The iconic khaki uniform worn by National Youth Service Corps members for over five decades could soon become history, following plans by the Federal Government to replace it with locally-made Adire fabric.
Minister of Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, confirmed the development on Thursday during an appearance on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, saying the move forms part of the sweeping reforms recently approved for the scheme.
According to the Minister, the decision is intended to support local industries and ensure government spending directly benefits Nigerian businesses and manufacturers.
“It’s Adire. So, Adire is being produced in Nigeria. We have them in Ogun, we have them in Kwara, we have textile industry. Let’s put our money back into the country,” Olawande said while responding to questions on whether the new uniforms would be locally produced.
The Minister also revealed that under the ongoing restructuring of the NYSC, corps members will increasingly be deployed according to their academic qualifications and areas of expertise.
He explained that graduates with education-related degrees would be posted to schools and assigned duties that align with their professional backgrounds rather than the current practice of posting corps members without considering their fields of study.
“That after you are leaving the camp, you are not just posted to a school just because NYSC wants you to be in school but because of the process you followed when in camp. So, that is going to give a framework of where you are going to be posted to,” he said.
Speaking on security concerns in parts of the country, Olawande disclosed that the government is considering posting prospective corps members to regions where they studied and are already familiar with the environment, particularly in areas affected by insecurity.
According to him, the arrangement would reduce anxiety among parents and corps members while making the deployment process more practical and efficient.
“If we have a particular area that is having insecurity, instead of probably forcing people or parents to start talking, we must also give them an opportunity that ‘Okay, who are those in that area, that schooled in that area, that know much about that area?’ Not just somebody, for example, let me say from South-West to North-East.
“If you have interest that you want to go to the North-East why not, but if you don’t have interest, instead of redeploying you, paying people for camp, doing all those funny things, we said no, let us look at it and say who are those in that area, that can reside in those geographical areas and still give us the kind of number we are looking for since we are saying NYSC should be more impactful. So, that is what we are talking about,” he added.
The Minister also dismissed reports suggesting that the military would be completely removed from the NYSC structure, describing such claims as misleading.
He clarified that although the operational leadership of the scheme would become civilian-led, the military would continue to play a critical role, especially in ensuring the safety and security of corps members across the country.
“We are not taking the military out of NYSC, it’s just a misconception and the way we read some of the things that were put out and that is the aspect that we need to start making research before reacting. Military is not taken away, there is no how you can take the military away. It is just saying that we are moving away from military mobilisation to civilian mobilisation,” he said.
The reforms come days after the Federal Executive Council approved a comprehensive overhaul of the NYSC on Monday, marking the first major restructuring of the scheme since it was established 53 years ago.
As part of the decision, the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Ministry of Youth Development were directed to amend the NYSC Act and its regulations to accommodate the approved changes and pave the way for implementation.
Under the new arrangement, the NYSC will operate under civilian leadership while the military continues to provide security support for corps members nationwide.
The Federal Government said the reforms are aimed at transforming the scheme into a skills-focused, productivity-driven and youth empowerment institution that aligns with Nigeria’s ambition of building a $1 trillion economy.
