NYSC AND UNEXPECTED FUNS OF IT – COPERS BE CAREFUL

I have heard and thought about the saying that” now your struggle continues "(NYSC), but the truth behind it never occurred not until recently when I was mobilized for the February /March batch of the national youth service scheme.

I must commend those who initiated this national youth service scheme. It will be very useless if after ones year in the higher institution, and there is no NYSC certificate to crown the degree.

Gone are those days when the pride of every citizen is to wear the khaki upon khaki, jungle boot-cap, simple because you see youth corpers well dressed ,well catered for and above all ,highly respected in the state of primary assignments. Now adays, the reverse is the case. Youth corpers are not recorgnized.normally when discharged from the orientation camp, there should be placement for everyone but the reverse is the case.

People now live orientation camp with the fear of rejection in their various place of primary assignment .One will now ask the question if there is adequate survey before these placements are being done.

More so, when you here that the federal government spends at least one hundred and fifty thousand naira (150,000) on every youth corper in a year and you ask yourself what make up the money, the kits they give us? Is it for the over size jungle boots? Slacked up crested vests? Or the kaki upon kaki that gets shrinked on a first wash? Is it from the watery food and the typhoid water tea they prepare on camps? Is it from the federal monthly allowance that doesn’t come again every month end? Rather, the middle of the following month. Is it from the provided corpers lodge that is not even conducive for living and not big enough to accommodate reasonable number of corpers?

All these questions are for people who have answers to look into. Come to think of it, some youth corpers were even posted to rural areas, where you have no electricity, no telecommunication reception and no means of transportation. The wise ones among them try to work their way out to the cities just because of opportunities. if not, they must have wasted one year all in the name of NYSC.Its even worse in the cities where female corpers are used as objects of satisfaction by men simply because they are looking for a way to survive. I think some parents should always try and ask their serving children where they are serving and what are they doing to survive.

Take for example cross river state, calabar which is the capital. To get accommodations there is very expensive .a room is like sixty to sixty five thousand naira, a room self content is like hundred to hundred and fifty thousand naira, depending on the area you want to stay. Not all parents can afford to pay for such accommodations and a youth corpers monthly allowance for 6months will still not get such accommodations.
To worsen the situation is to remember such state like Abia state that calls herself God’s own state, the only state that knows how to owe her staff, kidnap people including coppers and discharge corpers with their political strategies of promising to pay at the end of the service year so that by the time one travels back to any of the Northern or Southern state you would no longer remember that one is owing you. In fact, let it not be an allegation to God that he created Abia State, but if anybody can defend it please you’re welcomed.

Consequently, when one looks at these observations, one will conclude that it does not worth it. If government can not handle the scheme anymore, then the best option is it to be scrapped.

Conclusively, the national youth service scheme was a good initiative but now hope seems to be lost simply because Nigeria as a country has never been active in maintenance and sustainance, rather she brings up good ideas which never last the test of time