“LEEP and NYSC: A Match Made in Heaven – The Key to Unlocking Nigeria’s Economic Growth”

Domiciling the President Tinubu’s LEEP Program within NYSC is the most sincere, practical, transparent, effective, and inclusive way to address unemployment and inspire Economic Growth in Nigeria

Joseph Odok PhD Esq

Vice President Kashim Shettima has just launched the President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope “Labour Employment and Empowerment Programme (LEEP)” in Nigeria on April 15, 2025, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. This initiative aims to create 2.5 million jobs within two years, focusing on upskilling and reskilling citizens to prepare them for available and emerging jobs.

The LEEP intuitive promises the following:

Job Creation: LEEP targets creating 2.5 million jobs in two years, addressing unemployment and contributing to national development.

Skills Development: The program provides comprehensive training to equip Nigerians with critical skills to compete in today’s global economy.

Economic Empowerment: LEEP leverages technology to connect employers with a skilled workforce, driving economic empowerment through innovation.

Partnerships and Collaboration:
The Vice President emphasized the need for collaboration with the private sector, civil society organizations, trade unions, and global partners to ensure the program’s success.

The Vice President Kashim Shettima avers that “LEEP is the fulfilment of the promise made by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to build a national ecosystem where every Nigerian worker can reach their full potential.”
LEEP is conceived as a key initiative under President Tinubu’s administration, aligning with the Renewed Hope Agenda to address unemployment and promote economic growth.

Patriotism entails engaging the government and it’s policies for optimum results. While it is not patriotic to only engage in criticizing the government without offering alternatives, it is also less patriotic to accept anti people’s policies of government for partisan, ethnic or parochial interest

Truth be told, poverty, nepotism , corruption, injustice, unemployment, near absence of government remains the major propeller of insecurity. The LEEP program offers a panacea if sincerely pursued

Why LEEP Should be best domiciled within NYSC

It is worthy of a note that The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC was established in 1973 to address several key issues in Nigeria, primarily stemming from the aftermath of the Nigerian Civil War. The main objectives of NYSC include :

Promoting National Unity: Fostering common ties among Nigerian youths and encouraging national integration by exposing them to different cultures, traditions, and ways of life across the country.

Reconstructing and Reconciling the Nation: Building a united, strong, and self-reliant nation by instilling discipline, patriotism, and loyalty in Nigerian youths.

Developing Skills and Self-Reliance: Equipping youths with skills for self-employment and encouraging them to develop a sense of corporate existence and common destiny.

Addressing Socioeconomic Challenges: Contributing to the accelerated growth of the national economy and promoting social and cultural improvement.

With increasing discontent over the failure of successive government to meet up with the objectives for the establishment of NYSC and calls for the scrap of the program in some quarters, domiciling LEEP within NYSC will be the best response to the sustainability of NYSC initiative in Nigeria

Domiciling LEEP within NYSC will therefore address the following:

ADDRESSING CONCERNS ABOUT NEPOTISM

Inclusive Participation: LEEP’s focus on inclusivity can help minimize nepotism by providing opportunities to diverse individuals across Nigeria, ensuring fair representation and access to resources. Every tribe in Nigeria is represented in the NYSC scheme the NYSC initiative stands out as the most national scheme in Nigeria of today

Merit-Based Selection:
Implementing merit-based selection processes for LEEP programs within NYSC can further reduce nepotism, ensuring that participants are chosen based on their skills and potential. Domiciling LEEP within NYSC is becoming even more compelling to avert issues that will arise from the distrust from it’s selection process and the puasity of accurate data-base for a balanced and merit-base selection

DOMICILING LEEP IN NYSC IS THE MOST POTENT WAY OF ENHANCING SECURITY IN NIGERIA

Youth Empowerment: By equipping NYSC members with skills and job opportunities through LEEP, the program can empower youths to contribute positively to their communities, potentially reducing insecurity.

Economic Stability: LEEP’s focus on job creation and entrepreneurship can help reduce poverty and economic instability, which are often linked to insecurity. The greatest propeller to crime today is the lack of opportunities for youth to creatively showcase their talents thereby creating a vacuum that is easily filled by option for crime. More worrisome is the fact that our educational system is increasingly comatose producing unemployable and large army of irrate dependants rather than independent and productive youths

TACKLING UNEMPLOYMENT

Job Creation: LEEP’s goal of creating 2.5 million jobs aligns perfectly with addressing unemployment among NYSC members and beyond.

Skills Development: The program’s emphasis on digital skills, vocational training, and entrepreneurship can equip NYSC members with the skills needed to secure jobs or start their own businesses. It is an indubitable fact that a well intentioned, deliberate and calculated push of any Nigerian has left most Nigerians as productive, resilient and goal getting person in the globe. A liberated and productive Nigerian competes better all over the globe as replate with many examples and testimonies with many Nigerians breaking grounds in many fields. Government must key into investing in developing it’s vast army of youths through a well fashioned skill development program. The NYSC is the most easy institution for government to achieve this in today’s Nigeria

BOOSTING THE ECONOMY

Entrepreneurship: LEEP’s Vocational and Entrepreneurship Program (VEP) can empower NYSC members to start their own businesses, contributing to economic growth and development. This offers an opportunity for the Nigerian government to transform it’s army of irrate youth from a redundancy that is a temptation; leading many to criminal tendencies to a productive army that can reasonably contribute to the Nigerian economy and GDP

Digital Economy: The program’s focus on digital skills can prepare NYSC members for the global digital economy, enabling them to access remote work opportunities and contribute to Nigeria’s economic growth.

IMPLEMENTION STRATEGY

Collaboration: NYSC and LEEP can collaborate to identify areas of synergy and develop targeted programs that address specific needs and challenges.

Capacity Building: Providing training and capacity-building opportunities for NYSC members can enhance their skills and preparedness for LEEP programs.

Monitoring and Evaluation: Establishing a robust monitoring and evaluation framework can help track progress, identify areas for improvement, and ensure the effectiveness of LEEP programs within NYSC.

The new DG NYSC board Ntufam Hilard Eta must create a difference by interfacing with Mr President to remodel NYSC to it’s original objectives that propelled it’s creation. This will be the best way he can write his name on gold. At no better time is his contribution to this administration significant than making LEEP to be domiciled in NYSC