File image for illustration.
By ANTHONY KILA
Some institutions deserve our gratitude, even when they demand our courage to change them. The National Youth Service Corps is one of them.
When the NYSC was established in 1973, Nigeria was emerging from the trauma of the civil war. The country needed more than roads and bridges; it needed trust. It needed young Nigerians from Sokoto to know Calabar, from Enugu to understand Kano, and from Lagos to experience Maiduguri. It needed a generation that would discover that beyond tribe, religion and language, a common country was waiting to be built. The NYSC was a bold answer to that moment.
Millions of Nigerians have stories of friendships formed, careers launched, businesses created, and marriages celebrated thanks to the scheme. Countless communities have benefited from the enthusiasm and expertise of young graduates posted to places they would otherwise never have visited. Whatever its shortcomings today, the NYSC has probably done more to promote national integration than many of the politicians who now speak in its name.
