The Nigeria Education News team paid a visit to the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) orientation camp located in Ede, Osun State, to witness the passing out parade of Batch A, Stream 1 corps members. The event marked the completion of their 21-day orientation course, a mandatory part of the NYSC programme. The parade began promptly at 8:00am and lasted about an hour. Corps members stood in formation as the Camp Commandant and State Coordinator officially declared the orientation camp closed and directed them to report to their platoons for the distribution of their posting letters.
What began as a cheerful farewell quickly turned to dismay and confusion. Many corps members were visibly distressed upon receiving their posting letters, which assigned them to remote and rural communities across Osun State. The sudden realization of being posted to hard-to-reach local government areas such as Atakunmosa East, Ola Oluwa, and Ayedaade sparked anxiety and frustration among the young graduates, many of whom had expectations of being deployed to more urbanized or centrally located areas like Osogbo, the state capital.
One such case was that of Seun, a graduate from the University of Benin and an indigene of Ekiti State. Seun expressed deep disappointment after realizing she had been posted to Atakunmosa East. “I paid an agent inside this camp to help me secure relocation to Benin City. I was shocked when I saw my letter. I feel like NYSC is a scam,” she said angrily, packing her belongings and heading straight to the motor park. “I don’t know what they stand for again if I can pay and still be posted to a village,” she lamented.
Similarly, Sarah, a graduate of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, originally from Port Harcourt, voiced her concerns about her new posting. “Osun is a peaceful place, but I can’t cope here without family. I’ve never been to a village before. I’m already making plans to relocate,” she explained. Her sentiments were echoed by Prosper Edok from Akwa Ibom State who said, “Relocation is my next target. I don’t think I can survive in a strange village where I don’t know anyone.”
Our team observed that many corps members, while outwardly calm, were internally devastated. Some sat quietly under trees, staring into their posting letters in disbelief. Others paced around the camp premises making frantic calls, presumably to family members or NYSC officials. A group of three female corps members was seen crying quietly near the NYSC clinic, unwilling to go to their respective PPA destinations, all of which were rural locations.
The collective frustration raised concerns about whether NYSC is still achieving its original goal of promoting unity in diversity. One of the disillusioned corps members asked our reporter, “How do they expect me to unite with people I can’t even communicate with? There’s no electricity, no internet, no roads. Is this how to build unity?” Another questioned, “What’s the essence of serving Nigeria if you end up in a forest?”
When The Nigeria Education News team engaged with a Local Government Inspector (LGI) from Olorunda Local Government, she acknowledged the grievances of the corps members. “Many of them want to go to Osogbo or big towns, but the postings are based on availability and the needs of institutions. We’re trying to encourage them to give it a chance, but if they insist on leaving, they’ll have to take it up with the State Coordinator,” she said.
Asked whether NYSC still upholds its founding principles, the LGI was frank. “Yes, we are trying. But the new generation of corps members are very difficult. Some already come with relocation plans. They offer bribes and bypass the system. It’s no longer about national service for them; it’s about convenience,” she stated.
According to statistics from the NYSC Directorate Headquarters, over 43% of corps members nationwide applied for relocation in 2023, citing insecurity, health, and family reasons. Osun State alone received over 1,200 such applications last year. With these growing numbers, there is concern that the NYSC scheme may be straying from its original mission of fostering national integration and youth development through shared service experiences across Nigeria’s regions.
