NATIONAL YOUTH SERVICE CORPS SCHEME IN FOSTERING UNITY AND INTEGRATION IN POST WAR NIGERIA: A HISTORICAL ANALYSIS

Abstract

Youths constitute a dominant force for national mobilization and growth and as such have a crucial role to play in the all-important task of nation-building. This led to the establishment of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme after the Nigeria-Biafra war; this historic initiative was gravely misunderstood in several quarters and greeted with widespread skepticism in many parts of the country. Today, all that has become merely a part of history. It has in fact come to be acclaimed as one of the most effective and successful instruments in our continuing efforts towards achieving a just, humane and egalitarian society, based on understanding, trust, tolerance and common vision. The NYSC has impacted positively on the citizens. To hundreds of thousands of our youth, the service year has been a critical eye-opener to the vastness, richness and beauty of the Nigeria nation. To thousands of communities, even in the most remote parts of the country, corps members have served as important catalysts of socio-economic development. It is over forty-five years since these lofty ideals were encapsulated in Decree 24 of 1973, and handed down to an organization to implement and pursue. Many Nigerian graduates have passed through the scheme, and perhaps it is expedient to make an assessment of its impact on national integration. However, this study does not seek to offer a definitive judgment on the performance of the scheme. This paper merely places the NYSC in proper perspective - to present to the reader the lofty vision that informed and inspired the scheme, its true mandate, its mode of operations, and its performance over many operational years.