By Saheed Ibrahim

The Director General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Scheme, Brigadier General Yisha’u Dogara Ahmed, has asserted that the gains enmeshed in participating in the national program cannot be quantified.

General Ahmed, who was impressed with the reception accorded him at the NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp, Ikare-Akoko, made the assertion while addressing the 2023 Batch ‘C’ (Stream II) corps members.

He listed the gains as including leadership training right from the orientation course, mentoring, human capacity building, exposure to topical national issues throughout the service year, and accessibility to credible information about the nation.

Others are empowerment development programs through the Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) program, varied opportunities that will open a new vista of life to them, knowing the country through deployment outside one’s geopolitical zone, cultural integration, and many more.

The Director General described the program as a unifier and a platform that has sustained the unity of the country.

The historian said that the NYSC service year brought him to the Southwest geopolitical zone for the first time; the experience, which he described as a watershed in his life, kindled the zeal for patriotism in him.

The NYSC boss said that Corps members are expected to eschew tribalistic tendencies and foster national unity and integration through relationships established during the orientation course and indeed during the service year, which will ultimately ensure harmony and peaceful co-existence that the founding fathers bequeathed to the successive batches of corps members.

He advised them to be disciplined, responsible in their dealings with fellow human beings, and hardworking so that the huge investment of the scheme in them would be justified by all and sundry.

“You all have special roles to play in uniting all tribes and ethnicities in our beloved country. This cannot be achieved unless you see yourselves as one with your brothers and sisters across the divide. You are to remain a detribalized Nigerian and promote mutual understanding between one another as entrenched in the NYSC Act.

While commending the Ondo NYSC Coordinator, Victoria Ani, Ahmed advised Corps members to obey the rules and regulations guiding the scheme.

Speaking, Ani thanked the Director General for the welfare of both corps members and staff since his assumption of duties in January of this year.