The Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu, has advised Corps Members to maximise the opportunities available during the service year for both national and personal development.
The DG gave the advice while addressing the 2025 Batch ‘C’ Corps Members at the NYSC Orientation Camps in Kano, Jigawa, and Yobe States, northern Nigeria.
Emphasising the need for adequate preparation for their future, the Director General also urged the Corps Members to imbibe the core values of the Scheme, foster mutual relationships, and promote cultural integration.
“Make friends, be your brother’s keeper: interact with your colleagues from other States and cultures. You will need those contacts to advance your interests in politics, business, academics, marriages and other endeavours,” he said.
The Director General advised Corps Members who intended to travel abroad to first complete their service and obtain the Certificate of National Service, adding: “For as many of you as possible, I enjoin you to stay on, let us build this country together and make it greater.”
He further cautioned them to use social media responsibly by avoiding insults, refraining from posts related to partisan politics while still in service, and upholding societal values.
Nafiu encouraged them to take advantage of opportunities for self-employment through the NYSC Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) programme, adding that they should perfect the skills acquired at the Orientation Camp by participating actively in the post-camp component of the training.
He also urged the Corps Members to develop a business mindset and explore legitimate opportunities in their States of deployment to improve their financial well-being.
Presenting the camp report to the DG, the NYSC Kano State Coordinator, Hajiya Halima Abubakar, said all 1,554 registered Corps Members were well-behaved and had fully adjusted to the regimented nature of the camp.
In his report, the Jigawa State Coordinator, Dawut Jidda, noted that the 1,202 Corps Members had been actively participating in all camp activities.
In Yobe State, the Coordinator, Mr Ohuoha Edison, stated that the Corps Members were taken through various trainings, including the entrepreneurship development programme.
PIAK