The Director General of the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, Brigadier General Muhammad Kaku Fadah, has disclosed that the scheme has succeeded in entrenching the culture of shared vision of a great and prosperous nation in Nigerian graduate youths.
The Director General made the remark in his address read during the swearing-in ceremony for the 2022 Batch ‘B’ (Stream II) corps members deployed to Ondo State.
Represented in Ondo by the NYSC Coordinator, Mrs. Victoria Nnenna Ani, the Director General said that the scheme established culture of synergy in an atmosphere filled with friendship, peace and harmony.
“One of the objectives of NYSC is the promotion of national unity and integration. Hence your deployment away from your states of origin and your assemblage here from diverse ethnic, religious and socio-economic backgrounds is a deliberate policy to offer you the opportunity for a broader understanding of the country.
“It is also a platform for kick-starting various activities that will enable you to realise your potentials and attain individual feats both during and after the service. I therefore enjoin you to utilise this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity by participating in all the camp activities.
According to Fadah, orientation course is the first cardinal programme of the National Youth Service Corps, which is aimed at introducing the members of the service corps to the objectives and programmes of the noble scheme.
He reminded them that the oath of allegiance they had taken was significant, as it was expected to guide their conduct during the service year as well as have a lasting influence on their life after the service year.
The 19th chief executive officer of the scheme encouraged them to avail themselves of the opportunities for self-employment offered through the Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development, SAED, programme.
“You are expected to choose from any of the skill areas, and make yourselves available for the training, which starts from the orientation camp. On our part, management will continue to work with relevant stakeholders for the success of the programme.”
Fadah pleaded with the corps members to adhere strictly to the established non-pharmaceutical protocols and safety measures of COVID -19 such as observation of physical distancing, wearing of face mask and the use of hand washing facilities provided at strategic locations in the orientation camp.
“You are to equally avail yourselves of the COVID -19 vaccination that will be administered on camp if you have not done so,” he counselled.
While imploring them to sustain the high level of discipline and enthusiasm they had demonstrated so far, he enjoined them to continue to distance themselves from cultism, drug abuse and other social vices.
“I also urge you to avoid using social media for spreading fake news, fuelling hatred, and other negative purposes, and instead deploy same for the promotion of national unity and development.”
On security, the senior military officer strongly advised the corps members to be security conscious at all times and report any suspicious character or activities around them to the appropriate authorities.
While expressing his desire for a very successful and eventful camping exercise, he applauded the support of the Federal, State and Local Governments, as well as Security Agencies, traditional rulers, Corps Employers and other stakeholders, especially in the areas of security and general welfare of corps members.
The representative of the Chief Judge of Ondo State, Justice John Olajide Abe administered the Oath of Allegiance on 938 prospective corps members made up of 223 males and 715 females at the low key ceremony.
