The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in Niger on Tuesday sworn-in 974 corps members of the 2021 Batch ‘B’ Stream II deployed to the state for their one-year compulsory service to their fatherland.
Brig.-Gen. Shuaibu Ibrahim, NYSC Director-General, said in his address at the opening ceremony of orientation camp that it was to prepare them physically and mentally to contribute to the progress and development of their fatherland.
Ibrahim, who was represented by Mrs Funmilayo Ajayi, the NYSC State Coordinator in Niger, enjoined the corps members to participate actively in all camp activities to enable them to succeed.
He urged the corps members to engage in healthy interactions, exchange ideas as people of diverse ethnic religious and socioeconomic backgrounds that would broaden their understanding of the country and build lasting friendships.
“The performance of your much envisaged roles in the promotion of national unity and integration,” he said.
He commended the corps members for their level of discipline and enthusiasm exhibited since their arrival in camp and urged them to keep up the good conduct throughout the orientation camp.
According to him, corps members must comply strictly with all camp rules and regulations and obey course officials as the recalcitrant ones would be punished in line with the provisions of NYSC bye-laws.
The director-general advised the corps members to be serious with the skill acquisition and entrepreneurship development (SAED) programme.
He said the programme was meant to prepare them for self-employment and wealth creation through vocational and entrepreneurial training as well as linkage with financial institutions and other funding sources for business start-up financing.
He urged them to avail themselves the opportunity of acquiring skills and training that would make them self-employed instead of joining the ranks of unemployed graduates scouting for the scarce white collar jobs.
He disclosed that the scheme, in collaboration with the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19 (PSC) and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), would continue to demonstrate its commitment in ensuring adequate compliance with the COVID-19 protocol.
He called on corps members to and all members of the camp community to ensure strict compliance with all the COVID-19 prevention protocol throughout the orientation period.
He also urged them to present themselves for vaccination whenever and wherever it was made available.(NAN)
