NYSC: Corps members’ abduction revives old debate on 53 year-old national scheme

By Olakunle Olafioye

For more than five decades, the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has carried one of Nigeria’s most enduring national ideals on the shoulders of millions of young graduates: that Nigerians from different ethnic, religious and geographical backgrounds can live, work and serve together as one people. But 53 years after its establishment, the scheme is confronting a question that goes beyond national integration. Is it still worth putting young Nigerians on the road across hundreds of kilometres in the name of national service when the country can no longer guarantee their safety?

The question returned forcefully to the national conversation after gunmen attacked two buses travelling along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in Imo State on October 1. The buses were reportedly carrying prospective corps members and other passengers travelling from Ibadan to orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states. The Imo State Police Command confirmed that prospective corps members were among those abducted, while security agencies subsequently rescued some of the victims,  and with the release of remaining victims announced a few days later.

For families, the incident was more than another kidnapping story. It was a frightening reminder that a child sent out in the green-and-white colours of national service can become a target simply by travelling from one part of Nigeria to another. And so, an old debate has returned with renewed force: should the NYSC continue in its present form, be radically reformed, suspended or scrapped altogether?

‘One incident too many’

For rights activist and Chairman/CEO of Dialogue Group Ltd, Muhammad Shehu, the latest abduction represents far more than an isolated security incident. “It is just a case of one incident too many,” he said in a television interview. According to him, the NYSC incident must be viewed against the background of numerous unreported cases of kidnapping across the country. “There are more unreported cases of kidnapping and detention in kidnappers’ dens almost all over the country, especially in the northern part of the country — the Middle Belt, North-West, North-East and North-Central. It is happening daily,” he said.

Shehu acknowledged the original intention behind the NYSC but argued that the security environment has fundamentally altered the circumstances under which the scheme operates. “When Boko Haram was saying that it opposed the NYSC, I tended to take a different view. My view has always been that the NYSC was established to unite Nigeria,” he said.

“But if, in the process of trying to unite Nigeria, you lose your daughter, your son, your uncle, your sister or your loved one, then it is not worth the trouble.” For him, the answer is not simply to improve the existing arrangement. “The NYSC should be scrapped and removed from the Constitution. Allow every young Nigerian to serve in his or her own state rather than forcing them to travel across the country amid all the dangers and costs involved,” he argued.

He also pointed to the financial burden imposed on families. “If your child is travelling from Katsina to Anambra State to report at the NYSC camp, remember that you may have to give that child up to N300,000 just for transportation. How many parents can afford N300,000 to send their wards to another part of the country?” he asked.

Beyond transportation costs, he said, families now have to contend with the possibility of kidnapping, trauma and even death. “If your child has to go through trauma, uncertainty, pain, kidnapping, rape and, eventually, even death, why should that child be compelled to participate in the NYSC?” he asked. His conclusion was unequivocal: “As far as I am concerned, the NYSC project has outlived its usefulness. It should be scrapped.”

The security dilemma

Security analyst Emmanuel Ogar, sees the matter differently. For him, the challenge is real, but it does not necessarily mean that the national service scheme itself has become irrelevant. “I think that is one challenge that the government would have to contend with at the moment,” Ogar said.

He noted that NYSC has become deeply institutionalised within Nigeria’s governmental structure. “The fact that the National Youth Service Corps is an institutionalised programme within our government processes. Every graduate is required to go through that process,” he said. However, he acknowledged the growing danger faced by corps members. “Sadly, repeatedly, we’ve seen corps members being targeted either by kidnappers or other criminal elements that are within the country.”

The immediate responsibility, he argued, is for the government to restore confidence among parents and families. “The challenge for the government right now is to convince not just parents but also the loved ones of anyone who is going for the National Youth Service Corps that he or she would be safe throughout the 12 months within which that person is involved in that project,” he said.

But Ogar also cautioned against treating corps members as though they operate in a security environment fundamentally different from that of other Nigerians. “Let’s not forget that the NYSC scheme is embedded within the Nigerian ecosystem as it were. So whatever would happen to those corps members is not necessarily going to be different from what would happen to ordinary Nigerians,” he said. 

For him, the emphasis should therefore be on broader public security. “The emphasis should be on public security, protection and ensuring, for instance, that Nigerians can move freely without the fear of being abducted” he said.

A programme born from the ashes of war

The argument for retaining the NYSC begins with history. Established in 1973, three years after the Nigerian Civil War, the scheme was conceived as part of the country’s attempt to rebuild national cohesion and heal divisions. Its objectives include promoting national unity, removing ethnic prejudices, encouraging religious tolerance and exposing young Nigerians to the cultures and ways of life of people from different parts of the country.

