just a N1,000 or in most case s part with nothing at all for corps members. Even those that pay, subject corps members to hardship by not paying the state allowances in dues course. At times, corps members go hungry for weeks even as they continue attending to their primary assignments in order to evade queries from fight-fisted bosses. Wouldn’t that be a glaring case of late Afro-beats Legend Fela’s  “suffering and smiling “lyric?

        

Indeed, more excruciating to the conditions of contemporary youth corps members across the nation is the case of rejection by employers of labour. It’s always mixed teachings on the day of collection of letters of posting for primary assignment. Some corps members rejoice wife others reminisce endless hours of painful inability to get posted to their desired organizations. However, more painful to this is the fact that due to many reasons arising from economic and sometimes ethnicism, the initial euphoric atmosphere is cut  short by the attitude of most employers of labour, who immediately turn down corps member posted to them on primary assignment. Female corps members are usually on the receiving and of this negative behaviour. They are usually confronted with the problem of settling down and of course, harassments from managers of organization who may want to have some carnal or sensual knowledge of them before accepting them to serve in their organizations. In some cases, these ladies would resort to co-habiting with just anybody that calls their attention for the reason of settling down. Quite a lot of youth corps members, due to hardship, engage in prostitution in order to make both ends meet. Of course, you will agree that prostitution was not part of the initial bargain; not with the growing rate of HIV/AIDS infection among youth corps members in spite of over whelming campaign that veers the path of overwhelming and scary realities on ground.

        

Worse still, is that even where the corps members is accepted to carry out his or her primary assignment, accommodation palaver sets in because most organizations, both public and private, do not even think about corps members not to talk of providing them with accommodation. The sight of corps members roaring major and minor streets of the country in search of temporary abodes is not an unusual phenomenon. Of course, where there is dead meat, the cultures gather to devours the carcasses. For the that corps members are stranded, people take undue advantage of them. The attitudes of most indigenes are not always favourable. In some places, they behold corps members of strangers who have come to pollute the society and as such, house rents are hiked to make their stay quite unbearable. So-called kindlord’s agents come places, rally round stranded corps members to milk them dry or dupe them in the process. Such is the perilous times for the young graduate seeking to serve his father land and perhaps, mend the fence wrecked by discord and the licking roof spotted and disjointed by under development.

        

Much still is that no matter, how hard, dedicated, devoted or committed the corps member is, his or her retainment on jobs after service is greatly ruled by nepotism or the ethnic factor and favoritisms. When do we learn our lessons of unity-in-diversity. Even the attitude of some NYSC officials leaves so much to be desired in line with the ethnic-minded cankerworm.

        

For crying out load, there is a serious need for all Nigerians and both public and private enterprises to reconsider our paths and thoughts toward one another it is not sound reasoning to call for the termination of the NYSC due to its cumulative contributions to the development of the nation. It has yielded so much positive results in the sphere of economic cultural and social assimilation but the painful side of the story is that the beneficiaries have failed to appreciate what they have in the lives of corps members among them. This is so Sad! It is only by making things easy for the corps members can they build the much wanted solid bridge across the divers geographical and cultural sub-hemisphe res of the Nigerian state. Just take this as another clarion call and maybe, it may worth your white spending some working time with a  youth corps member in the same office, you will never forget the experience. Give them a real good chance.

 

ADEAZE OKONKWO

Department of Mass Communication,

University of Maiduguri, Borno State