BREAKING: Amadi Declares NYSC ‘Cheap Labour,’ Calls For End To Mandatory Service

The Director of the Abuja School of Social Thought and Politics, Sam Amadi, has called for an end to the compulsory participation of Nigerian graduates in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

Amadi made the call on Tuesday during an interview on News Central Television while reacting to the proposed reforms of the NYSC announced by President Bola Tinubu.

According to him, the one-year national service programme has fallen short of meeting the country’s development objectives and should be overhauled to place greater emphasis on literacy, skills acquisition and innovation.

He argued that, in its current form, the scheme has largely turned corps members into a source of inexpensive labour for private sector employers.

“National service should not be compulsory. The NYSC has become cheap labour for the private sector,” Amadi said.

He stressed that the Federal Government’s planned reforms should not be limited to administrative or structural changes but should instead redefine the core objectives of the scheme.

Amadi maintained that the NYSC should be redesigned to support Nigeria’s long-term development goals by equipping young graduates with practical skills, promoting innovation and improving literacy.

He also advocated making national service voluntary while introducing incentives that would encourage graduates to participate.

According to him, the programme should become attractive enough that participation is viewed as a privilege, offering meaningful benefits and creating healthy competition among prospective corps members.

Amadi, however, expressed concern that the current reform proposals may not be sufficient to transform the scheme into an effective platform for national development.

He warned that unless the reforms are tied to a clearly defined development agenda, the programme would remain a loosely structured initiative that fails to deliver its intended impact.