Nigeria’s former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, has praised successive batches of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members for upholding the Scheme’s core values.
He gave the commendation when the NYSC Director General (DG), Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu, visited him at his residence in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.
Gowon, whose administration established the Scheme in 1973, said the Corps Members’ contributions to urban and rural development, as well as to the education and health sectors, elections, and other national programmes, were worthy of recognition.
The elder statesman expressed delight at the successes recorded by the NYSC over the past decades and commended the Scheme’s managers for sustaining the vision of its founding fathers.
“Let me commend all the staff of the Scheme from inception to date. I say well done and thank you for ensuring that it records success,” he said.
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He explained that the idea of establishing the NYSC stemmed from the collective quest of various sections of Nigeria, who saw the need to deploy the country’s human resources to address national challenges after the civil war.
While noting that the Scheme’s deployment policy had led to inter-ethnic marriages, among other benefits, Gowon stressed the need to make the initiative even more relevant in the face of current realities.
Support
He called for greater stakeholder support for the Scheme, saying this would help promote entrepreneurial and self-employment opportunities for Corps Members in line with the objectives stated in the NYSC Act.
Earlier in his remarks, Nafiu expressed gratitude to the former Head of State for his consistent guidance and support for the Scheme.
He assured that the entire staff of the NYSC remained committed to sustaining its successes and breaking new ground in its post-golden jubilee era.