By ZAKAA LAZARUS
The Director-General (DG) of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu, has charged Corps members to uphold the core values of the Scheme.
He gave the charge on separate occasions while addressing the 2026 Batch ‘A’ Stream One Corps members, who are currently undergoing orientation course at the NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp, Ede, Osun State and the Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin.
The DG averred that the virtues of selfless service, patriotism, integrity, efficiency, commitment and team work had been the pillars that kept the Scheme waxing strong since its establishment in 1973, adding that the present and future Corps members must continue to imbibe them in order to sustain the legacies of its founding fathers.
He reminded them that the essence of establishing the NYSC was to foster national unity, integration and development through harnessing of the intellectual prowess and ingenuity of the country’s young graduates.
General Nafiu went on to stress that they had the responsibility to continue the task of nation building from where their predecessors stopped, adding: “As stated in the NYSC Anthem, Nigeria is ours, Nigeria we serve: it is our responsibility to develop our country. We cannot expect foreigners to come and build our nation for us.”
The DG enjoined them to face all the orientation course activities with zeal, stressing that they were aimed at giving them better knowledge of Nigeria as a country and preparing them for the tasks that await them during and beyond the service year.
He, therefore, implored the them to internalize every bit of the physical, mental and intellectual skills being imparted during the exercise so as to have fulfilling and rewarding experience.
Nafiu advised the Corps members to adapt to the new environments they would find themselves after the orientation exercise just as he urged them to respect the customs and traditions of their host communities in order to attract goodwill from them.
The NYSC helmsman equally urged the young graduates to use the opportunity of the service to acquire knowledge, skills and attributes that would make them stand out among their peers when saddled with leadership roles in future.
He encouraged them to interact and make friends across the various divides stressing that the NYSC was a platform they could use to establish network of associates that could become assets in future.
Earlier, NYSC Osun State Coordinator, Mr. Ekeng Ita Kubiangha, reported that the 1,864 Corps members registered in the camp were well behaved and taking active part in all activities.
Similarly, NYSC Kwara State Coordinator, Mr. Onifade Joshua, told the DG that the Corps members deployed to the State had been of good conduct. He equally eulogized camp officials for being on top of their game in tutoring the Corps members.
