Expert advocates military training for youths, wants NYSC scrapped

President Muhammadu Buhari has been urged to introduce a two-year compulsory military training programme for the Nigerian youths, whose ages range between 20-30 years, so as to inculcate in them patriotism, leadership skills and curb anti-social challenges facing the nation.

According to an educationist and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Lagos State, Chief Livinus Okwara, who made the call in Lagos, on Thursday, the training programme would involve graduates of the nation’s tertiary institutions, including universities, polytechnics and colleges of education, who would be paid stipends during the duration of their training.
He said in view of the funding and other operational challenges currently facing the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, scheme, the programme should be phased out and replaced with the compulsory military training programme.
He regretted that insecurity, as well as insurgency in parts of Nigeria, including the dreaded Boko Haram in the North East, Niger Delta militants, kidnappings and armed robbery attacks had overstretched the country’s armed forces, including the military and the police, adding that graduates of the programme could be easily mobilised as a counterforce to check such challenges from escalating and impacting the country negatively.


The Nation