The Director, Southwest Area Office, National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, Mr. Emmanuel Danjuma Attah, has tasked Nigerian youths to look inwards and proffer solutions to the challenges bedevilling the country.
Attah gave the challenge to youths on Saturday when he paid unscheduled visit to the 2020 Batch ‘B’ (Stream 1A) corps members deployed to Ondo State.
Speaking at the NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp, Ikare-Akoko, the he said the education and exposure of members of the service corps should be an added advantage which should be deployed to make the country better.
“As an enlightened strata of this society, it behoves on you to bring ideas together and come up with workable solutions and this is the more reason why the federal government has invested a lot in you so that you can drive the developmental process the nation is clamouring for.
“The federal government, through the NYSC, established the Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) programme in 2012 to reduce the rate of unemployment in the country and it is incontrovertible fact that we have broken so many barriers with the empowerment programmes we have given successive corps members.
“Some of your predecessors who embraced SAED and keyed in into its various sub sect, are today managers of small and medium scale businesses. They are equally employers of labour.
“I want you to take advantage of this intervention and say hay while the sun shines. Paid job is not easy to come by again and whatever skills you can learn during the service year will prepare you for the challenges ahead and make you independent,” he said.
Attah commended the untiring efforts of National Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, team and the corps medical personnel for rising up to the challenge posed by Coronavirus pandemic.
“I am impressed with the professional way and manner the NCDC team and corps medical personnel have combated COVID-19 among the entire camp community. Information made available to me indicated that all prospective corps members, the camp officials and the camp marketers had undergone the compulsory COVID -19 test.”
The NYSC boss who is equally an astute football administrator charged the corps members to abide by the protocols of coronavirus pandemic as directed by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 and National Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, noting that the novel and deadly virus was still very much in the society.
He warned that any corps member who embarked on frivolous journeys during the service year would be sanctioned in line with the provision of the NYSC bye law.
“Let me advise you and at the same time warn you not to embark on needless journeys during the service year. The roads are bad and we want to hand you over to your parents and loved ones at the end of the service year hale and hearty. Always apply in writing and obtain permission from the state coordinator before you travel out of your places of primary assignment,” he said.
He commended the state coordinator, Mrs. Grace Akpabio, for giving facelift to structures on the camp as well as improving on the services rendered to the corps members.
“Mrs. Akpabio is a great caring mother and a very hard-working woman who has transformed the orientation camp and her commitment has made Ondo camp one of the best in the country,” he concluded.
Briefing the Attah, the camp director, Mr. Babatunde Oyebade, said the management complied wholly with the directives of NCDC with the provision of well equipped Camp Clinic manned by the consultants from the Federal Medical Centre, Owo, and medical professionals from the Infection Prevention and Control Department of Ondo State Ministry of Health.
Oyebade informed the director that some 2020 Batch ‘A’ corps members that were sent out of camp at the height of COVID-19 in March this year had started joining those in camp to complete their orientation course.
Before leaving the camp, Attah rewarded members of the NCDC team and COVID -19 Vanguard with plaques and Certificate of Commendation for a job well done.
