Upholding mandatory service: a course in the right direction

Everything goes well academically in Nigeria for every young academician until after senior secondary school or high school, when the dynamics change and going to college becomes luck or the degree of connection one has, except for some that are admitted based on merit. Well, even though entering college is hard, you may not be guaranteed to finish, probably due to industrial actions, resits, repeats, or other unforeseen glitches. What all undergraduates look forward to is the one-year mandatory service to the nation termed the 'National Youths Service Corps' (NYSC), where all graduates (except those granted exemption) are required to serve the nation in different locations, usually and in capacities similar to their course of study (this is not always the case).

Though the NYSC is mandatory and expected not to be influenced for posting or deference, we still have a few privileged citizens that work their way around it. The NYSC usually lasts one year, and it is a mandatory requirement for job consideration, and citizens of Nigeria that study abroad do participate in the program. I served in 2018 in a distant location, Kebbi State, which is a day's journey from my residence. I also influenced my relocation (without having to fund the process) to another state, which worked out just as I wanted, but I changed my mind on the very day the relocation posting came out.

Being a medic and professional, our services remain pivotal in society and thus willingly and readily absorbed into the state's health affairs. I served in a general hospital that was about a ten-minute drive from the capital city alongside a resident medical principal officer. It was a huge relief to him, as he had extra time to engage in other activities. Prior to my coming, he was the only resident doctor in the facility except for two older doctors that came around for daytime consultations only. As far as I could tell, I was loved by most hospital staff, especially as I made efforts to learn and communicate in their language, which is Hausa. Glad to know that I still keep in touch with a few of their staff till today, which is more than five years since I left there.

I have had encounters with some individuals that feel the NYSC program is unnecessary. Perhaps their perception and dissatisfaction were a result of an unaligned career path to the field they were posted to. Most available places to serve are schools, and Corp members are required to take subjects that may or may not relate to their courses while in undergraduate. Another reason for probable contempt is to be posted to distant locations, such as rural areas. Recently, a friend told me she had to use the boat for some assignments. That could be risky if we are to be sincere. And the worst of it was the remuneration, which is ₦33, 000 or 20 dollars in a month. The money is hardly enough to take any adult through the month.

But the young adult has often outsourced other means of income and has been able to save even a little from the NYSC. And, there are testimonies of people that were retained where they served after the program. Many corp members equally cried and went into depression towards the tail end of the NYSC program as there was no assured job after it and hence, a stop to the little guaranteed income.
In conclusion, while the demerits are obvious, the benefits outweigh such that both the corp members and the beneficiaries of the service (i.e., the community) enjoy a good working relationship.

Thank you for reading. I would love to have your comments and contributions.