The Ondo State Coordinator of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Mrs Victoria Nnenna Ani has disclosed that the benefits of participating in the NYSC four cardinal programmes of the Scheme is unquantifiable.
The State Coordinator made the disclosure in her speech during the closing ceremony of the orientation course for the 2021 Batch ‘B’ (Stream 1) corps members deployed to Ondo State.
Mrs. Ani said that members of the service corps should integrate themselves with their new environment and then identify with the problems and aspirations of the host community.
“One of the benefits of the service year is the unquantifiable real and deep knowledge that a corps member can gain from the community in which he or she resides. In this way, the spirit of intolerance, ethnic prejudice and fear that pervades every aspect of our national life will be overcome”.
The NYSC Ondo State boss enjoined the corps members to accept their postings without reservation, resentment or bad feelings as the national service transcends beyond personal or parochial consideration.
“I charge you to be very resourceful, purposeful, dedicated and patriotic. Let selfless service be your watchword throughout the service year and beyond. I enjoin you not to regard the one year national service as a period to gallivant and engage in unguarded revelry but consider it as a period that you can make your own meaningful contributions towards building a better society’.
“No matter how remote your places of primary assignment may be, remember that some other corps members have served there before and some are currently on ground contributing their own quota to the development of the community and I urge you to embark on individual Community Development Projects thereby leaving your places of primary assignment than you met them”.
“Let me inform you that there is always attractive package for corps members who distinguish themselves during the service year by the nature of community development projects they embark upon. It is therefore not out of place if you make up your mind today to be one of the beneficiaries of this special package”.
The State Coordinator told the corps members that the energy sapping physical activities and series of induction lectures were aimed at making them better citizens which invariably must have greatly impacted their collective efforts and the joy of having gone through a challenging but highly rewarding orientation exercise.
On the Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) programme, Mrs. Ani admonished the corps members to seize the opportunity to get themselves ready for post service challenges and embrace the post-camp training at their respective places of primary assignment.
The NYSC Ondo State helmsman said that the Scheme will continue to live up to her responsibility, especially on security and welfare of corps members as safety of members of the service corps remains paramount to the management.
“It is expected that all these efforts should be naturally be reciprocated through hard work and dedication to duty and I am using this opportunity to appeal to corps employers to treat the corps members like their biological children”.
She tasked the corps members to take their personal security seriously and appeal to them to be security conscious and study their environment scientifically and seek more knowledge to know every minutest details of their surroundings.
Mrs. Ani reminded the corps members that COVID -19 is real and encouraged them to protect themselves by observing all the protocols associated with the spread of the novel virus, and educate people in their host communities about the dangers of not observing all the protocols.
Two camp officials, Messrs Omotade Olaoluwa and Phillips Olusola were given letters of commendation for their resilience under the NYSC and Collaborating Agencies category respectively while the Corps Camp Director, Eghele Abdulmalik was equally honoured with commendation letter for his dedication and resilience.
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