THE NATIONAL YOUTH SERVICE CORPS ACT 1973: AN URGENT NEED FOR THE REVIEW OF THE PROVISION ON AGE LIMITATION BY ISMAIL SALIF (ABU SUMAYYA)

One of the most valuable asset any society or nation would possess are the youths. Any nation that is enthusiastic about securing her future would definitely have to invest more on the youths. This is because the youths are the greatest investment for a country’s development. The zeal and readiness of youths to contribute to the unity and development of the society is enormous and this is evident from the recent development of countries around the world. In Nigeria, it could be observed that graduates from Nigerian Universities join the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in order to contribute their bit to the Nation's development.

The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) is a program created by the Nigerian government under the Yakubu Gowon administration on 22nd May, 1973 during the military era after the civil war. Its creation was pursuant to the Gowon's three Rs Theory: Reconciliation, Reconstruction and Rebuilding of the nation through engaging Nigerian graduates who obtain a degree in Nigeria or outside Nigeria, Higher National Diploma (HND) from polytechnic in nation building and strengthening of national unity. 

The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) is established by section 1 of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Act 1973 which provides thus; 

1. Establishment and objectives of the National Youth Service Corps

(I) There is hereby established a scheme to be known as the National Youth Service Corps (in this Act referred to as "the Service Corps").

The Act also provides for mandatory participation by Nigerian graduates. This is provided in Section 2 of the Act;

2. Calling-up of members of service corps

(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, every Nigerian shall -

(a) if, at the end of the academic year 1972-73 or, as the case may be, at the end of any subsequent academic year, he shall have graduated at any university in Nigeria; or

(b) if, at the end of the academic year 1974-75 or, as the case may be, at the end of any subsequent year, he shall have graduated at any university outside Nigeria; or

(c) if, at the end of the academic year 1975-76 or, as the case may be, at the end of any subsequent year, he shall have obtained the Higher National Diploma or such other professional qualification as may be prescribed; or

(d) if, at the end of the academic year 1975-76 or, as the case may be, at the end of any subsequent academic year up to the end of the 1983-84 academic year, he shall have obtained the National Certificate of Education, be under an obligation ..."

Furthermore, the Act places relevance to the certificate where it makes the production of the certificate mandatory before gaining employment into any federal apparatus. This is as provided in Section 12 of the NYSC Act:

12. Production of Certificate for employment purposes. It provides thus:

(I) For the purposes of employment anywhere in the Federation and before employment, it shall be the duty of every prospective employer to demand and obtain from any person who claims to have obtained his first degree at the end of the academic year 1973-74 or, as the case may be, at the end of any subsequent academic year the following -

(a) a copy of the Certificate of National Service of such person issued pursuant to section 11 of this Act;

(b) a copy of any exemption certificate issued to such person pursuant to section 17 of this Act; ..."

It is important to note that this certificate is of different categories:

1) Discharge Certificate: This is issued to graduates who have participated and successfully completed the program.

2) Exemption Certificate: This is a certificate issued to a category of people who are exempted from partaking in the program as provided by the Act. Among them are those exempted on the basis of age limitation, on which this article stands to address.

This certificate is provided by the Act to be equivalent to the discharge certificate. However, the nagging issue which would also be addressed in this article is the reality of its value in thpe labour market. 

3) Exclusion certificate: This is issued to those excluded from participating in the service e.g. Those excluded on the basis of health related issues

The Act has exempted some people from participating in the Scheme as provided in section 2. This article is however, focused on addressing the unjustifiable ground of age limitation as provided in  thus;

(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (l) of this section, with effect from August 1985, a person shall not be called upon to serve in the service corps if, at the date of his graduation or obtaining his diploma or other professional qualification - 

(a) he is over the age of thirty;... 

It is this writer's strong opinion that the age limit set by the Act to a large extent denies graduates above the age of 30 with the enthusiasm to participate in this scheme the opportunity to serve their country and also goes against the purpose for which it was created/established as provided by section 1 of the Act. Section 1 of the Act "Service Corps" provides;

1. Establishment and objectives of the National Youth Service Corps

(I) There is here by established a scheme to be known as the National "YOUTH" Service Corps (in this Act referred to as "the service corps"). (Emphasis added) 

A thorough perusal of the above section raises an important question begging to be answered; who is a youth?

The answer as to who a youth is depends largely on culture and differs from one locality to the other. Therefore, there is no specific definition of who a youth is. LlllllllHowever, the African Youth Charter has defined a youth as a person between the ages of 15 - 35years. [ 7th ordinary session of the assembly held in Banjul Gambia, 2nd July 2006].

The Organization of African Youth (OAYouth) which is the umbrella movement of all youth in Africa defines a youth as an African young people between 15-35 years, adopting the African Youth Charter's definition of a youth in Africa.

