Thread by @segalink

We have over 80million youth population which positions the country for progress if properly engaged and harnessed but instead we continue to run an over 40year old policy for the NYSC program, which is already outdated and expired for today’s engagement age. #ScrapNYSC

That one year can be deployed to usher our graduates into a world of posibilities, showing them how to apply themselves across discipline towards Nation Building. This is where true leadership can be communicated in practical terms. #ScrapNYSC

But instead what do we have? We have an anachronistic National Racket that creates a morbid sense of entitlement in an age where nothing is guaranteed. How else can a wasted one year in a camp that earned you only a cardboard justify gainful employment in 2018? #ScrapNYSC

Of course I expect people to say why not reform. No one takes you seriously when you begin a campaign with suggestion for reforms. They can change the color of the khaki and announce boisterously in the media that a Reform has taken place while nothing changes. #ScrapNYSC

Instead of the criminal racket they have operating now. Government can partner with credible non-governmental organizations reputable for engaging fresh graduates on career advancement just to help our youth find themselves in a rounded one year program. #ScrapNYSC

This way across the 36 States and FCT we can engage the best hands and professionals who can help create a generic one year engagement plan for the future of our sectors through engagement of these youth hub. Resources can also be harnessed for foundational projects. #ScrapNYSC

If this is done right, we can create hundreds of millions of jobs for redundant youth through this developmental project year that will be beneficial across Nigerian states. The theme for each region may differ ranging from Education, National Integration, Political Awareness etc

My point here is that it shouldn’t be a wasted year that only earns you a certificate, boyfriend, girlfriend, husband or wife. It should have a measurable impact on society enough for you to refer to your sustainable project as your maiden contribution to National Development.

This is why we have resolved to focus our beam on Universal Institutional Reforms. We advocate from the perspective of policies. We can’t progress as a people with outdated policies and acts that are no longer relevant. Developmental National Project year should be optional.

People who are not formally educated must also be allowed to volunteer for the Developmental National Project & their input measured. The certificate thus obtained must never be a basis for consideration for jobs or political appointment but may be an added advantage. #ScrapNYSC

The power lies in the hands of the people. You are the main obstacle to reforms. What you have culturally sanctioned and used to religiously often become your reality and due to cognitive dissonance people never see anything but what they have always known. #ScrapNYSC

I know it is an Herculean ask but it is possible. Think about the growing concerns on National Security for instance and it worsens daily even though we all may have normalized this. Who in their right minds will release their kids for NYSC in troubled zones? #ScrapNYSC

The question to sane minds is Why? Because you want an advantage from Government? Because you hope for them to benefit from political appointment? This is premised on a wrong social construct that leadership can only be exercised from political offices. #ScrapNYSC

We have grown accustomed to the safety nets and railings created in the Industrial Age. We have become conformists and inductrinated our kids to be dependent and entitled to Government’s social programs. This is why we accept poverty as virtue. #ScrapNYSC

Our Government as current run is not sustainable. The Misnomer we Call National Youth Service is neither sustainable nor worth the risk. It can be better re-engineered to better the state’s while engaging the youth in prep for the real world. #ScrapNYSC

There are several alternatives out there that will ease the pressure on the states. We must not continue to create morbidly entitled dependents when we can raise leaders who will land on their feet and make society better than they met it. #ScrapNYSC

This I understand will be bad news for those making a killing on the project for over 40years. But Change is what it is and must be embraced for the common good of all. It can be better and viewed from another perspective. We shouldn’t wait until calamity strikes. #ScrapNYSC

I agree that we may not throw the baby out with the birth water. There are pros and cons but let us begin with policy as always. We can #ScrapNYSC and bring in an entirely new program void of compulsion yet beneficial to the individual and the state towards national integration.

I’ve raised the conversation and your superior argument is welcome. Nigeria belongs to all of us and it is time we get involved and stop normalizing and adopting cultures/policies that are no longer significant or relevant to you in the current age. #ScrapNYSC

So What say you? 🤔 Do we scrap NYSC & initiate an innovative National Integration Development Project, ReformNYSC or Leave it be? #ScrapNYSC #InitiateNIDP

When we adopted #ReformPoliceNG as an end goal with an objective to #EndSARS we understood beyond the idealism that practically we can not disband the entire police force at this point of our polity. In this case we can do without the NYSC program & salvage Human Resources.