In a bold move to combat youth unemployment, the National Youth
Service Corps (NYSC) has transformed into a powerhouse of entrepreneurial development, empowering over 1.39 million young graduates with vocational skills over the past six years.
Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu, the Director General of NYSC, recently highlighted the Scheme’s pivotal role in fostering self-reliance and creating a new generation of job creators in Nigeria.
Speaking to members of the Senior Executive Course 48, 2026, of the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), General Nafiu revealed that between 2019 and 2025, the NYSC’s Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) programme has
trained an impressive 1,391,119 young graduates.
This initiative, introduced in 2012,
directly addresses the Scheme’s objective to enable Nigerian youths to acquire the spirit of self-reliance by encouraging them to develop skills for self-employment.
General Nafiu lauded the foresight of the NYSC’s founding fathers, whose vision for empowering Corps members with vocational and entrepreneurial skills has proven invaluable in today’s Nigeria, where traditional white-collar jobs are increasingly scarce.
He contrasted the current job market with the past, noting, “As at the time NYSC was established, jobs were readily available and companies were running after graduates that were turned out by the few tertiary institutions that existed then. 
“Today, however, those opportunities are very scarce. Thankfully, the NYSC Act has given us the mandate to empower Corps members with entrepreneurial skills that will make them not just self-sufficient, but also employers of labour.”
The Director General expressed gratitude to government agencies and other organizations collaborating with NYSC on the SAED programme, acknowledging their crucial technical and funding support, particularly in providing soft loans, grants, and start-up kits for Corps
entrepreneurs.
He also seized the opportunity to advocate for the establishment of the
NYSC Trust Fund, a Bill for which has already been passed by the National Assembly and awaits presidential assent.
“With the Trust Fund, we will be able to give every Corps member that passes through the SAED training adequate capital to start their business of interest at the end of the service year,” Nafiu emphasized, urging NIPSS to include this recommendation in their report to
the President.
To further illustrate the impact of SAED, course participants were treated to a documentary.showcasing the inspiring success stories of young entrepreneurs who have thrived through the initiative.
Professor Ayo Omotayo, Director General of NIPSS, commended the Scheme’s
significant contribution to reducing unemployment through SAED, stating, “We deliberately chose NYSC for this study tour, having closely monitored your trajectory in the area of youth
empowerment.”
He assured that NIPSS’s recommendations to the government would include measures to enhance NYSC’s capacity for youth empowerment.