Also in Nigeria, the National Youth Policy (2009) defined a youth as a person between the ages of 18 - 35 years. This can be seen thus:

"In the (2009) National Youth Policy, in line with the conditions and realities on ground especially historical and contemporary, socio‐economic and political conditions, and for the purpose of execution of the current National Youth Policy, the youth shall comprise of all young males and females aged 18 – 35 years, who are citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. While it is true that this definition is broad, it is understood that this is a time in life when most young people are going through dramatic changes in their life circumstances as they move from childhood to adulthood. Young people in this age group require social, economic and political support to realize their full potential".

 [Second National Youth Policy document of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (2009) http://nigeria.unfpa.org/pdf/snyp2009.pdf].

In the political terrain, The All Progressive Congress (APC) which is the ruling party in Nigeria today, defines a Youth in their constitution at Article 33 (xxii); "as anyone between the age of 18 and 40 years".

Also the Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP) the major opposing party in Nigeria, as well defines Youth in their constitution at Chapter 12 section 67 (2) (h); "Youth means a member between 18 and 40 years"..

From the above, it can be duly observed that the age limit set by the Act is not in tandem with the description of a youth as obtainable in Nigeria or Africa. The social, economic and political arena is changing around the world and Nigeria is not an exception. The NYSC Act should develop in line with the changes in the political, social and economic arena obtainable in Nigeria.

The bedeviling question is, is the age limitation necessary when one above the prescribed age may be willing to serve his country? From a close observation of the provision of the Act which provided for the age limitation, it could be understood that more attention is given to the age of graduation i.e. if a person should graduate before attaining the age of 30 but could not participate in the service corps, such a person is still eligible to participate at a later year even though he exceeds the age of 30 at the time of service. Why is there then a discrimination against a person whose age exceeds 30 at the time of graduation?

Assuming but not conceding that the age limitation brought by the Act is putting into consideration the health condition and stress therein, this writer would find such reason grumpy, peevish and choleric. Recently, the "Not Too Young to Run Bill" was passed into law allowing people between the ages of 30-35-40 to contest and occupy various political positions. 

It is obvious that occupying and contesting for political offices/position is more stressful and more demanding than the service corps. 

Furthermore, considering the reality of the University system in Nigeria where a person would commence a program in a university of his choice with the hope of rounding up before clocking or exceeding the age of 30 but would end up spending more years in the university than required due to the incessant strike actions by ASUU and other unforeseen circumstances (e.g. COVID-19) which would then result in a program of four years metamorphosing to 6years and a program of 5 years to 7 years. What would be the fate of these kind of people? It would interest you to know that most of these people are willing and ready to partake in the Scheme but are denied this opportunity by the Act on the ground of age limitation.

The Act provides an issuance of exemption Certificate to those exempted from partaking in the Service as provided in Section 2(2) which the Act makes equivalent to the discharge certificate. However, the vituperating, berating and disdaining of the exemption Certificate in the employment sector is baffling. The reality in the employment sector is that a discharge certificate is given priority over an exemption certificate. Some graduates even lose job opportunities because of the discharge certificate which they could not get on the unjustifiable basis of age limitation. The ideology of the employers is driven from the belief that a person who did not partake in the service corps is not as experienced and exposed as his counterparts who has the discharge certificate, because those who participate in the Scheme usually have the opportunity in their service year to gather work experience and improve their interpersonal skills. 

Would anyone want to disagree with this line of thought? The exercise and activities carried out during the service year are so impactful. Among which is the posting/deployment method, where a graduate would be posted to another state other than his/her state of origin, where he gets to mingle and mix with other ethnic groups. This would aid the graduate in understanding and appreciating the ethnic diversity in Nigeria and also assist in improving his tribal and ethic tolerance.

Also, The three weeks "orientation camping" which is usually under military control. Here a graduate goes through different training and disciplines.

Lastly, after the camping, the graduate would be posted to his/her Place of Primary Assignment (PPA) where the graduate works as a full staff of the institute he/she is posted to and there, the graduate contributes his/her quota to community's development and improvement.

The service year serves as a leeway for many graduates to step into the labour market, why then should others be denied this on the basis of age? 

CONCLUSION

The age limit provided by the Act goes against the objective of its creation; it is also not in tandem with the social, economic and political reality obtainable in the Africa and in particular, Nigeria. It is on this note that the writer is of the opinion that the age limit set by the Act should be revisited in order not to deny willing and able Nigerian graduates from partaking in the "service Scheme". 

It is essential to note that the experience and exposure gathered from the Youth Service Scheme goes a long way, not only in helping the graduates to have a footing in the labour market but also in strengthening the unity and peace in the country.

Ismail Salif (Abu Sumayya) is a student from the Faculty of Law. Bayero University, Kano and can be reached via WhatsApp: 08171238117 Facebook: Ismail Salif

Mail: salif.ismail@yahoo.com..