He made the declaration on Thursday during his visit to Osun State where, incidentally, he started his career.

According to the scheme’s foremost corps welfare officer, corps members, through their training and mentorship, have proven that NYSC is not a misplaced priority but a treasure that will take the country to her deserved place among the comity of nations.

Ayo-Omotade who spoke at the NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp, Ede, while fielding questions from members of the Orientation Broadcasting Service, OBS, recalled with nostalgic feelings his humble beginning as a pioneer member of staff over 34 years ago in the state.

He advised corps members to imbibe the attributes of hard work, discipline and commitment, as that would take them far in life.

“Without being immodest, I am privileged to be a member of the team that commenced the groundbreaking of the NYSC structure in Osun State. We had nothing then, but commitment to make an impact and through our selfless combined efforts, you are now partakers of the programme that has united graduate youths across divides.

“No sacrifice can be greater or more meaningful than seeing the impact we have made on the successive corps members over the years, which has transformed you into a force to reckon with and numero uno when it comes to breaking barriers,” he said.

The pioneer farm manager when the scheme was established in Osun State and who later served as Personal Assistant to three State Coordinators – Chief (Mrs.) Foluso Asake Lasaki, late Pastor Isaac Olubayo Alamu and Mr. Fidelis Obijiofor Osakwe – admonished the corps members to serve the nation conscientiously and with all sense of responsibility.

He said the discipline and reward system were in place and would be applied appropriately.

He charged them to study the environment and come up with a blueprint that would make them contribute meaningfully to the development of the state, rather than gallivanting up and down seeking non-existent fortune.

“Right from the orientation camp and throughout the service year, NYSC has designed programmes that will build your capacity and expand your horizons. This is the reason for the assemblage of great minds to come together and address the challenges bedevilling us as a nation. You all have the capacity, deploy it to make Nigeria great again. Those who came before you laid a solid foundation, and the onus lies on you to build on it. Ensure that you do not destroy the foundation.”

The cerebral administrator, who is extremely passionate about health and well-being of corps members visited the Camp Clinic, where he interacted with Corps Members and had an interface with the consultants and medical team from Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, OAUTH.

The one time Director, NYSC South South and also North East Area Offices, later proceeded to the kitchen where he appreciated everyone, including corps members on duty, for preparing the meals under the most hygienic condition.

Ayo-Omotade, who holds the record as the first NYSC top management staff to combine State Coordinatorship with the Director of SSAO 1, lauded the NYSC Osun State Coordinator, Mr.  Ekeng Ita Kubiangha, for the giant strides he had achieved in less than a month of assumption of duty in the state.

In a related development, Ayo-Omotade, in company of the state coordinator visited the Commissioner for Youth Affairs, who doubles as Chairman, NYSC Osun State Governing Board, Hon. Moshood Olagunju, where he appealed to the government through his office to improve on the facilities and infrastructures at the camp.

He acknowledged the fact that Osun State government had enormous responsibility but pleaded that NYSC should remain in the front burner of government’s people oriented policies and programmes at all times.

In what has become his trademark of honour and unparalleled distinction, Ayo-Omotade who decked the NYSC uniform, reminiscent of his service year in Ogun State 36 years ago, rewarded some corps members, notably the Quarter Guard and OBS crew as well as security personnel manning the main gate of the camp.

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Ayo-Omotade made the statement when he addressed the 2023 Batch ‘C’ (Stream II) corps members at the NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp, Ikare-Akoko.

According to the Chairman, NYSC Director General Think-Tank, corps members who had been mobilised and deployed to various states of the federation should not sit on the fence but join the progressive train to rescue the country from doldrums.

“The founding fathers of this noble scheme made conscious efforts that prevented the country from breaking and it is now your turn to work harmoniously with your colleagues in the national service to ensure that the labour of our heroes past does not go in vain and I want to assure you that if you give your best, your services to the nation will not go unrewarded.

“I want to tell you now that the choices you make today will to a large extent determine the height you will attain in life and I want you to be fulfilled at the end of the service year hence my admonition to you to take responsible choices. However, if your choices are not in tandem with the expectations of the society, be ready to face the consequences of your actions or inactions”.

He said that if they must get to the top they crave for themselves, they must be dedicated, disciplined and hardworking.

