The mandated one-year NYSC program will not be made voluntary, according to Sunday Dare, minister of sports and youth development.
On Tuesday in Abuja, he made this statement at the 14th iteration of President Muhammadu Buhari’s Administration Scorecard Series (2015-2023). He said that the necessity to foster national unity was the driving force for the scheme’s creation in 1973. The youth of any country, according to Dare, are its lifeblood. He said, “Once you grab their patriotism, it may spread cross.
“The rationale behind establishing the NYSC by Gen. Yakubu Gowon still subsists, as every country and even Nigeria is still on a daily basis promoting its unity in diversity.”
He said that a committee to organise the celebration of the NYSC at 50 in May 2023 would be inaugurated on Wednesday, adding that “with all the testimonies, no one will subscribe to scraping or even making the scheme optional.” He explained that the scheme is looking forward to carrying out some reforms that would further add value to it.
“Reform is a constant thing, the NYSC is looking at some reforms, we had challenges with those in the diaspora, certain aspects of whether you can serve or not have been there.
“The NYSC is working to make sure that those areas that are faulty about the laws are addressed.
“There is a solid database that would detect if a graduate has a fake certificate or not.”
