*Department of Public Administration, University of Nigeria, Nsukka
**Department of Political Science, University of Nigeria, Nsukka
Online published on 15 April, 2014.
National Youth Service Scheme across the broad spectrum of the global system derives their rationale from a triadic configuration of socio – economic development, the amelioration of unemployment pangs and the promotion of democratic culture. In contemporary experience, the AmeriCorps of the US, the Indian National Cadet Corps and the Ghana National Service Scheme aptly illustrate the feasibility of this kind of scheme. The military regime in Nigeria introduced the National Youth Service Corps in 1973 to pursue goals roughly similar to those of AmeriCorps. However, the current situation suggests that there has been a fundamental departure from the original aims of the scheme in favour of essentially mere post-graduation ritual – a prerequisite for employment. This paper posits that the Nigerian Youth Service Corps Scheme has thus far failed to sustain a verifiable connect between the policy goals and institutional/structural mechanisms upon which it should have been embedded. Federal government should demonstrate serious commitment in respect to provision of security in the country and caution various employers of labour who sabotage her effort in this direction.