“My dear children, if you desire to get to the top, you must constantly and consistently focus on your goals. Do not engage in any act or activities that will jeopardise your future. You can contribute to nation-building through the Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) programme which majority of you think we forced you to embrace but I want to tell you that majority of your predecessors who keyed into the programme when it was established 11 years ago have become a force to reckon with economically.

“Your education is a gateway for you to make it big in this challenging economy which is not limited or peculiar to Nigeria or Africa but globally. Use your hands and intellect to carve a niche for yourself and let the world celebrate your achievements during and after the service year. Your education will open doors for you in high places if you dare to be different in showcasing your skills. Let education reflect in your packaging and network with your friend and colleague to avail you with creative graphics and design that will stand your products or services out in the midst of others,” he said.

The one-time state coordinator in Delta State advised the members of the service corps not to leverage the wealth of their parents but struggle to survive as whatever they achieve through their sweats would catapult them to greatness.

“Gentlemen Corps Members, I am not against you spending or investing the family wealth but what I am saying in essence is that the wealth of your parents is not entirely yours even though you will have part of it as your inheritance but the money you do not work for will not be well managed because it is a free will donation or gift from family inheritance while the one you invested massively in with your personal resources and commitment in a disciplined manner will profit you the more.”

Ayo-Omotade who has served in various committees and held sensitive positions which included Head of Administration to a former Director General said that the corps members should strive hard and build a career that would take them to greater heights through hard work, commitment and selfless service.

“By the grace of God, I am enjoying the seed I planted while building my career over three decades of working with the National Youth Service Corps. Even though, I belong to the old school, I am enjoying the contemporary benefits of God and I want to admonish you to work now and party later so that the theme of the orientation course which is ‘Merriment and Thanksgiving’ will have meaning in its context of usage”.

Ayo-Omotade appreciated the state coordinator for the warm reception accorded him.

The state coordinator, Mrs. Victoria Nnenna Ani who was elated to have the guest said the visit would serve as morale booster not only for corps members but camp officials as well.

She charged the members of the service corps to take advantage of the visit of the Director to toe a path of hard work which would take them to the promised land if they were willing to abide by all the special guest told them.

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The Director, Corps Welfare and Health Services of the NYSC, Benjamin Ayo-Omotade, made the assertion on Saturday  during his address to the 2021 Batch ‘C’ (Stream 1) corps members deployed to Ondo State.

Speaking at the NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp in Ikare-Akoko, Ayo-Omotade said that it was only people with sinister motives that would not appreciate what the scheme was doing in that regard.

“Through the instrument of this laudable programme, patriotic and focused Nigerians from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds are promoting one of the core objectives of the NYSC which is to develop common ties among the Nigerian youths and promote national unity and integration.

“Before the advent of NYSC in the country, it was rare and a bit difficult to see or witness inter-tribal marriages across the divides, but with the establishment in 1973, the scheme has remained the only pathfinder that is making someone from the core North to get married to Southerners and vice versa through the relationships developed from the orientation camp,” Ayo-Omotade said.

He said that the orientation camp was a beautiful place to be because of the events and activities that had been specially designed to achieve a particular purpose in the lives of corps members.

“Very intelligent and amiable youths of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I want to let you know that orientation camp is fundamentally designed to instill in you virtues of industry and discipline for the task of nation-building and I want to admonish you to participate fully and actively too in all the orientation course contents,” he said.

He charged corps members to apply themselves to the critical lessons of the orientation course as every component was designed to achieve set objectives.

Ayo-Omotade announced that the NYSC had concluded plans with the management of National Health Insurance Scheme, NHIS, to integrate corps members into the healthcare system.

He added that the members of the service corps were not mobilised and deployed based on ethnic, religious considerations or the people they knew but that their deployment was based purely on constitutional rights which conferred the privilege on NYSC to mobilise qualified Nigerian graduates who were 30 years and below.

He commended the Ondo State Coordinator, Mrs. Victoria Nnenna Ani, for the exceptional neatness of the camp and the high level of discipline and comportment exhibited by the corps members.

The elated Ani, who described the Director as one of the finest administrator of the scheme disclosed that 1478 corps members registered and 250 camp officials had undergone COVID 19 test before admittance into the camp.

She thanked the Ayo-Omotade for the efforts to attract support for the scheme and the corps participants.

“The Gentle Dove’ as Ayo-Omotade is known and called in the NYSC circle extended his generosity to the corps members and camp officials, the move was seen as unprecedented in the annals of the NYSC, Ondo State,” Ani said.

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