The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Corps

  • Corps member donates e-boards to varsity

    Corps member donates e-boards to varsity

    A National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member at the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), Miss Panu Sewedo, has donated six electronic signposts to the University as part of her Community Development Service (CDS).

    The signposts, which cost N65,000 each, have been erected at strategic places on campus, including the Student Affairs’ Unit and hostel area. Commissioning the signposts on Saturday, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof Abdulganiyu Ambali, who was represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Management Services), Prof Yisa Fakunle, said the management appreciated Panu’s effort to make movement easy for visitors on campus.

    Prof Fakunle said: “I want to congratulate you on this selfless service and we appreciate the NYSC for the good Corps members they usually send to this institution. We, at the University of Ilorin, appreciate the thoughtfulness, the drive and dedication of Miss Panu Sewedo to this project that we are commissioning today.”

    The DVC reiterated the management’s support to Corps member future projects, urging her not to relent in contributing to the development of her host community. He added: “You can see the amount of support you had received from the university since you commenced this project. People who don’t get support are those waiting for things to happen. We are assuring you that the billboards will be maintained.”

    In his remarks, the Kwara State Coordinator of the NYSC, Mr M. A. Amusa, who led 18 other senior officials from the secretariat, praised the Corps member, describing her as a good ambassador of the NYSC.

    Amusa said: “The NYSC and universities need to work together, because it is higher institution’s graduates we are mentoring. Likewise, universities absorb our products as staff and post-graduate students.”

    Pointing out that UNILORIN is the largest employer of Corps members posted to Ilorin South Local Government Area, Amusa urged the university management to productively engage Corps members deployed to serve in the institution.

    “We have the responsibility to recommend excellent Corps members for state and federal awards. President Goodluck Jonathan has graciously raised the prizes for these awards. Apart from immediate employment, recipients of Federal Government Youth Corpers’ Award will be given government scholarships to local and foreign school to further their education in any course of their choice,” Amusa said.

    Panu said she was grateful to God and the university officials, including the VC, Registrar, Mr E.D. Obafemi, Dean and sub-Students of Students’ Affairs, Prof O.A. Omotesho and Dr A. Yusuf and the University Protocol Officer, Mr S.O. Agboola for their support.

    She disclosed that she was motivated to embark on the project because she wanted to bueatify the campus by the electronic billboards.

    Panu said: “The skills I acquired during the production process cannot be quantified. I got myself involved in welding metals, painting iron sheets, working with the electricians and even the carpenters. It is an experience that I will never forget.”

  • Corps member donates signposts

    A female National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member serving at UNILORIN, Miss Abosede Sewedo Panu, has donated six electronic signposts to the University as part of her Community Development (CD) service. The signposts, which cost about N65,000 each, have been erected at strategic places on campus including the Student Affairs Unit and some hostels.

    Inaugurating the signposts penultimate Saturday, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Prof. AbdulGaniyu Ambali (OON), who was represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Management Services), Prof. Yisa Fakunle, praised Miss Panu for her zealousness and community service.

    “I want to congratulate Miss Panu and the NYSC for the good corpers they usually send to us.  We at the University of Ilorin appreciate the thoughtfulness, the drive and dedication of Miss Panu Sewedo to this project that we are commissioning today,” he said.

    In his remarks, the Kwara State NYSC Coordinator, Mr. M. A. Amusa, who led 18 other senior officials of the state NYSC secretariat to the event, described Miss Panu as a good ambassador of the NYSC and sought greater collaborations between universities and the NYSC.

    “The NYSC and universities need to work closer together because it is the universities’ products that we mentor and employ. Likewise, universities absorb our products as staff and postgraduate students.”

    Miss Panu, who served at the Student Affairs Unit, said she was motivated to do the project after observing that some areas like the Halls of Residence and Student Affairs Unit, did not have signposts.

    “I said to myself, the Student Affairs Unit and Halls of Residents can also have these beautiful boards”, she said.

    Miss Panu also said she learnt a lot about printing and welding in the course of implementing the project.

  • Corps members barricade secretariat over pay

    Members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) serving in Kuje area council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) staged a protest over the inability of the council to pay their six months allowances owed them.

    The corps members, numbering about 60, barricaded the entrance of the council secretariat displaying placards on which were scripted “Pay us our six months allowances, we are hungry and starving.”

