Extracting The Similarity And Differences Between NPower And NYSC (Case Study Of Mr Afolabi Video Chat Statement On Permanency)

#AbsorbNpowerBeneficiaries has become a popular hashtag used by Npower volunteers to campaign for their permanency agenda. They have written a letter to President Buhari demanding that they should be absorb into the civil service.

According to the beneficiaries, they wouldn't want to be thrown back to the street after they have received training and job experience from N-power.

Mr Afolabi in his last Facebook video chat,  relate NPower programme to NYSC just to make things clear. He said:

"I like to always recall NYSC, this has been an enhanced and extended improvement to NYSC. Just look at it as when you were in NYSC as well, I’m not aware of anyone that has gone to NYSC or done a campaign against NYSC to say that you must permanent me in NYSC. It’s a volunteer scheme, a youth service call, that has an expiration.

However, what has happened all the time in NYSC is, if get are posted to an organization that you desire or you want to continue there, what do  you do? You put in your best and you make efforts to get them to retain you and some of you yes are retained, some are not.

In addition, those who don’t get retained, you do not take any form of placard against NYSC or against the Federal government, so I think that’s something I want us to bear in mind. We have listened and will continue to listen to your concerns around what can be done and I did get your open letter to Mr. President a few days ago which was clearly well articulated by a lot of you.

Now from the statement Mr Afolabi make above, can you categorise N-power in the same category with NYSC? To answer this question, we have tried to extract the similarity and differences of both programme below:

The National Youth Service scheme was established by the Republic of Nigeria in 1973. The scheme consists of a large work-force of enlightened Nigerian youths most especially graduates of Nigerians higher institutions all over the country. The NYSC scheme  was set up to curb the socio-economic cultural and political conditions existing from the thirty months of civil war has been working with the objectives of promoting national unity and integration by reducing the level of ethnicity and secularism, strengthening common ties among Nigerians with different backgrounds and instilling a sense of patriotism and responsibility in Nigerian youths.

However, one of the most important arms of the NYSC is the Community Development Service (CDS). The community development service can be seen as an important tool or medium to impact humanity positively. Thus. it is an arm of the NYSC that is charged with the responsibility of propagating the objectives of the scheme, enhancing rural and urban development through Nigerian graduates and promoting an act of responsibility by Nigerian graduates in affecting their immediate environment positively.

In the NYSC Scheme, graduates are subjected to serve their father land for good 1 year.

On the other hand, Npower programme is a social intervention programme of the Federal government of Nigeria established in 2016 to create employability enhancement skills for graduates to acquire skills for 2years and become employable or entrepreneurs. It also have the non graduate components where beneficiaries are trained in different skills such as building, weldering, software and hardware development skills in order to set up their business etc.

The similarity of NYSC and Npower programme is that both of this two programme are federal government scheme and the provide community development services. They both scheme also serve as an avenue where beneficiaries acquire experience that will prepare them for future challenges.

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