Ani made the call when she declared open the Cultural Carnival for 2023 Batch ‘C’ (Stream II) orientation course which served as the last in the series for the current year.

Ani who is equally a Cultural Ambassador from Enugu State and traditional title holder of Odibeze said that Nigerian youths should stop playing the Ostrich when it comes to identifying with the nation’s cultural heritage.

“It is most unfortunate and disheartening that the generation that we are planning to bequeath our heritage to are showing little interest and identifying with what emanates from foreign land. This is not good enough and playing Ostrich when you should team up with other indigenes and natives to promote what we hold dear and precious.

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“As you prepare to make your most-sought services available at your places of primary assignment and host communities, let them know that you cherish our culture by promoting the indigenous language as well as adorning our locally made fabrics. If those who are coming into our country are promoting their cultures and exporting same into our land, then we should be wise to give our heritage an identity and sustain it,” she opined.

The Camp Director, Mrs. Martha Iziengbe Ihenyen, declared that the corps members should be proud to showcase to the world their cherished culture and language, saying that anyone who relegated his or her culture could be likened to a stranger in his or her own home.

“My dear Gentlemen Corps Members, you are resplendent in your various attires and I want to charge you to dedicate at least a day for a start that you will be putting on locally made fabrics to your places of primary assignment, religious and social circles as well as during festive season like the one which is fast approaching. Let us promote what our forebears bequeathed to us so that when we are no longer on the scene, they would be praying for us for not allowing our culture to go into extinction”.

In promotion of native attires, the management directed that corps members should adorn native attires brought from home or put on white on khaki trouser for those who did not have.

At the end of the culturally rich and captivating colourful event, number seven platoon which showcased Igbo culture clinched the first position after beating number three platoon that displayed Ijaw culture to second position while third position went to number two platoon with Tiv culture.

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Ani stated while flagging-off the third quarter Health Initiative for Rural Dwellers, HIRD, programme held at Asewele Oja community in Odigbo local government area of Ondo State.

The NYSC Ondo State boss who was represented by an Assistant Director/Head, Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) programme, Mr. Olugbenga Justus Adefehinti, posited that HIRD was a programme organised for promoting the well-being of people at the grassroots level wherein competent corps medical volunteers and other allied health professionals rendered free medical services to the people.

“I am happy to flag-off this programme today and I wish to let you know that we are committed to giving qualitative medicare and health services to not only Nigerian citizens but residents, through our professionally articulated HIRD programme to complement the efforts of government at all levels.”

She averred that the government, whether at the local, state or federal Level may not completely have the wherewithal to provide or achieve all its lofty programmes for the people at the same time in view of the limited financial resources.

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That, she said, made the NYSC scheme to provide a partnership drive in that direction.

“Our belief is that NYSC Scheme is reaching beyond its primary mandate, which is to practically impact the rural communities, which over time constitute majority of the population of the nation in integrating our great country into one indivisible entity while promoting unity and oneness”.

According to her, the Director General of the scheme, in his aspiration to reposition the scheme and be a frontliner to address the numerous hazards occasioned by health challenge, commenced the programme in which corps medical personnel nationwide were massively mobilised for the national assignment.

“Distinguished guests, I therefore beseech the community dwellers and its environs to seize this golden opportunity and improve their health status, which will drastically reduce all cases of avoidable deaths among them and also enhance healthy living”.

In his goodwill message, Oba (Dr.) Solomon Aderemi Adejayan, the Oworofun of Lapahun Kingdom, enlightened the people of his town to refrain from listening to misleading rumours making rounds that beneficiaries of free medical services might be injected with deadly and poisonous vaccines.

The monarch encouraged his subjects and people of adjoining communities to take advantage of the selfless service of the NYSC initiative to improve on their health status.

In her opening remarks, the Assistant Director/Head, Community Development Service (CDS) Branch, Mrs. Martha Ihenyen, asserted that NYSC remained one of the government agencies that prioritised the development of the nation through involvement in rural infrastructures and provision of health care services.

She thanked everyone that had supported the initiative and called for more support and collaboration from well-meaning philanthropists and non-governmental organisations.

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