By Bilyamin Abdulmumin
Many countries would seek to foster unity, cultural integration and religious tolerance by rolling out one particular national service or the other. Nigeria, who had witnessed an uprising that threatened to disrupt the hard-earned years of coexistence has, after the upheaval, followed suit by mandating a National Youth Service Corps for universities and Polytechnic graduates.
To make the vision effective, Corps were deployed interchangeably across regions and states. This idea of interchangeable redeployment provides a platform that allows a better understanding of the country’s cultural diversity and catalogue of other differences among Nigerians.
Over the years, the NYSC scheme has evolved to become a brainchild to later life achievements: building connections that lead to many things such as jobs, skills acquisitions, marriage or lifelong friendships.
In addition, many secondary schools posed as Place of Primary Assignment (PPA) -especially the public schools- would improve their teaching capacity with these agile youth often bubbles with fresh ideas, from different backgrounds. Many students who are taught by these Corpers would get inspired for their future careers. I’m a living witness, and I have come across a lot of friends who testified to that.
However, many prospective Corp members, by sheer unenlightenment, risk jeopardising this one-lifetime experience in the name of redeployment or service in absentia.
As the NYSC three-week orientation camp exercise enters the third and last week, one thing dominates it- relocation application.
The NYSC commission, in recognition of the saying “no rule without exception,” has provided the options for relocation after completing the three-week orientation camp from one state of service to another on the grounds of health, marriage, or security.
Many Corp members would, however, seek to outsmart this relocation window, intentionally citing for instance health grounds for their relocation. During the just concluded Batch C orientation camp, the Gombe State chapter director-general had echoed that: “There is no need to invite sickness you do not have upon yourself for the sake of relocation.”
It doesn’t take careful observation to note that the majority of the relocation applicants are typical northerners, aka Hausa-Fulani.
This observation leads to a glaring but intriguing conclusion: Hausa-Fulani are home loving-people, they do not want to explore other regions apart from their familiar environment despite the enormous possibilities attached with that. These home-loving youths would come home after redeployment only to continue from where they stopped; the circle of their routine personal activities. But little do they realize that the bet wasn’t worth it.
Service at homes is a deterrent to Corp members from giving their best. It also prevents one from tapping the opportunity the host community has to offer, therefore, unwise to seek redeployment.
Later in life, whenever there is a discussion on the NYSC experience or not, while those who relocate would draw little, those who served in absentia would draw blank. However, many of them never hesitate to voice out their regret for being redeployed or served in absentia.
At the time of deployment, no one sees a good experience forthcoming. In fact what we perceived as being headed to our local government of posting was hell.
But looking back at the time of our arrival as new Corpers, it was a complete departure from my thoughts about the posting. However, to avoid taking too much of your time, my experience with the posting will be reported in the second part of this article.
Dear prospective Corps members, desist the idea of seeking relocation or service in absentia for what you come to see on arrival is not the complete picture of the posting. Give enough time for your posting and everything will fall into the right places.