Some Nigerians youth advocates have disagreed with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s much-talked-about reforms of the National Youth Service Corps.
The president and secretary of a youths’ coalition, Abdulrahman Sani and Grace Nwafor, made this known view in a statement on Sunday.
Recall President Tinubu had announced NYSC reforms for the first time since their establishment in 1973.
The reforms are expected to introduce civilian leadership rather than military with a three-phase orientation camp.
However, the youths led by Sani and Nwafor have championed a call for the government to retain the current NYSC leadership structure.
They warned that stripping the scheme of its traditional structure could weaken one of Nigeria’s most enduring instruments for national unity, discipline, and emergency service.
The youths argued that the reforms should not alter the identity of an institution that has served the country for over five decades.
“We sincerely beg him to pause this process and allow broader stakeholder engagement before any irreversible decision is taken.
“It would be unfortunate if the NYSC gradually loses its identity and becomes known merely as another government skills acquisition program. Skills are important, but they are not the reason the scheme was created. Its greatest achievement has been bringing young Nigerians together across ethnic, religious, and regional divides at a time when our country desperately needed healing.
“Across the world, countries such as Singapore, South Korea, Israel and Switzerland continue to expose their young citizens to structured national or military service because they understand that national development depends
