Reports indicate that over a million Nigerians have enrolled for the NPower Batch C program. The scheme was set up to solve the problem of unemployment and youth restiveness in the country. Many years after graduation, many Nigerian youths roam the streets because they lack jobs.
The program came to engage them and also support them to establish businesses and become employers of labor. However the first batch of Npower volunteers had a luxury of four years in the program in which they were paid a monthly stipend of N30,000.00. The 2019 general elections raised hope of permanency as volunteers expected that they will be converted to full civil servants.
But that never happened as they were suddenly disengaged from the Npower scheme about a month ago. The decision to disengage them was widely criticized by volunteers as untimely because of the challenges brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.
They were even threatened with protest by volunteers but it did not work out as planned because news of new registration made many unemployed youths excited at the opportunity.
The volunteers of batch A and B who were advocating for permanency had to retreat so that the armies of unemployed youths waiting to be enrolled will not consider them as selfish and ungrateful people. They have accepted what happened and have moved on.
The problem is that the majority of the Npower volunteers have nothing to fall back on as they are now literally back in the job market. The same fate awaits all future volunteers and that has raised many questions.
Many ex-volunteers have returned to exactly how they were living their lives before the program and it questions the success of the scheme that was supposed to solve the problem of unemployment.
However, a few volunteers claimed that they have established small businesses with their little stipend and savings within the four years period.
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