AS the name implies community development programme and project is one of the courses during the one year National Youth Service Corp programme.
It means, what the corps members do to help develop a community, it also serves as a symbol to show that particular sets of corps members served in a particular community in the state they were posted to obey the clarion call.
Over the years, the community development groups have been a tool to get things done in some communities most especially in the rural areas where it’s very difficult for people in such community to access basic social amenities such as pipe borne water, schools, health care facility centers and so on.
The community development groups (CDs) have affliction with different organizations be it federal owned or privately owned. This is done so that there can be monitoring and proper accountability.
This group however, have some who are working with the paramilitary, health sector, law enforcement agencies and non governmental organizations which are dedicated to the betterment of the lives of the citizens in this community, some of these groups include HAFAC, NEMA, NDLEA, FRSC, Charity, art and culture and sports, all these CDs groups are expected to carry out a project towards the end of the corps member service year. In the course of doing this, some of the groups use their pocket money to get the project done while some will after they have used their pocket money source for fund from corporate organizations and individual so as to be able to do a meaningful project.
Having mentioned what the community hopes to get and benefit from these set of youth, the focus of this writing is to weigh the chances of the youth benefiting from these aforementioned community development projects, because as it was mentioned earlier most of these groups are in affiliation with both private and government owned organizations and parastatals as the case maybe. The question is can these sets of graduates benefit from participating in these CDs activities.
If one is not selfish, life ought to be a give and take thing like rub my back and I will rub your back too, so if the youths are doing something for the community through the directive of a well renowned organization, I guess there should be a way of motivation from these organizations to these youths after they are done with service.
We know it is not all those that were or are as the case maybe part of the CDs will be active members so those that did what ought to be done should enjoy something in return.
If each organization that these CDs groups are affiliated to can make it a point of service to employ five persons from each batch that served and participated well in all the CDs activities every year the rate of unemployed youth would have reduced, moreso some of these organizations are often time staff short and they only use youth corps members to fill the gaps only while they are serving and let go of them after their service year, is not so good considering the fact that after the service year it is mostly very difficult for them to get employment.
So if this rub my back, I rub your back philosophy works it would be a good idea if all these organizations can help at least five persons get jobs immediately after service and it is something that will go a long way in eradicating unemployment among youth of these great country.
It was in the news sometime last February when one of the presidential aspirants mentioned that if elected as the president of this country he will make sure he sustained the nineteen thousand eight hundred naira allowance payment for corps members who didn’t get a job after their passing out.
This show how much he knows about the pains of those graduates that passed out of National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and waited years before they could get jobs or established themselves.
All these organizations have the power to do as requested but because they have to answer to some people if they decide to start giving youths job after performing well in their respective CDs groups they do don’t.
This is a call on the federal government of Nigeria and all other organizations whom the CDs groups are affiliated to, to please try and help the youth by looking out for those corps members that are very active in their cds activities and that are qualified enough to get jobs to employ them so that the number of youths that go back to start collecting money from their parents and guardians will reduce and they will be able to fend for themselves after their service year.
It is no longer news that out of 100% of those graduates that pass out of NYSC, majority go back to their various homes to go and start looking for jobs putting their means of livelihood on their parents. In developed worlds like the United States of America, most of their youths start working at their university level thereby helping themselves through school and even after they graduate they get job to do. Yes it is a known fact that we are not as developed as the (USA) but we can start from somewhere, let those that can help with job creation do so and see the willingness of these youths to do something good for this nation.
Let those that can go as far as removing 5000 out of their 19800 allowance to do community development projects have something good to benefit from helping the community to grow.
