A prominent monarch in Ondo State, His Royal Majesty Oba Adefemi Adedoyin-Adegbite has lauded the vision of the NYSC founding fathers for bequeathing a Scheme that has remained a source of unity to the nation.
Oba Adegbite-Adedoyin who is the Owa-Ale Adimula of Ikareland made this assertion when he paid a visit to the NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp, Ikare-Akoko to felicitate with the formidable youth organisation on the attainment of 50 years.
"Nigerians would be forever grateful to the founding fathers of the National Youth Service Corps such as General Yakubu Gowon (retd), Professor Adedeji, Colonel Ahmadu Ali, PhD for their foresight at promoting the oneness and uniqueness of the country through mobilisation and subsequent deployment of graduate youths under the age of 30 years to rebuild the nation after the civil war that destroyed the fabrics of our existence as a nation".
According to the royal father, those who are agitating that the NYSC should be discontinued should endeavour to get closer to the laudable Scheme and experience wonders which the programme has done to make the country a united nation.
"It amuses me when some ill-informed members of the society are calling for the scrapping of the Scheme, describing the programme as mere wasting the resources of the Government as well as precious time of the participants but in real sense, NYSC has touched and it is still touching the lives of Nigerians in positive ways. A Scheme that has survived ups and downs in the last 50 years should be given credit for exposing our younger generation to better ways of leadership and governance through the articulate programmes".
''Rather than the call for the scrapping of the Scheme, the general public as well as critical stakeholders should encourage the Federal Government to improve on camp facilities and infrastructures, give better and adequate funding to implement many lofty programmes of the Scheme and enhance the welfare of corps members. Without NYSC, this country would have been something else and with the Scheme in place, the future is brighter".
The first class traditional ruler made a case for Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) programme, saying the Government should expand the scope and make it more attractive to members of the service corps.
"Nigeria, through the capacity building for corps members has what it takes to develop this country. The existing components of the intervention known as SAED can transform the country from being a consuming nation to one that produces. I have seen exploits of corps members in Agro-Allied, Food Processing, Construction and ICT, and have come to the conclusion that NYSC is indeed a torchbearer" he said.
In terms of unity, it is difficult to take that away from the Scheme as participants who come from other geopolitical zones are living peacefully with indigenes after the service year and they are doing marvelously well. I have some of them working with me and I am enjoying their services. Without NYSC, they would not have been in this part of the country. Kudos to the Scheme for being a unifier of all the ethnics in the country.
The custodian of the culture and tradition of the ancient town while congratulating the Scheme on the Golden Jubilee anniversary of the establishment of the NYSC prayed that the managers of the Scheme will not labour in vain as they continuously strive to mentor the graduate youths into becoming assets to the nation.
The United Kingdom trained legal luminary charged the corps members to see their deployment to Ondo State as a call to service and opportunity to contribute meaningfully to the development of the country.
Meanwhile, the NYSC Ondo State Coordinator, Mrs. Victoria Nnenna Ani has declared that seriousness and hard work will determine how far corps members will go at perfecting skills learnt while in camp.
The State Coordinator made this known while drawing the curtains on the 2023 Batch 'A' (Stream II) Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) programme at the NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp, Ikare-Akoko.
Mrs. Ani disclosed that post-camp training is slightly different from in-camp training as they have to go a mile to make sacrifice in terms of financial investment and time commitment to achieve that which is good for them.
"Let me remind you that in-camp training was highly subsidised which means that you paid little or nothing to access the service, equipment and other materials needed to enhance your training. We have a good rapport and understanding with the Trainers/Facilitators and they would not exploit you".
"I want to use this medium to encourage you to perfect what you have learnt in the course of in-camp training. It is often said that Rome was not built in a day and I want to encourage you to take serious the post-camp training which will assist you greatly in getting to your dream destination" she said.
The NYSC Ondo State boss while disclosing that paid job is shrinking, advised the corps members to learn a skill that will stand them out among their contemporaries.
"Successful entrepreneurs like Otunba Mike Adenuga, Chief Femi Otedola, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Chief Tony Elumelu started small and today, they are giants in their various endeavours and I want you to take the bull by the horn so that you will become successful entrepreneurs and employers of labour in no too distant future. Also, do not allow anything to distract you from this pathway to glory".
The NYSC helmsman in Ondo, the Sunshine State admonished the corps members not to hesitate to contact their Local Government Inspector and SAED Schedule Officer if they are facing difficulties during post-camp training as this will assist and give them insight into what is happening and how best to tackle it.
"We are not going to leave you alone to your destiny after camp as we have set machineries in motion to monitor your activities and ensure that your plans materialise" she concluded.
The Assistant Director/Head, SAED, Mr. Olugbenga Justus Adefehinti advised the corps members to take to all advises offered them while in camp which will surely be handy in helping them make informed decisions.
Mr. Adefehinti thanked all the Trainers/Facilitators for giving their best to the corps members despite the challenges encountered in sourcing the materials and the little discomfort they experienced on accommodation arrangement.
The Camp Director, Mr. Ojo Jonathan Kolawole admonished the corps members to work assiduously towards becoming personalities that the whole world will be proud of.
The Camp Director congratulated them for the successful completion of the in-camp training and told them to toe the path of honour during the service year.
At the end of the Inter-Platoon competition cum exhibition, corps members successfully competed for honours in Barbing, Cosmetology, Make-Over and Gele Tying.
In Barbing, Ayuba, Elisha Danladi with code number OD/23A/2720 came first while in Cosmetology, Oyibo, Zainab Baby, code number OD/23A/2221 beat others to win the silverware. In Make-Over, Ogagaroge, Rachael Akpevwe with code number OD/23A/2088 edged others to clinch the first position and in Gele-Tying, Onah, Joy Ifeoma, code number OD/23A/2223 outshined other contestants to be the overall winner.
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