The idea was straightforward: take a young graduate from Lagos and send him to Sokoto; take another from Kano and send her to Enugu; send an indigene of Anambra to Ogun or a graduate from Rivers to Kaduna. The hope was that Nigerians would discover one another beyond stereotypes. Over the years, the scheme has produced friendships, marriages, professional networks and lifelong relationships. It has also supplied manpower to schools, hospitals, government institutions and rural communities.

Corps members have also played important roles in Nigeria’s electoral process, serving as ad hoc personnel during elections. For supporters, these contributions make it difficult to dismiss the scheme as obsolete. But perhaps the strongest defence of NYSC comes not from government officials, but from those who actually passed through it.

‘I had no fear or regret’

Dr Munir Kehinde enrolled in the scheme in 1996. Long before he became a corps member, the green-and-white uniform had fascinated him. “My first close contact with corps members was when I was in secondary school. Two corps members were posted to my school and I was so fascinated by their dressing,” he recalled. 

He also noticed the respect they enjoyed in his community. “A couple of them resided in my community. So, those things I saw about them thrilled me so much that I vowed that I must also participate in the scheme,” he said. He eventually got his opportunity when he was posted to Niger State. “Niger State was a dream destination for me then because I had heard a lot about the state from one of my uncles who once lived in the state and so I wanted to see things for myself,” he recalled.

His experience was markedly different from the insecurity confronting today’s corps members.“From the moment I landed in the state and throughout my entire service year, I had no fear or regret of any sort,” he said. According to him, the people were welcoming and the environment was peaceful. “Life in Niger State then was peaceful and the local people there were hospitable that neither my parents nor I had any cause to worry about anything.”

He said many of his contemporaries had similarly positive experiences, with some deciding to remain in their states of deployment. “In fact, a couple of my friends decided to stay back in the states where they served, with some of them ending up getting married to corps members and locals of different ethnic backgrounds,” he said. For Kehinde, therefore, the solution to today’s problems should not be the destruction of the institution.

He concluded that Nigerians, particularly young graduates, still have a lot to benefit from the programme despite the current security challenge threatening the scheme.

‘NYSC made that possible’

Social crusader Abiodun Subair is equally opposed to scrapping the scheme. He argues that for many Nigerians, NYSC remains one of the few practical opportunities to establish meaningful relationships beyond their ethnic and geographical boundaries. “NYSC remains one of the major unifying schemes in Nigeria,” he said.

“But for the NYSC, the majority of Nigerians would not have had the opportunity of establishing enduring relationships with their countrymen and women from other parts of this nation.” 

Subair’s own experience illustrates his argument. “I was born and raised in Abeokuta. I did all my schooling, right from primary school to tertiary level in Ogun State. My first time meeting with people from other parts of the country in large numbers was during my national service year,” he said. The relationships he formed, he added, have endured long after his service year. “Today, I can boast of having friends in at least five non-Yoruba states in Nigeria. These are people I met during my national service year.”

Four years ago, one of those friends travelled from Akwa Ibom to Abeokuta and stayed with him for three days. “NYSC made that possible,” Subair said, adding, “tomorrow, if I have to travel to Akwa Ibom, I am sure he will equally be motivated to render one assistance or the other to me if it is within his power.” So for him, abolishing NYSC would mean losing an important bridge between Nigerians.

Experience is still producing skills

A serving corps member, who identified himself as Olajide, also believes the scheme still has value despite its challenges. He said the orientation programme exposed him to vocational training that he would not otherwise have considered. “Notwithstanding the challenges confronting the scheme, there are a lot of advantages in the scheme,” he said.

“During our three-week orientation programme, we were exposed to a number of training programmes which has stimulated my interest in them and I have promised to acquire the skill as soon as the service year is over.” 

For young Nigerians like Olajide, NYSC is therefore not simply about being posted away from home. It can also be an opportunity to acquire skills, make contacts and discover new possibilities.

‘Insecurity a national challenge’

Educationist Uju Onyebuchi also disagrees with calls for the scheme’s abolition. Her argument is that insecurity is too widespread to be solved by restricting corps members to their home states. “Is there any institution or country that does not have its own challenges? Do we say because of those challenges the institutions or the country should cease to exist? No, I do not think so,” she said.

She challenged the idea that some parts of Nigeria can simply be designated as safe while others are considered dangerous. “There is no part of the country which does not have its own peculiar security issues,” she said.

“There are crises in the South-West; people are being abducted, churches are being attacked. In the South-East, people are equally being kidnapped. So the issue of insecurity is a national crisis. We should not try to limit it to any part of the country.”

For Onyebuchi, the government must confront the problem at its source. “The best way to solve it is not to ban NYSC or to confine people to serve in their local areas where they feel they are safe. The solution is for the government to show more political will in curtailing insecurity,” she said.

Suspend it for one year?

Not everyone who believes NYSC remains relevant supports maintaining the scheme exactly as it is. National Publicity Secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and former Minister of Youth Development, Bolaji Abdullahi, has proposed suspending the scheme for one year to allow it to be reorganised in response to the worsening security situation. 

