The Director-General, National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brigadier-General Shuaibu Ibrahim has assured young Nigerians eagerly waiting to be mobilized for the National Service to exercise patience.
According to the DG, efforts are ongoing with the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 on safe Orientation Camp resumption, saying that NYSC is on the verge of reopening the camps.
Brigadier-General Ibrahim, in a statement on the official Facebook of the scheme, conveyed his deepest appreciation to all Prospective Corps Members (PCMs) who have been at home in the past six months, waiting to be mobilised to the NYSC Orientation Camps nationwide for the commencement of the national service.
The DG said, “It is very important to state that nobody anticipated the sad disruption of the operations of the Scheme, and other national programmes arising from COVID-19, a global challenge threatening over two hundred countries.
“The long period of waiting, no doubt has been quite challenging and frustrating as it seemingly constitutes a big drawback to all your planned actions for the year.
“However, as NYSC management salutes your courage and tenacity, in spite of the challenges posed by the global pandemic, an English maxim says: it is better to be late than the late. Discretion is the better part of valour.”
Ibrahim noted that the action taken by the Federal Government by shutting down the operations of so many institutions, cutting across the various spheres of our economy was to primarily to safeguard the lives of citizens which is the core responsibility of Governments the world over.
He assured, “ We can say delightfully that we are approaching the end of the tunnel, and in no distant time will resume full operations while strictly observing safety protocols.
He urged corps members to prioritise their well-being by adhering strictly to COVID-19 safety protocols such as frequent washing of hands with soap under running water, use of face mask, two metre-social distancing and use of alcohol-based hand sanitisers.
Speaking on the need to reopen higher institutions in the country, Dr Tunde Moses Elebute, a private school proprietor and member of the Association for Formidable Educational Development (AFED) said if the Federal Government gives the nod to reopen varsities nothing should stop the NYSC camps from opening.
“They are graduates. They are adults. But, all the camps should be well fumigated. There should be banners everywhere on COVID-19. They should give them proper orientation on COVID-19. They should create several spots where the corps members can collect whatever they want to avoid overcrowding.” He said.
Reassuring the government that mobilized corps members would cope, Elebute emphasised, “They are adults and they are our future leaders. They have been living in the country, going to markets, entering buses and interacting with people.
We should not continue to hold ourselves down forever because of COVID-19. God has blessed Africa that COVID-19 is not spreading fast here. We could not have contained it if it had happened as it did in the advanced countries. Together, we shall triumph,” he stated.
Credit: School Nigeria