The Federal Government has confirmed that the traditional khaki uniform worn by members of the National Youth Service Corps will be replaced with Adire fabric as part of a broad reform of the scheme.
Minister of Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, said the decision is aimed at promoting local production and ensuring government spending supports Nigerian industries and manufacturers.
Responding to questions on whether the new uniforms would be produced locally, Olawande said: “It’s Adire. So, Adire is being produced in Nigeria. We have them in Ogun, we have them in Kwara, we have textile industry. Let’s put our money back into the country.”
The minister also disclosed that corps members would increasingly be posted according to their areas of specialisation under the restructuring of the scheme.
Graduates with education related qualifications, for instance, would be posted to schools instead of being deployed without consideration for their professional backgrounds.
“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 is going to give a framework of where you are going to be posted to,” he said.
On insecurity in some parts of the country, Olawande said the government was considering posting prospective corps members to regions where they studied and were already familiar with the environment.
He said the move would reduce concerns among parents and corps members while making the deployment process more practical.
“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, that schooled in that area, that know much about that area?’ Not just somebody, for example, let me say from South-West to 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.
Olawande also dismissed reports suggesting the military would be removed from the NYSC, describing such claims as a misconception.
He clarified that although the scheme’s operational leadership would be headed by a civilian, the military would continue to play its role, particularly in ensuring the security of corps members.
“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. Military is not taken away, there is no how you can take the military away. It is just saying that we are moving away from military mobilisation to civilian mobilisation,” he said.
The reforms follow approval by the Federal Executive Council of the first major overhaul of the NYSC since its establishment 53 years ago.
As part of the decision, the Attorney General of the Federation and the Ministry of Youth Development were directed to amend the NYSC Act and its regulations to accommodate the reforms and facilitate implementation.
Under the new framework, the scheme will be led operationally by a civilian while the military will continue to provide security support for corps members nationwide.
The reforms are expected to reposition the NYSC as a skills oriented, productivity driven and youth empowerment institution aligned with the Federal Government’s ambition of building a one trillion dollar economy.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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