NYSC reform and the young corps member I met yesterday

I was sitting on my veranda yesterday when a young man in khaki passed by. He stopped to greet me, said he just finished his orientation in Ogun State. We talked for about 30 minutes. He told me the camp food was not plenty, that he paid for his own mattress, that the queue for morning parade was still as long as when I served in 1984. Some things never change.

Then today I see this news about the FG approving NYSC reforms. Civilian Director General, new uniforms, six weeks orientation instead of three. The young man I spoke with said the current system is not preparing anybody for anything. He said most of them just want the certificate to get jobs. I asked him what he learned in camp. He laughed and said how to survive with one cup of garri per day. That is not what the scheme was meant for, my son.

I remember when NYSC was about building bridges between north and south. I served in Kaduna, and the people there became my family for one year. We need to bring that spirit back. But changing uniforms and adding weeks will not fix the heart of the matter. The question is whether the young people themselves will embrace the change. What do you think?