    Miss Edna Akpan, the leader of the corp members, explained to journalists that they had earlier written to the Kuje area council authorities demanding that their allowances be paid, but the issue was not given the desired attention.

    “We have not been paid for over six months and we do not have good mattresses at the Corpers Lodge; we are starving in this place. Other corps members that served in this area council were not owed.

    “It is surprising that we are witnessing such during our time. The reason why we embarked on this peaceful demonstration is to show our grievances over the matter,” she said.

    Reacting to the development, the Chairman of council, Mr. Shaban Tete, said that the council administration, together with the NYSC Coordinator, would hold a round table discussion to resolve the issue, that the inability to pay the corps members was due to the reduction in the councils’ allocation.

    He however said that the council would ensure that the corps members were paid their allowances.

    “The councilors have not been paid their imprest and some allowances for over eight months because we have a shortfall in our allocation.

    “Even in my office, we are entitled to some allowances but they are no longer available because we no longer get security vote in the area council,’’ the chairman said.

     

  • Jonathan’s aide visits corps members

    The Special Assistant on Students and Youth Affairs to President Goodluck Jonathan, Comrade Jude Imagwe, was the guest at the Plateau State National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) orientation camp in Mangu.

    Accompanied by the Plateau State Commissioner for Youth Development, James Bala, and Special Adviser to Governor Jonah Jang on Youth and Students, Adamu Bala, Imagwe said he was on a working visit to the campus to check the wellbeing of the Corps members.

    He was received by a guard of honour, after which the camp officials conducted him round the facility. Some of the places he visited include the kitchen, camp clinic and hostels.

    Imagwe said the focus of the Federal Government was on job creation, stressing that government could not do it alone. He said the Jonathan administration had partnered the private sector to create job for teeming youth population.

    He said the government had created jobs through Youth Enterprise with Innovation in Nigeria (YouWin), Subsidy Re-Investment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P), and Youth in Agriculture Initiatives, urging the Corps members to tap into the opportunities created by the government to engage themselves in productive venture after service.

    He said: “Our government understands the challenges of the youth, particularly those that are young entrepreneurs. They need to be assisted to startup businesses and become employers of labour.”

    While charging the Corps members to set goals for the lives and embrace entrepreneurship, Imagwe said there was advantage in starting small.

    The state NYSC co-ordinator, Mrs Lios Benjamin Meller, hailed the Corps members for the warm welcome accorded the visitors.

    Yakubu said the state government would to add to the Federal Government’s allowance being paid to the youths, adding that the security of the Corps members remained the priority of the government.

     

  • Corps members’ NGO for indigent students

    To complement Federal Government’s efforts in containing illiteracy and school drop-outs, three members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Batch ‘C’, have set up a non-governmental organisation (NGO) known as Outside Schools Foundations (SOS) to provide grants for students who have financial difficulties in completing their education.

    The facilitators of the project, Ms Hauwa Ibrahim, Ms Halima Ibrahim Abba and Ms Amina Jibrin said: ‘The Bridge Project’ was a personal group community development project deployed by three Corps members and approved by the NYSC.

    They stated this at the Bridge Project Inter-School Competition organised for students of Government Secondary School Jabi, and Wuse Zone 3, with the theme: “Nigeria and Us, A Social Challenge, A possible Solution.”

    In her remarks, Abba said: “The Sponsor -A-Child Scheme is a programme under the SOS that provides funding for participants of the bridge project who require assistance to complete their secondary education or who are unable to further their education to tertiary institutions due to financial and social reasons.”

    She noted that the programme would provide an avenue for individuals and corporate entities to provide scholarships to brilliant students enrolled on the projects through the scheme.

    “We want the programme to continue. This informed our setting up a non-governmental organisation known as ‘The SOS Foundation’ to take over the programme because we will not want a situation whereby the programme dies when we leave the NYSC.”

    Meanwhile, Ibrahim stressed that the Bridge Project, which was the flagship of the foundation, is a skill-building and mentoring scheme for 20 bright and motivated senior secondary school students in Government Secondary School Jabi and Wuse Zone 3 in Abuja.

    The winners, Government Secondary School Wuse Zone 3, which was among the participants comprising four teams of five participants from two schools, received computer tablets and their education sponsored up to tertiary level; while the tuition fees of other participants would be paid by the foundation for a year.

