PREMIUM TIMES reported that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved a comprehensive overhaul of the NYSC to align it with Nigeria’s current development priorities.
The Minister of Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, has announced that the National Youth Service Corps’ (NYSC) traditional khaki uniform is to be replaced with locally produced Adire fabric.
Speaking after the FEC meeting, Mr Olawande said the reforms were designed to reposition the 53-year-old scheme beyond mobilisation, transforming it into a platform for skills development, employment and national growth.
The minister made the uniform disclosure during an interview on Channels Television’s “The Morning Brief” on Thursday.
He said the move was aimed at promoting Nigerian culture and supporting indigenous textile producers.
Mr Olawande said: “It’s Adire. So, Adire is being produced in Nigeria. We have them in Ogun, we have them in Kwara, we have a textile industry. Let’s put our money back into the country.”
Mr Olawale said the government was also considering a policy that would deploy prospective corps members to the regions where they completed their studies.
He said the plan will apply in particular to areas facing security challenges, where the corps members are already familiar with the environment.
He explained that the proposal will help allay the fears of parents and prospective corps members, while ensuring a more realistic and efficient deployment arrangement.
“If we have a particular area that is having insecurity, instead of probably forcing people or parents to start talking, we must also give them an opportunity that ‘okay, who are those in that area, who are schooled in that area, who know much about that area?’ Not just somebody, for example, let me say from the South-West to the North-East.
“If you have interest that you want to go to the North-East why not, but if you don’t have interest, instead of redeploying you, paying people for camp, doing all those funny things, we said no, let us look at it and say who are those in that area, that can reside in those geographical areas and still give us the kind of number we are looking for since we are saying NYSC should be more impactful. So, that is what we are talking about,” he said.
He further stated that the scheme will deploy corps members to roles that align with their academic disciplines and professional training.
He also dismissed reports that the proposed reforms would remove military personnel from the NYSC, describing the claims as untrue.
Mr Olawale added, “That after you are leaving the camp, you are not just posted to a school just because NYSC wants you to be in school, but because of the process you followed when in camp. So, that will give a framework for where you are going to be posted.
“We are not taking the military out of NYSC, it’s just a misconception and the way we read some of the things that were put out, and that is the aspect that we need to start making research before reacting. The military is not taken away; there is no way you can take the military away. It is just saying that we are moving away from military mobilisation to civilian mobilisation.”
