Nigeria’s Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, on Friday suggested that the one-year mandatory service year performed by Nigerian graduates should be extended to two years.
His reason: to allow more time for corps members to acquire life-changing skills that can prepare them to become employers of labour.
Alausa, a medical doctor who became the Minister of Education on October 23, 2024, after a cabinet reshuffle by President Bola Tinubu, was not the first politician to propose the extension of NYSC from one to two years.
EduCheck, an arm of EdubaseNG, shows that former Senate President David Mark; former governor of Niger State, Babangida Aliyu; former governor of Taraba State, Darius Ishaku; and former Chairman of Recovery of Public Property, Okoi Obono-Obla, have all, at different times, called on the federal government to extend the service year to two years. While some argued it would be a way to reduce unemployment, others said it would help Nigerian graduates receive military training and defened themselves.
Here are five occasions when government officials and politicians advised the government to extend NYSC from one to two years:
August 2010
On August 4, 2010, Nigeria’s Senate President, David Mark (2007 – 2015), said the three-week military drill at NYSC camps was not enough to instil discipline in Nigerian graduates. He suggested that 12 months should be dedicated to full military drill and training to address what he described as a “lack of national discipline” among graduates.
“Because people have not been drilled in any form when they go to various universities,” he was quoted as saying by NAN during a Dinner/Award Night organised by the National Defence College for its graduating course participants in 2010.
According to the soldier-turned-politician, the numerous problems facing Nigeria were due to indiscipline among graduates.
February 2014
On February 11, 2014, Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger State (May 2007 – May 2015) said extending the service year from 12 to 24 months would give the NYSC ample time to adequately equip corps members with the skills required to become employers of labour.
July 2021
On July 7, 2021, Governor Darius Ishaku of Taraba State (May 2015 – May 2023) suggested on Channels TV that the first year of NYSC should be dedicated to core military training for corps members so they could defend themselves when necessary, while the second year should focus on social works.
“One year for compulsory military training and the other year for the social works that they are doing now so that anybody who graduates as an NYSC person can know how to handle the gun and defend himself,” Ishaku said. His tenure witnessed different dimensions of insecurity.
January 2025
Again, on January 29, 2025, a former aide to President Muhammadu Buhari, Okoi Obono-Obla, expressed the belief that corps members could be used to combat insecurity across Nigeria.
Obono-Obla, who was the Chairman of the Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property, suggested that converting NYSC to a full two-year “military service programme” would equip participants with the necessary skills for national defence and provide a strong foundation for addressing the growing threats of insecurity.
The Sun quoted him as saying this when party faithfuls of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) gathered in Abuja to celebrate Hilliard Eta’s appointment as Chairman of the Governing Board of the NYSC.
April 2025
The most recent call came from the incumbent Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, who proposed that the three-week orientation camp is not enough to train corps members for the entrepreneurial challenges ahead.
He stated that the NYSC skill acquisition programme can help corps members become employers of labour.
What the law recommends
Chapter 2 (3) of the National Youth Service Corps Act explicitly states that anyone who is called upon to serve in the service corps “shall serve for a continuous period of one year as from the date specified in the call-up instrument served upon him.”
NYSC was established by the military regime of Gen. Yakubu Gowon in 1973 as one of the ways to reintegrate Nigerians after the civil war. Its aim was to inculcate in Nigerian youths the spirit of selfless service to the community and promote unity and brotherhood among Nigerians, irrespective of cultural or social background.
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