Brig-General Shuaibu Ibrahim and his reforms in NYSC
UJI ABDULLAHI ILIYASU examines the current reforms in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and reports that the Director-General of the scheme, Brig-General Shuaibu Ibrahim, is truly giving Nigerian graduates an orientation that changes their mindset for self-reliance and national development.
Background
The National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) is one of the most well-thought-out youth policy for a country with over 200 million people and 250 ethnic nationalities as well as an adopted foreign language as lingua franca.
Even in one local government area in some states, one will be appalled to find that the inhabitants do not understand one another because of language differences. This is compounded even more by hostile religious and cultural differences.
Philosophers intelligently argue that the world is full of man-made tragedies because of wrong ideas. That is true in the case of Nigeria. So, former head of state, General Yakubu Gowon, intended that Nigeria avoids the tragedy arising from mutual suspicions resulting from ignorance of neighbours’ culture and beliefs among Nigerians.
The various ethnic groups in the country live in constant suspicion of the next-door groups in other states other than theirs. This is why many policies and programmes of government are coloured with ethnic suspicion by citizens.
Through the NYSC scheme, Nigerians get to know the cultures of people outside of the immediate communities and invariably understand the way people behave.
Ill-informed agitation
It is therefore, unfortunate that some ill-informed, narrow-minded people can come out to campaign for the scrapping of the Scheme. Financially, socially and politically, the scheme is a lofty idea. Through the allowance paid by the scheme, a prudent corps member could begin to save to start a business after the scheme. Also, getting to know the culture of other people, we are able to accommodate them in our environment and know their taboos and what is accepted in their community thus helping Nigerians to live peacefully together.
In religious aspect, NYSC helps to unfold the tenets of some religions which hitherto remains a mere indoctrination without any celestial benefit to some corps members who are not used to the practice of the religion.
The corps members from the south who serve in the north are used to the mode of worship of the Muslims. They after all find that the Qur’an is a Holy Writ revealed in Arabic and the reading is not a mere incantation but recitation that is understood by Arabic speaking people, even to Arab Christians.
They now know that reading the verse of the Qur’an is not an incantation as they used to understand.
Similarly through the scheme, the corps members from the north who serve in southern parts know the difference between Igbo and the Niger Delta ethnic groups.
NYSC also encourages inter-ethnic marriage which is good for the unity of Nigeria, political alignment and support which usually have their support base in NYSC orientation camps besides schools.
Brig-General Ibrahim’s reforms
On the 10th of May 2019, the mantle of leadership of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) was handed over to the Nasarawa state-born Brig. Gen. Shuaibu Ibrahim, after a stint at Nigerian Army University (NAU), Biu, Borno state, as its first registrar. General Ibrahim thus became the 18th chief executive of the corps.
It is just one year since he came on board, but the General who has distinguished himself both as a soldier and scholar has remained committed to the onerous task of piloting the affairs of NYSC and made swift reforms to the admiration of his compatriots.
He has used his vast administrative experience leadership quality to facilitate the presence of the scheme in all nooks and crannies of the country.
Overwhelmed by patriotism, Ibrahim has, within a spate of twelve months, impacted positively on a number of key areas of NYSC, especially youths-entrepreneurship.
Immediately after assuming office, he unveiled his policy thrust, aimed at harnessing corps members’ potential for their optimal and personal growth through skill acquisition.
He has also improved the security of corps members and welfare of staff. He ensure that corps members on national assignments are posted to their duty posts with heavy presence of security personnel to ensure their safety.
Under Ibrahim, the NYSC partners with relevant agencies in areas of healthcare, corruption fight and the menace of fake results obtained by dubious corps members from corrupt school administrators.
Getting the nod of the presidency, he raised the cops members’ allowance to N33,000, which will ultimately lead to job creation by graduates after completion of their assignments. His intention is to make these youngsters become employers of labour instead of job seekers, after prudent saving of some parts of their allowance.
All of his reforms are geared towards building a motivated young graduates that will help drive NYSC’s mandate and also actualise his personal visions for the NYSC.
Gen. Ibrahim’s concerns for his compatriots propels him to ensuring that NYSC workforce are promptly paid their due entitlements in addition to capacity-building workshops and regular promotion for them.
Not too long ago, Brig. Gen. Ibrahim also worked to secure an operational license for the service’s proposed radio station. The NYSC radio, when operational, will greatly serve as a platform for publicising the laudable activities of the scheme, and go a long way in disabusing the minds of some Nigerians who are calling for the scrapping of the scheme not minding that now is the time Nigeria needed NYSC the most due to increasing fall in nationalism and patriotism among young Nigerians.
Fake corps members
Reports abound in the national dailies when the NYSC management arrested fake corps members during orientation exercise. This has never happened before. Before now the service had become a place for jobless graduates and even artisans who had never seen higher school walls to manipulate the service to their personal advantage.
No wonder the no-nonsense NYSC Director-General stated at the Kubwa orientation camp in the Federal Capital Territory that the scheme’s clampdown on fake graduates had brought sanity into the process.
The NYSC in September, noted that it handed over 85 fake corps members to the police for trial after they were arrested in camps nationwide with fake documents. Some of those corps members had been prosecuted.
“In the Batch B streams 1 and 2, we made several arrests and I am happy to inform Nigerians that some have been prosecuted and jailed last week.
“During the 2019 Batch C mobilisation, over 20,000 foreign-trained Nigerians uploaded online for mobilisation, but through our measures of physical verification, only 3,420 showed up. This is to tell you that we are good, because I warned them earlier that if they were not qualified, they should not show up,” Gen. Ibrahim said.
Later as the reforms continued, the DG said, “We have not arrested any fake corps member in camps in this current orientation exercise going on.”
This reform has saved Nigeria of taxpayers’ money and invariably save the scheme of embarrassment occasioned by corps members who cannot write the name of their place of primary assignments which happened before now.
Innovative strides
Ibrahim’s confidence certainly was borne out of the fact that he has returned to a familiar turf, having served the scheme in the past 20 years as Military Assistant (MA) to a DG of the scheme.
General Ibrahim, therefore, he was well prepared for his present task.
His experience in the academia as a scholar was capped with Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree. His versatile exposure in administration resulting from his various postings in the military made it possible for him to easily fit into his new role of managing an organisation whose main clients are vibrant graduates from various higher school of learning.
Challenges overcome
The infrastructural deficits in many NYSC Orientation Camps, population explosion in NYSC camps, paucity of funds and graduate unemployment, among others, were the many challenges the General had to battle to accomplishment because he was not on the job training.
On assumption of office, General Ibrahim unfolded his agenda bordering on
sustaining effective utilisation of the potential of Nigerian graduates for optimal benefit; pursue a knowledge-driven scheme to deepen effective service delivery; improve on the welfare and security of corps members and staff; strengthening of the existing partnership with stakeholders; and stimulating NYSC entrepreneurship ventures and skill acquisition programme in accordance with the NYSC Act.
“Under my watch no unqualified person will be allowed to participate in the NYSC,” the general warned charlatans.
General Ibrahim’s encouragement to corps members at different fora assists in the fight against the spread of COVID-19. Corps members across the country were challenged to produce hand sanitisers, liquid soap and facemasks which were produced and donated to host communities to help in containing the pandemic.
Under the Nasarawa state-born General, NYSC is in its golden age.