I have read a variety of fascinating narratives from former participants of the National Youth Service Scheme. While many of these narratives were expressed with considerable positivity, I believe that the positivity is not intrinsically connected with the perfection of the scheme but are drawn through a long journey of disappointment, frustration, and then acceptance of the reality of ‘national service’. Even the most well-crafted narrative I read did not completely mask the failures of the scheme in welfare provision, organization, and perhaps in fulfilling the ultimate reason for which the scheme was established.
On a personal note, I believe that my service year in Enugu was fun-filled and fulfilling in many regards. However, like many other commentators, my fulfilment is drawn from a personal acceptance of the reality, my bold strive for the fulfilment, and a personal decision for positivism. I still remember the hunger that came with the meagre ₦19,800 allowance in the very ‘expensive’ Enugu city, my deep worries when I fell sick, and the series of uneasy thoughts that came with my road trips from the southwest to the southeast. The most annoying of these was the reality that my life was valued at a ridiculous sum of ₦1m in case of eternal liabilities!
While I continue to struggle to avoid muddling my personal perceptions and experiences with an important subject in our national experience, I cannot but imagine how one of my brightest friends lost his life serving his country through the colds of Plateau state. That is the most painful personal loss I have suffered in my whole life. Smart was not just a friend, we read together and shared dreams about the future. Of all his dreams, serving his country was his biggest. He desired to be a politician and just before he lost his life to typhoid, he had built a network that could convince anyone about his seriousness about that dream.
Nevertheless, the truth remains that with the current happenings in Nigeria, the youth service scheme exposes many of Nigeria’s brightest to a host of vulnerabilities. As these young brains navigate through unfamiliar terrains, some are caught within Nigeria’s security dilemma. Some even lose their lives to electoral violence while road accidents claim some others. A few lose their lives to unexplainable circumstances. The situation is compounded by the unimplemented health insurance for participants despite the promise that dates to 2017. To sum up, all the risks attached to the scheme, an article published in The Guardian in 2019 described Corps Members as high risks targets for kidnappers, ritualists, rapists, and other violent groups.
Beyond these risks is an array of costs attached to the NYSC. Very honestly, this article was inspired by a chat with a serving Corps Member who is attached to a non-profit in the central area of Abuja. When she informed me that the annual rent for her modest self-contained apartment in Kubwa was ₦250,000 and that she pays an average of ₦600 for her transportation to work daily, I decided to compare these costs with the newly implemented ₦33,000 monthly allowance for Corps Members. Of her ₦33,000, she spends at least ₦32,800 every month on rent and transportation alone. Before you argue that Abuja is quite an expensive city, I remember renting my room in Enugu at ₦120,000 per annum when my monthly allowance was only ₦19,800. Without the support of friends, family and well-wishers, I wonder how I would have survived!
Before you suggest to me that Corps Members have the luxury of choosing preferred states and that they can avoid states that are relatively more expensive, I like to remind you that for a scheme that deploys young people to places they are often unfamiliar with, decent accommodation should be a priority. However, one may not expect that ‘luxury’ when some NYSC orientation camps are in bad shape. Maybe I am even too optimistic; how do you explain that prospective corps members are to pay before they can secure a seat in the scheme? In simple language, why must I pay to serve my country?
I should not overemphasize the challenges with the scheme because that is not the rationale behind this article. Contrariwise, beyond the huge personal cost participant may incur is the very enormous spending on the scheme. For example, between 2016 and 2020, over ₦520bn was budgeted by the Federal Government into NYSC. Specifically, approximately ₦67bn, ₦73bn, ₦105bn, ₦116bn, and ₦161bn was budgeted to NYSC in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 respectively. In addition to this, some states make specific budgetary provisions to support the scheme.
For example, in 2018, Niger state budgeted ₦60m to NYSC orientation and another ₦20m for NYSC passing out. In the same 2018, Katsina state budgeted ₦50m for the upgrade of its NYSC camp and Ondo state budgeted ₦30m as grants to NYSC. A whooping ₦300m was budgeted by the Lagos State Government for the payment of NYSC interns in 2020!
Perhaps these figures would not mean much if the scheme was truly fulfilling the objectives for which it was established. Essentially, the scheme was established to encourage and develop common ties among Nigerian youths while promoting national unity. However, even though NYSC has existed for over four decades and has enrolled at least 300,000 youths annually in the last couple of years, the recent national cohesion survey indicated that Nigeria is not a socially cohesive country.
In fact, the survey suggested that the high rate of poverty and youth unemployment contribute to the lack of national cohesion. Thus, it appears that the NYSC might be limited in its ability to foster national unity. Rather, a widened social investment programme to deepen inclusion and promote a sense of belonging among Nigerians was recommended by the Africa Polling Institute that conducted the survey.
Another approach to evaluating the government’s huge investment in NYSC is to inquire into the economic returns the program has accrued. While it may be somewhat difficult to quantify the true returns of the scheme, it may not be out of place to assume that the scheme could not have generated half a trillion naira in the last five years with its current modus operandi. Particularly in a country with a very high rate of poverty and youth unemployment as well as an increasing debt profile, such an enormous investment would be better if it accrues quantifiable economic returns. It is therefore essential that the government reviews its investment on NYSC within its economic needs and realities.
From an accountability point of view, state and national allocation to NYSC have not been transparently administered. The NYSC portal does not provide information on its revenue as well as its spending. Similarly, data on NYSC’s enrolment, state by state performance, and success statistics are also very scanty. Thus, evaluating the true performance of the scheme is still difficult. Irrespective, voices are coalescing to suggest that the scheme should be repositioned for better performance.
To improve NYSC’s economic performance, the government may contemplate diverting its investment into the scheme into a completely new social investment program that will have a specific economic product and offset some of the employment deficit in the country.
On the other hand, the existing NYSC can also be repositioned to deliver economic returns. Participants can be engaged in more economically active sectors where they can contribute to production while amassing requisite experience that can aid their future engagements. Either way, financial investment should birth commensurate economic products. Provisions should be made for the welfare of the participants to reduce the risk posed by the national scheme. In addition, the repositioning should guarantee productivity while providing participants with the opportunity for growth.