The federal government says the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) must be repositioned into a digitally driven, financially sustainable institution capable of serving Nigeria’s current and future manpower demands.
Speaking in Abuja on Monday at a stakeholders’ consultative
forum, Hadiza Bala-Usman, special adviser to the president on policy and
coordination, said while the scheme had, for more than five decades, promoted
unity and civic responsibility, it could no longer operate under systems
designed over 50 years ago.
The event was convened to validate recommendations of the
NYSC reform committee.
“For over five decades, the NYSC has symbolised unity, civic
responsibility and national integration. Yet, as with all human institutions,
relevance requires reinvention,” she said.
“These realities have made clear that the current structure
– centralised, analogue, financially overstretched, and misaligned with
national manpower needs – cannot carry the scheme into the future.”
Bala-Usman, who is also the head of the central results
delivery coordination unit, said diagnostic reviews by the committee indicated
legal, fiscal, operational and digital gaps that required urgent intervention.
She added that the findings showed that heavy centralisation
slowed service delivery, state participation in funding was weak, and skills
development programmes were not aligned with market realities.
The presidential aide said the committee had proposed
legislative amendments to provide for digital service processes,
gender-responsive deployment and new co-funding arrangements involving states
and local governments for the NYSC.
She listed other recommendations to include a unified
digital service platform, stronger employer obligations, a three-tier
governance structure and a redesigned skills development model with zonal
innovation hubs.
A proposed N2 billion innovation fund was also included in
the plan.
“The reform proposal envisions a phased implementation
between 2026 and 2028, beginning with legislative amendments and digital pilots
in 2026, and culminating in a nationwide sector-aligned deployment model by
2028,” she said.
Ayodele Olawande, minister of youth development, said the
reforms are necessary to ensure corps members are better equipped for
employment and self-reliance rather than relying solely on government jobs.
The minister noted that the population of corps members is
rising and must be matched with productive engagement.
“Let us make NYSC productive so that after one year, corps
members will not just come out looking for government jobs but can become
employers of labour,” he said.
Olakunle Nafiu, director-general of the NYSC, said the
scheme had evolved since 1973 but must continue to reform to retain relevance.
Nafiu said the first batch of corps members after its
establishment numbered just over 2,000, compared to about 400,000 being
mobilised annually at the moment.
Kashifu Inuwa, director-general of the National Information
Technology Development Agency (NITDA), said the reforms must support the
country to harness its human capital for global competitiveness.
He projected that improved digital training could position
Nigerian youths for remote work opportunities with significant economic
returns.
“In Nigeria, we can conveniently train our youth and help
them to reach the global talent gap,” Inuwa said.
“Imagine we have two million Nigerians working remotely;
this can earn the country nothing less than 100 billion dollars annually. We
can achieve a one trillion-dollar economy if we harness our human capital.”
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