The Director General, National Youth Service Corps, Brig.-Gen. Suleiman Kazaure, says the current socio-political situation in the country has placed much burden on corps members.
The director general, who said this in Enugu on Friday during a visit to the NYSC orientation camp in Awgu, Enugu state, noted that such burden would serve as motivation to achieving ideals of the scheme.
Kazaure, represented by the Director of Community Development Services and Special Projects, Mr Ysuf Ehoda-Adi, urged the corps members not to rest until they bequeath to generations unborn ‘a unique country’ where citizens would have equal opportunities.
He said that as harbingers of a united Nigeria, corps members needed to contribute to the development of their host communities.
“The NYSC holds a unique hope that the tendencies of divisions that have held the country down cannot win.
“The collective challenge for all is to diffuse our differences and challenges to ensure that we carry elements that will make us serve our nation well and shed primordial sentiments.
“The greatness of this country must be our collective objective until we bequeath to generations unborn a unique country they can be proud of,” he said.
Kazaure urged the corps members to be good ambassadors of their respective institutions of higher learning, adding that their contributions in initiating development projects would bear such testimonies.
He reiterated the resolve to ban all social gatherings without permission by NYSC management at relevant levels due to recent unfortunate incidences involving corps members.
“You will not have the liberty of engaging in social gatherings and travelling without permission. We cannot afford to further lose corps members in death,“ Kazaure said.
Earlier in an address of welcome, the state NYSC Coordinator, Alhaji Ahmed Ikaka decried the state of facilities in Awgu orientation camp as they could no longer pretend that all was well in the camp.
“Our camp may not be the best but it is the first being the premier NYSC orientation camp in the country established in 1973.
“Some of the structures here were erected in the 1950s and predate the scheme. Since 1973, this camp existed without perimetre fence,” he said.
The state coordinator said that most of the hostels were a `sorry site’ that needed to be upgraded with modern facilities.
He said that no fewer than 247 ceiling fans at the cost of N2.7 million were needed for all the rooms in the hostel.
“We solely depend on diesel for the generation of electricity here, as the public power source was vandalised. We have so far spent about N1 million to that effect to date as against the N300, 000 given to us for diesel,” he said.
Ikaka said that one of their greatest challenges was lack of utility vehicles, adding that the Enugu Secretariat was the only one in the country without operational vehicle.
“The road to the camp is dilapidated, though we have done everything to make it passable,” he said.
Ikaka, however, said that the state government had made promises to intervene in some of the challenges facing the corps.
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