The Director-General of the Nation’s Youth Service Corps, Brigadiers-General Y. D. Ahmed, has advised corps members currently in the orientation camps in the country to avoid seeking redeployment.
The director-general gave the advice on Thursday in Lagos while addressing the 2024 Batch “A” Stream l corps members deployed to Lagos State, undergoing a 3-week orientation exercise at the state’s orientation camp in Iyana-Ipaja.
They are 4, 323 in number with some deployed to Ogun and Osun states for their orientation exercise because of inadequate space in the Lagos orientation camp.
According to the DG, every corps member was expected to do well while in camp and also in his or her place of primary assignment and host communities by impacting them positively, noting that was the essence of their services to the country.
Ahmed urged them to come up with marketable business ideas, saying there are lots of financial institutions in the country, including the Bank of Industry, that are ready to give them zero-interest loans with flexible repayment.
The DG said all that was required by those banks from them as collateral was only their NYSC certificates and that many corps members in the past had explored the opportunities and were now self-independent and even employers of labour.
Ahmed, however, cautioned them not to embark on journeys without permission from NYSC management and their places of primary assignment.
He said it would be better if they could debar avoidable journeys, adding that that if they must travel, they must ensure they obtained express permission from relevant quarters so as to be able to track their movement.
The NYSC boss said this was necessary, not only because of the insecurity situation in the country, but also because they were expected to give full concentration to their duties as corps members.
He said NYSC as an organisation would not accept truancy nor absenteeism from any of them.
While assuring them that their safety was guaranteed in and outside orientation camp as the para-military organisation worked closely with other security agencies, including the police, DSS, NDLEA, NSCDC and so forth, the NYSC helmsman also urged them to shun all forms of social vices such as cultism, thuggery and drug abuse.
He said, “Social vices are prohibited while in camp and outside the camp and that anyone finds culpable of flouting rules will be sanctioned accordingly.”
The DG, however, commended them for their display of discipline while encouraging them to keep abiding by the rules guiding their orientation exercise and places of their primary assignments.
In her remark, NYSC coordinator, Lagos State, Mrs Yetunde Baderinwa, commended corps members for their impressive and mature display of character since the orientation exercise commenced.
She noted that the corps members had been very cooperative with camp officials and security agencies.
The coordinator also pointed out that the Lagos State government had been very supportive of NYSC activities to ensure its smooth operations.
Baderinwa, however, implored the corps members to continue to put maximum effort into their participation in the one-year mandatory scheme.
