The university graduates would be yearly mobilised to contribute in building a new nation out of the ashes of the fratricidal war – a new nation founded on egalitarianism, an indivisible and prosperous entity the citizens and Africans would be proud of. It is imperative to emphasise that government beamed the searchlight on graduate youths to drive the process of building a renewed Nigeria, in recognition of their enormous strength, and centrality to national development, being the most enlightened class of Nigerian youths. They felt that the deployment of their children to “far- flunged” areas, was akin to putting them on a slaughter slab which must be resisted.īesides, they ( parents) were in a hurry to start reaping the fruits of their labour, having made so much sacrifices in order to see their sons and daughters through tertiary education which was a no mean feat.īe that as it may, the heat generated did not deter the Federal Military Government from going on with the establishment of the NYSC through the promulgation of Decree No. Indeed, parents expressed genuine concerns, as inter-ethnic suspicions were quite high. On the other hand, their parents, relatives and guardians were apprehensive and gravely concerned about their safety, given that the country had just emerged from a bloody conflict, which made journey outside one’s cultural zone seemingly precarious. Hence, the acquisition of a university degree was a passport to better life, given the fact that on getting employed, a three bedroom flat and a vehicle loan awaited the employee which explains the anger and frustration of the students at the thought of getting “conscripted” into the so-called national service. Interestingly, available job vacancies outstripped the number of graduating students. Employers would flood the universities to interview graduating students for possible employment. There is no gainsaying the fact that as at then, many graduating students had up to two or more job offers. Thus, the announcement of the establishment of the Corps, which would afford university graduates that veritable platform to begin the process of nation building resulted in protests by the students who felt that dedicating one whole year to the service of the fatherland would be an unnecessary waste of time, as many of them were to secure white collar jobs upon graduation from the universities. Jonathan: What gave me sleepless nights at Aso Rock.
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