Abuja and Lagos only cities to start corps members’ postings to banks, energy coys for better job skills
From the federal government's point of view, trialling ways to address widespread job scarcity seems appropriate as the population of new graduates living unemployed grows and looks to be bursting at the seams.
Before the present year, formally stationing members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in the banking sector was unheard of until a memo from the Minister of State of Youth Development Mr Ayodele Olawande was released two days ago. The communication in this release says that starting from this year’s Batch ‘C’ Orientation exercise when corps members camp with each other for three weeks, there would be the opportunity to post them afterwards to places other than public institutions.
From the federal government’s point of view, trialling ways to address widespread job scarcity seems appropriate as the population of new graduates living unemployed grows and looks to be bursting at the seams.
Earlier in the year, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) performed a Nigeria Labour Force Statistics Report covering the first quarter of the year. It found that the unemployment rate for Q1 2024 was 5.3%, an increase from 5.0% recorded in Q3 2023.
Combating this increment is pretty much what the youth ministry is now trying to do. According to the memo signed by the Honourable Minister Olawande on Monday 18 November 2024, there is an urgent need to review this policy (of only posting NYSC recruits to public spaces) to expand the opportunity and access for corps members to serve in places that are relevant to their areas of study.
The memo adds that without prejudice to the need to constantly review per prevailing realities, I now direct as follows: Lifting of all restrictions on postings.
With the restrictions partially removed, it directly means that as long as deployments are relevant to the subject’s course of study in a tertiary school, there will be the posting of corps members to select banks and other private sector organisations, including those operating in oil and gas, to commence with Abuja and Lagos.
The directive contained herein, says the minister, will take effect from the date of commencement of the 2024 Batch ‘C Orientation Course and applies in relation to any matter relating to the posting and distribution of corps members to Places of Primary Assignment.
ALSO READ: Why do corps members think NYSC food is no longer cutting it?
Prior to the minister putting out the memo on Monday, corps members could only serve in mostly the areas of education, infrastructure, and health which are government-run critical sectors whether at the federal, state or local levels.
This policy, which is slightly being revoked as it only covers two Nigerian main cities for now, began when Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi was the Minister of Youth Development under the Dr Goodluck Jonathan administration.
It was particularly in 2011 while visiting the National Youth Service Corps Orientation Camp in Paiko, Niger State, that Mallam Abdullahi, a Kwara state indigene noticed that the scheme members posted to some organisations were being approached as cheap labour.
This exploitation was hindering standard recruitments in private settings as the employers felt they would always be able to get new NYSC labour into their offices to receive meagre remuneration.
It has been 13 years since the purpose-driven recalibration was effected and the downsides are now showing under a new administrator Olawande. He sees that the now revoked policy has greatly hampered experience gathering.
Although the public sector which primarily offers services is rising to the demands of Industry 4.0 spearheaded by artificial intelligence algorithms, it is a fact that private employers including multinationals in Nigeria are better placed with their exposure to impart vital knowledge that a modern up-to-date youth should have.