Abdullahi stressed that the proposal was his personal view and not the official position of the ADC. “It was my personal view, and I was speaking as a former Minister of Youth Development that has managed that sector before,” he was quoted as saying.

His position captures the middle ground in the debate. “I think the NYSC is still relevant. But I think we need to respond to the current situation of insecurity in the country,” he said. 

Can reform save NYSC?

The Federal Government appears to have chosen reform rather than abolition. In June, the Federal Executive Council approved a comprehensive reform of the NYSC — described as the first holistic review of the scheme in its 53-year history. The reforms include risk-sensitive deployment, technology-driven mobilisation, skills-based training, a redesigned six-week orientation programme and greater emphasis on entrepreneurship, digital skills and career development.

The one-year service period will remain, while the operational leadership of the scheme is to become civilian-led. The reforms suggest that the government does not believe the idea of national service is obsolete. But the latest abductions raise a more urgent question: can reform move faster than insecurity?

Afenifere, reacting to the latest incident, has proposed that prospective corps members be posted to their states of origin, states of residence or, at least, states within their geopolitical zones. Such a system could reduce the risks associated with long-distance travel while retaining some aspects of national service.

But Dr Munir is of the opinion that the suggestion could undermine the very philosophy that gave birth to NYSC. According to him, If a graduate from Ogun serves only in Ogun, a graduate from Kano remains in Kano and an Anambra graduate serves only in Anambra, the chances of young Nigerians crossing cultural and geographical boundaries may diminish. That is the central contradiction at the heart of today’s debate.

Has NYSC achieved its original mission?

After 53 years, the question cannot simply be whether NYSC has failed. National integration is difficult to measure, and no institution could realistically eliminate ethnic or religious prejudices rooted in decades of history, politics and inequality. Yet the persistence of ethnic suspicion and regional distrust inevitably raises questions about how much the scheme has achieved.

On the other hand, the very persistence of those divisions could strengthen the argument for retaining an institution designed to bring young Nigerians together. Perhaps NYSC has not failed. Perhaps Nigeria has simply changed faster than the scheme.

If NYSC goes, what replaces it?

If NYSC is scrapped, what takes its place? This is where the abolition argument encounters its biggest challenge.  A voluntary National Youth Service could allow graduates to serve in education, healthcare, agriculture, technology, environmental protection and community development while offering incentives to participants. Another possibility is a shorter skills and employment service, combining practical training, apprenticeships and entrepreneurship support.

Analysts have suggested that the National Community Service Corps could also be established, with deployment determined by security assessments and graduates’ areas of residence. Technology could provide another option. Some graduates could undertake community development projects within their regions or remotely, while doctors, teachers, engineers, agricultural specialists and ICT professionals could be deployed strategically to areas where their expertise is most urgently needed.

But any replacement would require money, competent administration and measurable results. Simply scrapping NYSC without creating an effective alternative could remove one of the few national platforms through which young Nigerians encounter people from different parts of the country.

Reform or retirement?

At 53, the NYSC stands at another crossroads. For parents, the issue is straightforward: no national objective should require their children to take avoidable risks. For corps members and former participants, the service year can still offer friendships, skills, exposure and opportunities that may shape the rest of their lives.

For the government, the challenge is more difficult: how does it preserve the ideal of national integration while confronting an insecurity crisis that increasingly determines where Nigerians can safely travel, work and live? Ogar’s position captures the dilemma. The government must convince parents that their children will be safe, he argues, but the safety of corps members ultimately depends on the safety of the wider society.

Analysts insist that the answer cannot be limited to NYSC camps. It must include safer roads, better intelligence gathering, effective emergency response, improved coordination among security agencies and a system capable of tracking and protecting corps members during inter-state journeys.

In the words of many stakeholders, security must become more than a promise. It must become a measurable obligation. And the government must also be prepared to examine the compulsory nature of the programme itself. Perhaps the debate should therefore move beyond the simplistic question of ‘NYSC or no NYSC.’ The more important question is: What form of national service best serves Nigeria in 2026 and beyond?

Those who spoke with Sunday Sun noted that the answer could be a radically reformed NYSC. It could be a shorter, voluntary or regionally structured programme. It could be a completely redesigned national community service system. Or Nigeria could eventually decide that compulsory deployment across state boundaries has become too risky to justify. But whatever decision is taken, the original idea behind the NYSC should not be lost: that young Nigerians should have opportunities to understand one another, serve their communities and develop a sense of shared national responsibility.

As a concerned Nigerian noted, the tragedy is that the same journey intended to bring Nigerians closer together can now expose them to kidnapping, violence and death. That is the paradox Nigeria must confront. At 53, perhaps the NYSC does not merely need to survive. Perhaps it needs to prove, once again, why Nigeria still needs it.