FACTORS MILITATING AGAINST THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE NATIONAL YOUTH SERVICE CORPS SCHEME IN FOSTERING NATIONAL INTEGRATION IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The study examined the challenges militating against the effectiveness of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme in promoting national integration in Nigeria, motivated by persistent concerns over weak intergroup cohesion and limited impact of the scheme on fostering unity among diverse ethnic and regional groups. Elite Theory was adopted as its analytical framework to explain how decision-making processes and policy implementation by governing elites influence outcomes. The theory provides insight into how power concentration, policy priorities, and institutional control shape national programs such as the NYSC. The study employed a survey research design using questionnaires administered to corps members and stakeholders, complemented by secondary data sourced from official NYSC policy documents, annual reports, Federal Government publications, scholarly articles, and relevant legislative frameworks. Quantitative data from the questionnaire were analyzed using simple percentage, while secondary data were subjected to qualitative content analysis to interpret policy gaps and implementation trends. Findings revealed that challenges such as ethnic diversity tensions, regional disparities, insecurity in deployment areas, politicization of the scheme, inadequate preparatory orientation, and weak curriculum emphasis collectively weaken the scheme’s integration objectives. The study recommends among others that the federal government and NYSC authorities should strengthen security measures, enhance equitable deployment, and revise the orientation curriculum to explicitly promote unity, tolerance, and intercultural dialogue in order to effectively address ethnic diversity, insecurity, regional disparities, inadequate preparation, and weak curriculum emphasis that collectively weaken integration. This is important because improved security equitable deployment and inclusive orientation better prepare corps members promote unity and reduce divisions across Nigeria and strengthen cohesion.

Keywords: National Integration, Youth Development, Inter-ethnic relations, Challenges, Policy Implementation

DOI: www.doi.org/10.36349/fujpam.2026.v5i01.001

Download the article:

author/Muhammad AuwaluAli, Ogah Musa Ari, Abubakar Idris Hassan

journal/FUJPAM Vol. 5, No. 1