30/06/2017
( )
Being a corp member is not an occupation, an occupation is anything legal one does for a living. You are not working but serving and you are definitely not serving for a living.
The money you get at the end of the month is not a salary but an allowance, wouldn't it be rather insulting to receive 19800 Naira which is less than 2000 Naira above minimum wage as your salary having spent 4-8yrs in the university?
where you report to daily is called a place of primary assignment not your office , you don't even get vehicle allowance but bicycle allowance.
Listen; NYSC itself is a system, you are not part of the system but passing through the system. That you slept in a garage doesn't make you a car. That you are walking through a farm doesn't make you a farmer.
One can either be a dependant, unemployed, employed or retired. As an undergraduate you were basically a dependant ( though few exemptions do exist). You moved from being a dependant to being unemployed the day you were done with your university education not after NYSC. But watch it! There is a major difference between being unemployed and being unemployable. Unemployed means you have the KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS and ABILITIES needed in the 21st century market but haven't yet gotten an offer of choice. Unemployable on the other hand means you lack the 21st century KSA , all you have is B. Sc this, M. Sc that etc. Organisation of repute employ you to help them solve problems i. e salary is a reward for problems solved, but the unemployable individual is a problem personified and no reputable organization will pay you for adding to their problems (selah).
Having outlived most of its objectives since 1973 , the NYSC is now basically a grace period where you decide what you are going to do with your life after school ( if you didn't do that before service year ).
Are you going to further your education? Start up a business venture? Or perhaps get a job? All the above choices or options have prices attached to them which must be payed in full before they can be achieved. The price of success is in full, no part payment or I. O. U.
So rather than taking millions of photographs to flood the social media as if you are serving for your entire local government, allowing fellow corp members who you don't know from Adam nor Eve influence you anyhow, struggle to become CLO, CD Cord etc as if being an exco is pensionable, you should be focused and deliberate about what life after NYSC will look like. What happens when the alert stops coming?
That all important question "what next after NYSC? " is what you ask yourself before even entering the orientation camp not after collecting your discharge certificate. This is one basic reason most corp members over the years end up frustrated or doing jobs they hate after service year while waiting for the government.
There is no country where youth unemployment was solved by the government employing massively. Unemployment is solved by creating the enabling environment for major businesses to thrive and not fold up or relocate but with the constant and perpetual power outages cm black out, bad roads, inconsistent government policies, looting etc putting your hope or future on the government or your state governor is like checking the depth of the Atlantic Ocean with both legs.
In summary
If you are unable to bridge the gap between the academic world and the corporate world you are bound to have major issues regardless of whether you are seeking a job or starting a business after your service year .
The academic world rewards you for your memory. The moment you can recall what was taught you are a success, but the corporate world rewards you for the problems you help solve ie having 2.1 accounting is not that important to an organisation as compared to how you can use that knowledge of accounting to either help them make more money or save cost.
This is why a graduate of banking and finance can be riding bike while the graduate of fisheries and aquaculture with the 21st century KSA is working as the branch manager of a bank.
In a football match what matters most is not your possession,shots on target, corner kicks, skills displayed but goals. Your destiny is in your hands, the ball is in your court, just score.
Dan, M. Daniel
