By Enyichukwu Enemanna
The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has said the quality of graduates being mobilized for the one-year scheme introduced to enhance unity and peaceful co-existence of the most populous black nation, is affecting its progress.
“Inadequacy of orientation camp facilities; poor infrastructure, submission of wrong data of graduates, poor quality graduates being presented for mobilization and deployment as well as corps members relocation racketeering among others”, the NYSC Director General, Brig. Gen. Dogara Ahmed said while delivering a convocation lecture at the Edo State University, Uzairue, on Friday.
Represented by the NYSC Director, South South Zone, Ladan Baba, the DG spoke on the topic ‘Harnessing the Potential of the Nigerian Youths for National Unity and Development’.
The service mobilizes an average of 350,000 corps members annually for the promotion of national unity and development, the Director General said and was quick to appeal to state governments to live up to their statutory responsibilities to the scheme in the provision, maintenance and upgrading of camp facilities in their respective domains.
NYSC had contributed to the development of education with corps members serving as teachers in primary, secondary and tertiary institutions, the DG remarked.
He revealed that corps members constitute the major manpower especially in the rural communities and are equally involved in the areas of health sector, agriculture, NYSC ventures, general elections, national census, skill acquisition and entrepreneurship developments.
Created in 1973 during the regime of General Yakubu Gowon, the scheme was to serve as an avenue for the reconciliation, reconstruction, and rebuilding of the nation after the civil war of 1967-70.
