Peter F. Drucker, the Austrian-American management guru (1909 -2005), it was who opined that change is an inevitable constant in human situations and that innovation is important in the 21st Century where skills become obsolete at the speed of light and what was deemed essential yesterday sooner or later becomes irrelevant, requiring new thinking, new styles, new modes to remain relevant and to gain new knowledge. But the proposed plan by the Federal Government of Nigeria to reform the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme does not fit into this pattern. It is a classic case of majoring in the minors, a misplaced priority, a wasteful adventure whose long-term subliminal objective may be mere self-enrichment that would not change much but rather cause unwanted confusion. The Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration has advertised itself as a reform-minded administration. But certain reforms do not come across as a priority and this NYSC reform is one of such thoughtless propositions like, if we may cite an earlier example, the decision to revert to the old Nigerian National Anthem. I watch people at public events, they sing along most reluctantly because there was no consensus nor has there been any buy-in, that Nigeria needed to change its National Anthem. It is important that policies are not enacted or revised simply to satisfy the personal fancy or the whims of anyone no matter how highly placed. In the case of the NYSC, nobody was consulted. We woke up one morning only to be told by the Minister of State for Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande that a decision had been taken to reform the NYSC programme. Nobody needs NYSC reform.

Ayodele Olawande's NYSC reform is a timely and relevant overhaul of the 53-year-old scheme. Discover the key changes and why they are crucial for youth dev

The decision by the federal government to reform the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and reposition the scheme for greater efficiency really needs to be commended. For many,…

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 reforms were aimed at strengthening skills acquisition, improving career development and repositioning the scheme to better meet national development needs.

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, has commended the Federal Government’s comprehensive reform of the National Youth Service Corps…

A youth group urges President Tinubu to suspend proposed NYSC reforms, warning against turning the scheme into a mere skills acquisition programme and weak

In a country where “national service” has too often translated into national sacrifice, the Federal Government has rolled out what it calls the most comprehensive overhaul of the…

Let’s begin with a few questions that I think we should all be asking about the federal government’s decision to comprehensively reform the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).…

‘NYSC Overhaul ‘ll Curb Youth Unemployment’

Peter F. Drucker, the Austrian-American management guru (1909 -2005), it was who opined that change is an inevitable constant in human situations and that innovation is important…