This study examines the service-citizenship nexus in Nigeria using the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme as empirical backdrop. In the relevant sociological and service literature, the assumption that service is antecedent to, and necessarily impacts positively on citizenship is a virtual axiom. However, tentative conclusions from this study provide a basis for rethinking this wisdom. Using data from open-ended interviews, questionnaires and focus group discussions, the research traces the ways in which political dynamics in the country (Nigeria) have affected the implementation of the NYSC programme. The research concludes by articulating the conception of and prior allegiance to community as essential for the creation and nurturing of actual citizenship, and the performance of service respectively.
Citation
Obadare, E. (2005). Statism, youth and civic imagination: A critical study of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme in Nigeria (CSD Report No. 05-18). St. Louis, MO: Washington University, Center for Social Development.