The Association of Nigerian University Alumni (ANUA) yesterday kicked against the scrapping of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme.
However, it recommended that the scheme should be made voluntary for graduates.
ANUA Chairman, Dr. Wale Fasakin, said scrapping the scheme is a “No go area by the government or anyone”, adding that “If NYSC is scrapped, it will encourage most of the youths to go into crime because of the level of unemployment in the country.”
Daily Trust reports that a federal lawmaker, Hon. Awaji- Inimbel Abiante (PDP, Rivers State), recently proposed a bill for the scrapping of the scheme, citing insecurity and alleged exploitation of corps members in some places of primary assignment.
But the University Alumni in a statement yesterday said the reasons identified by the Reps member, Abiante were identified with the Nigerian society but not good enough reasons to scrap the scheme.
“It should be registered that these reasons are identifiable with the Nigerian society wherein the scheme operates, yet they are not very good enough pointers for the scrapping of such laudable programme like the NYSC which has served as one of the tools for the socio-economic development of the country,” said the Fasakin.
He described the bill as the latest in series of attempts to undermine the scheme.
Fasakin who is also the President of the University of Ilorin Alumni Association noted that the scheme has served as a viable instrument of exposure for a very large percentage of the growing population of the youths in Nigeria through deployments of corps members to states outside their places of origin to contribute their quota to national development.
