By Nnamdi Ojiego
When the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, was established in 1973, Nigeria was emerging from the trauma of a civil war that had threatened its unity.
The scheme was conceived as one of the country’s most important nation-building projects, with a simple but profound objective: to encourage young graduates to live and work outside their states of origin, interact with people from different ethnic and religious backgrounds, and cultivate a shared national identity.
More than five decades later, the country the scheme was designed to serve has changed dramatically. Population growth has surged, unemployment has risen to worrying levels, insecurity has spread across several regions, and employers increasingly demand digital competence and practical skills that many graduates lack.
Against this backdrop, President Bola Tinubu’s administration has unveiled what it described as the most comprehensive reform of the NYSC since its establishment 53 years ago. Approved by the Federal Executive Council, FEC, the reforms seek to transform the scheme from what government officials described as a mobilisation programme into a platform for skills development, employability, entrepreneurship and national productivity.
