As the nation tackles the menace posed by insecurity, the newly appointed chairman of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Prince Hilliard Eta is considering an array of reform which includes compelling youth Corp members to undergo basic military training in the country.

Speaking to reporters at the National Secretariat of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on Wednesday, he said the country stand to gain when the vast population of youths are empowered with basic skills to tackle security challenges in the country.

He said there is need for Nigeria to take a cue from Israel and South Korea which can always fall back on their youths as back up for conventional soldiers in times of emergency and security challenges.

Eta who is a seasoned politician and strategist remarked that the issue would have to be open to deliberation by critical stakeholders for consideration.

“Of course. With the population of over 200 million people, only about half a million in uniform is completely inadequate. Countries like Israel, and South Korea use this kind of scheme to enhance their security. It is possible for us to do so even if we must train them and put them in their reserves,” he said.

“What I think we should do generally when we come on board is to give the stakeholders and other Nigerians the opportunity to actually think through how this scheme can be used for entrance into the security agencies.

There are people who suggested that the scheme should be extended to two years. The other persons suggested that everybody who comes through the scheme must be militarily trained.

“But, if we are going to have about a million people come through the scheme, I don’t think that the military institution has the capacity to train a million people.

There are so many things to be worked out whether it is going to optional or compulsory. While as I think about this, they are issues that I would need to consult with other stakeholders.”

He insist that the NYSC requires renovation, innovation and tinkering to enhance to not only contribute in the economic development by the unity and integration of Nigeria.

Noting that it is unfortunate that most graduates of institution of higher learning in the country are not employable in the labour market, he assured that under his watch the scheme is capable of changing the narrative by empowering youth corps members with requisite knowledge in ICT and Artificial intelligence (AI) to compete favourably with their peers accross the world.

According to him: “I want to say that the scheme could be used to create the biggest and largest empowerment programme that any government can possibly conceive. The truth is that most graduates of our High Institutions are no more employable. And because they are without skills, they have become a burden to the system.

“So, my intention is to use that scheme to change the narrative as we have it today in Nigeria. It is also possible for the scheme to create a process where every graduate from tertiary institution is trained properly. Good enough the scheme has what is called Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Department (SAED) but I believe that it will be comprehensively overhauled and made the central focus of the scheme.

“There are so many things we will do with the scheme. In fact, take the uniform if the NYSC. That uniform was first fashioned in 1973 and even the most conservative military formation, the Army, has had its uniform changed overtime for about two to three times from 1973.

“It’s quite embarrassing that the demography, between the ages of 18 to 30, that is the most fashionable in Nigeria is forced to wear the kind of dress they wear and call it uniform. It is also important that we look at the demography that is within that scheme that is in other parts of the world that are depended on to create new things, especially in the ICT and AI industries of today.

If you go the 37 camps, apart from two or three camps, like Port Harcourt, Nasarawa and perhaps Bauchi, other camps are not all that conducive for these people to excel.

“I believe that we should do something about the camps because I believe that they should be upgraded to a smart camp to the point that they can be trained in ICT and AI. They should have the ability to do so much in the camp. But I am just the chairman designate and there is very little I can do without the board. So I will wait for the board to be inaugurated.”

Eta remarked that he is still at a loss as to why he, alongside members of his board have not been inaugurated since he was appointed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu earlier in the year.