By Harriet Tornguvan
The Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu, has reaffirmed the Scheme’s critical role in addressing youth unemployment in Nigeria through sustained investment in entrepreneurship and skills development.
Speaking at the NYSC Directorate Headquarters during a study tour by participants of the Senior Executive Course 48, 2026, from the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Nafiu highlighted the Scheme’s growing impact in equipping young graduates with practical skills for self-reliance.
The study tour, themed “Economic Diversification and National Development: Leveraging the Orange Economy and Entrepreneurship for Sustainable Growth in Nigeria,” brought together policy experts seeking innovative solutions to the country’s unemployment challenge.
Nafiu disclosed that a total of 1,391,119 graduates were trained in various vocational skills between 2019 and 2025 under the NYSC’s Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) programme. He noted that the initiative, introduced in 2012, aligns with the Scheme’s objective of fostering a culture of self-employment among Nigerian youths.
According to him, the vision of the NYSC’s founding fathers has become increasingly relevant in today’s economic reality, where white-collar job opportunities have significantly declined.
“At the inception of the Scheme, employment opportunities were abundant, and companies actively sought graduates,” Nafiu said. “Today, those opportunities are scarce. However, the NYSC Act empowers us to equip corps members with entrepreneurial skills, enabling them not only to be self-reliant but also to become employers of labour.”
The NYSC boss commended government agencies and private organizations partnering with the Scheme to implement the SAED programme, particularly through the provision of grants, soft loans, and start-up kits for budding entrepreneurs.
He also called on NIPSS to support advocacy for the establishment of the proposed NYSC Trust Fund, noting that the bill has already been passed by the National Assembly and is awaiting presidential assent.
“With the Trust Fund in place, every corps member who undergoes SAED training will have access to adequate capital to start their chosen businesses at the end of the service year,” he added.
Participants of the study tour were also shown a documentary showcasing success stories of young entrepreneurs who have benefited from the initiative, underscoring the programme’s tangible impact.
In his remarks, the Director-General of NIPSS, Professor Ayo Omotayo, commended the NYSC for its contribution to reducing unemployment through youth empowerment programmes.
Omotayo explained that the study tour was designed to generate actionable insights that would form part of a policy blueprint to be presented to the Federal Government. He noted that NYSC was deliberately selected for the visit due to its consistent track record in youth development.
“We have closely monitored your progress in empowering young Nigerians, and this informed our decision to include NYSC in this study,” he said.
He assured that the group’s recommendations would include measures to strengthen the Scheme’s capacity to deliver on its mandate and further enhance its role in national development.
The engagement underscores the increasing recognition of entrepreneurship and skills acquisition as vital tools for economic diversification and sustainable growth in Nigeria.
