OPINION: Who Still Needs the NYSC? — By Bola Bolawole

OPINION: Who Still Needs the NYSC? — By Bola Bolawole

 

The recent abduction of National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, to orientation camps in the South-East and South-South has once again raised a difficult question: does Nigeria still need the NYSC in its present form?

 

The question is not new, but the latest incident has made it more urgent.

 

On October 1, two buses conveying NYSC members and other passengers from Ibadan to Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, and Bende, Abia State, were attacked by suspected armed men in Imo State. The police subsequently reported that 10 victims had been rescued, while efforts continued to establish the exact number of people still in captivity.

 

If the abducted young Nigerians travelled from Ibadan, some of them could be from Oyo and neighbouring South-West states, although victims may also have come from other parts of the country. The incident should therefore concern Nigerians collectively.

 

Governors whose citizens are affected should not leave the matter entirely to the Federal Government. Even where they do not directly control the police or military operations, they can support affected families, communicate with them and provide whatever assistance falls within their powers.

 

Questions over police handling

 

There are also serious questions about how information concerning the operation was handled.

 

The Imo State Commissioner of Police, CP Audu Bosso, disclosed that security operatives had located the kidnappers’ camp but were unable to immediately advance because intelligence indicated that the area had been mined with explosives. He also spoke about the use of drones and preparations for further operations.

 

That raises an important question about the disclosure of sensitive operational information while a rescue operation is still ongoing.

 

Security agencies must communicate with the public, but such communication should not inadvertently expose operational strategies, locations or vulnerabilities that could assist criminals.

 

The media, too, must exercise responsibility. The desire to break news or attract traffic should never override the safety of victims or security personnel.

 

Why was NYSC established?

 

The National Youth Service Corps was established by Decree No. 24 of May 22, 1973, following the Nigerian Civil War.

 

According to the NYSC, the scheme was created to promote national unity and develop common ties among Nigerian youths. Its broader purpose was to encourage young Nigerians to serve communities outside their immediate cultural and geographical environments.

 

The idea was understandable.

 

Nigeria had just emerged from a devastating civil war. The wounds were still fresh, distrust among different sections of the country was considerable, and there was an urgent need to rebuild bridges.

 

The NYSC was therefore conceived as an instrument of reconciliation, integration and national development.

 

But more than five decades later, we must ask whether the circumstances that gave birth to the scheme still exist in the same form — and whether the scheme is achieving its original objectives.

 

Fifty-three years later, what has changed?

 

The NYSC has undoubtedly produced benefits.

 

Millions of young Nigerians have lived and worked outside their home states, interacted with people from different ethnic and religious backgrounds and contributed to communities through their primary assignments and community development projects.

 

For many Nigerians, NYSC remains one of the few institutions where young people from different parts of the country experience Nigeria beyond their immediate environments.

 

But the challenges have also become enormous.

 

Over the years, corps members have died in road accidents while travelling to their places of primary assignment or during their service year. More recently, insecurity, terrorism, banditry and kidnapping have introduced an additional and frightening dimension to the risks confronting young Nigerians serving their country.

 

The latest abduction therefore forces us to ask:

 

For how long should young graduates be compelled to travel long distances and serve in places where their safety cannot be guaranteed?

 

And more importantly:

 

Is the present structure of the NYSC still the best way to promote national unity?

 

Has the NYSC achieved its central objective?

 

After more than five decades of the NYSC, Nigeria continues to struggle with ethnic suspicion, regional grievances and demands for greater autonomy or restructuring.

 

The emergence of groups such as MASSOB and IPOB in the South-East, alongside various self-determination and restructuring movements in other parts of the country, suggests that the challenge of national cohesion has not disappeared.

 

The South-West, too, has witnessed the emergence of different groups advocating varying forms of restructuring and self-determination.

 

These developments do not necessarily mean that the NYSC has failed. National integration is far more complicated than a single government programme.

 

But they should compel policymakers to examine whether the original model remains adequate for today’s Nigeria.

 

Reform rather than sentiment

 

The answer may not necessarily be to abolish the NYSC overnight.

 

There may be a strong case for fundamentally reforming it.

 

A modern national service programme could place greater emphasis on skills acquisition, technology, entrepreneurship, healthcare, education, disaster response and community development.

 

The compulsory nationwide posting system could also be reviewed, particularly where security conditions make deployment dangerous.

 

Nigeria should not continue doing something simply because it has been done for 53 years.

 

At the same time, we should not discard an institution simply because it has weaknesses. The real question should be: what works, what no longer works, and what should replace it?

 

Time to rethink government agencies

 

The NYSC debate should also be part of a broader conversation about the cost and effectiveness of government institutions.

 

Nigeria has numerous Ministries, Departments and Agencies whose functions sometimes overlap, while some institutions have become largely ineffective.

 

The Federal Government should therefore revisit recommendations on restructuring and rationalising government agencies, including the Oronsaye reforms.

 

The objective should not merely be cutting institutions for the sake of cutting them. It should be about creating a leaner, more efficient government that delivers better services to Nigerians.

 

Who still needs the NYSC?

 

That is ultimately the question.

 

The NYSC was born out of the circumstances of post-Civil War Nigeria. Its founders wanted young Nigerians to develop common bonds and a stronger sense of national identity. Those objectives remain desirable.

 

But the Nigeria of 2026 is not the Nigeria of 1973.

 

Our security challenges are different. Our population is different. Our economy is different. Our young people face different challenges. Technology has transformed communication and interaction.

 

The government must therefore have the courage to ask whether the NYSC should continue unchanged, be radically reformed, or eventually replaced with a more effective national service framework.

 

What we cannot continue to do is expose young Nigerians to avoidable danger simply because a policy was created more than half a century ago.

 

National unity is important. But so is the safety and dignity of the young Nigerians who are expected to serve the nation.

 

Bola Bolawole, a former Editor of PUNCH Newspapers, Chairman of its Editorial Board and Deputy Editor-in-Chief, writes columns for Nigerian newspapers.

 

Source note: The opinion is adapted for Newstrends.ng from Bola Bolawole’s October 7, 2026 article. The NYSC’s official account confirms that the scheme was established by Decree No. 24 of May 22, 1973, principally to promote national unity and common ties among Nigerian youths.

 

 

OPINION: Who Still Needs the NYSC? — By Bola Bolawole