The Future of Nigeria’s National Youth Service Corps Programme: Any Hope for National Integration?

Abstract

The National Youth Service Corps was established under Decree 24 of 1973 to foster national unity. It was one of the post-civil war strategies of reconciling the warring groups and building a united Nigeria. At its inception, the programme was generally well received, however as time progressed, some destabilizing factors began to dim the hope of its continuity. This study therefore aims at investigating to what extent the National Youth Service Corps programme will remain a viable instrument of national integration in the coming years. Using the quantitative research orientation, 400 copies of a questionnaire were administered among current participants, former participants, prospective participants as well as non-participants across four (4) Local Government Areas in Lagos and Ogun States. A total of 345 completed questionnaires were returned, giving a rate of return of 86.25%. The analysis of the data was essentially by descriptive statistical methods including, frequency tables and simple percentile. The result suggests that the National Youth Service Corp programme is currently being threatened by the twin challenges of insecurity and youth unemployment. 49.4% of respondents opined that they influenced their postings due to security issues, while 29.3% influenced theirs based on job placement. 63.7% confirmed that there will no need of influencing their postings if the challenges of security and unemployment were resolved. The study therefore recommends that government at all levels do the needful to mitigate these challenges, if the dream of a united Nigeria will be realized.