Ignore call to scrap NYSC scheme–Kogi coordinator urges FG

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By Correspondent in Kabba

The Federal Government has been urged not to heed the calls for the scraping of the Nstionsl Youth Service Corps(NYSC), because the scheme remains the only veritable tool for the unification of Nigerian youths.

The Kogi State Coordinator of the NYSC, Mr Olayiwola Lasaki,made the ap on Saturday during the Cultural Carnival commemorating the NYSC at 48, Unity March 2021 of Batch ‘A’ Stream ll Orientation course at Asaya NYSC camp, Kabba, Kogi State.

He also described the scheme as a melting point where youths from diverse ethnic groups usually come together for the promotion of unity, cultural heritage and national development.

He noted that the call at the National Assembly to scrap the 48 years old NYSC could grossly affect the unity and peaceful coexistence of the citizens.

He said instead, Nigerians and the federal government should protect the youth corps to continue discharging its statutory roles of unifying the nation.

“NYSC is like a melting point which involves every body.

”The organisation should not be scraped for any reason,because it stands for the promotion of unity and such organization should remain to serve the citizens better”, Lasaki said.

Lasaki commended the Director General NYSC, Brig.-Gen. Shuaibu Ibrahim, for initiating the carnival and the unity march at the camp.

He further commended the DG for his quality leadership and the way he handled the organisation during the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

Earlier, Mrs Ugbomah Nseobong, Head of Socials, NYSC Kogi State, said that NYSC at 48 Unity March was an innovation introduced to mark its years of existence and to showcase the scheme’s achievements as a unifying factor in the common and collective strength of the youth. .

“The scheme symbolizes our togetherness through a procession of a people whose tongue, tribe and creed may differ, rather stands solidly in brotherhood.

“Today, we have witnessed a ‘Unity Pot ‘ portraying the strength, agility, vigor and doggedness of the youths in nation building as they coexist in peace and tranquility” she said .

She noted that youths, irrespective of their fields of endeavour,were trained on Digital Agro Allied, photography, customizing, culture and tourism.

Others,he added, were trained in cosmetology, ICT, fashion and design among others, pointing out that the orientation course programme had successfully imbibed in the youth, the spirit of oneness and hard work.

One of the corp members, a graduate of Aston University, who came from United Kingdom to serve her fatherland, Miss Oluwatofunmi Temilade, said the scheme had provided a rare opportunity for her to have the first hand knowledge of the diverse culture that existing in Nigeria.

“As I am passing through this scheme, it will build me as an individual to do better in my chosen career and in the area of fostering unity among the people that I encountered here in Kogi state” she stated .

According to Temilade,the importance of NYSC cannot over emphasized,especially now that youths had significant population in the country.

Other corps members:Ibrahim Abdulsalman from Abuja, and Isaiah Anthony from Akwa-Ibom State, who studied in Indian, both appealed to the federal government and the National Assembly to not to scrap the scheme.

They emphasised that the the NYSC scheme remained the most viable and veritable tool of unifying Nigerians with diverse ethnic and cultural background.

Our Correspondent reports that highlights at were the display of rich cultures in Nigeria various cultural groups as Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa, Fulani, Efik, Nupe, Sango, Osun, Edo, Urobo, Ibibbio, Eyo, among others 

The Corps members also carried various placards with inscriptions such: ”NYSC Puts The Nation First”, ”NYSC Is For The Unity Of Nigeria”, ”Shun Acts That Divide Us’.

Others were:’ ”Unity Is Strength; The Youths Are The Future For The Nation”,”Together We Build Strong And Prosperous Indivisible Team”, ”Nation Building Is Our Mandate, We Must Strive To Make Nigeria Great”.

”Shun Corruption, Drug Peddling, Drug Abuse”, ”Shun Political Thuggery And Violence”, ”One Love Will Keep Us Together” were inscriptions the Corps members displayed at the occasion among others.




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