  • Corps Marshal sensitises Ebonyi motorists

    Corps Marshal sensitises Ebonyi motorists

    Ebonyi State has hosted Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Mr Boboye Oyeyemi in his nationwide campaign to cut road crashes in the country.

    Since his appointment, he has not only expressed his desire to reduce fatalities on the roads but has seized every opportunity where he went to sensitise road users on safety.

    Oyeyemi says he wants to reduce crashes by 50 per cent next year.

    To this end he has been touring the states of the federation to sensitize stakeholders, road safety officials on the policies and programmes being put in place by the Corps to meet the target.

    The tour also provides him the opportunity to strengthen inter-agency cooperation with other bodies like the police, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), military and National Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC), among others.

    It was the turn of Ebonyi State last week to play host to the Corps Marshal and his team.

    Oyeyemi was received by the state commandant of the Corps, Mrs Ann Abhiele alongside leaders of other agencies at the Command Headquarters along the Enugu-Abakaliki Expressway.

    From there he went to the Peoples Club Resort Auditorium where he addressed stakeholders on the policies of his administration.

    The FRSC, he said, will install what he called “speed governors” in all commercial vehicles in the country, adding that the enforcement of the speed checkers will start by June next year.

    The Corps Marshal noted that the installation of speed governors will reduce road traffic crashes in Nigeria.

    He added that the enforcement of the installment of speed governors in all commercial vehicles was born out of the need to curb overspeeding.

    Oyeyemi explained that the command is mounting advocacy and enlightenment campaign at motor parks, adding that the Corps has made plans to provide logistics for effective operation.

    He said that the Corps has notified all the transport workers’ associations in the country and appreciated the cooperation between them and the transport workers’ associations.

    He said, “The most important thing is for us to recognize that we are all working together to lift the nation and ensure peaceful coexistence and development. I am happy with the inter-agency co-operation existing among all the security agencies in the state”.

    ”The NDLEA has been helping us a lot; in the process of arresting people dealing in fake drugs they also arrest people dealing in fake number plates and promptly hands them over to us. It shows we are all working together. From what I have seen here, all the agencies are working together and this is how it should be because we are working together and it shows that we are making progress.

    “What road safety is all about is safety on our roads that is why we say safer roads safer life for us to reduce crashes. From the data I have received here I could see an appreciable reduction is road crashes but yet just like Oliver Twist I’m not yet satisfied.

    “What I want to see is zero crash; I know it is a big task but I’m sure with more strategies we can achieve that. We are in the ember-months now and we are putting the appropriate machinery in place for the end of year patrol operations”.

    “We will provide more logistics to the command; we are also increasing our advocacy, education and enlightenment with more campaigns at local parks. We have seen that speed violation account for 39 percent of all total road crashes and also loss of control accounts for about 15 percent that means that over 50 per cent of crashes is as a result of two factors alone.

    “Because of that we evolved a policy. We said that to cut down the speed we must compel all commercial vehicles and high capacity buses to install the speed governors. With the stakeholders we have already signed a memorandum of understanding. By 1st of June we are going to commence enforcement of participation and installation of the speed governors on all the commercial vehicles, high-capacity buses, trailers, tankers, trucks. And the unions have been very cooperative. Because they are buying into it and with the installation we believe if we can cut down the speed we will go a long way to reduce road crashes substantially.

    “This is one critical area where there is no going back. We must crash the crash by compelling all commercial vehicles to install speed governors. And we are not the marketing officers, anybody wishing to install the governors can go and get the cap number from the Standard Organisation of Nigeria and with these you can install it. We are hell bent that next year we must cut down the rate of crashes. We are targeting reduction of fatalities by 50 percent in 2015 and to reduce fatalities we must cut down the crashes”.

    “Also the UN decade of action stipulates that fatalities must be reduced by 50 per cent and having signed on to this decade of action which is a UN mandate for all member nations of the UN we must bring about the instrumentalism to get this done.

    ”We are also working to ensure compliance to all the statutes laws and regulations is complied with by all road users. On vehicle maintenance, we don’t allow all un-road worthy vehicles to be on the road for the end of the year patrol, so all road users should make sure that their vehicles are road worthy. Any rickety vehicle will not be tolerated.

    “On overloading we are not going to compromise our stance on this issue of over loading. All vehicles should carry the number of approved passengers. All these lives we are losing are human beings we need the understanding and full collaboration of everyone to ensure that we stop it. Everyone is planning for 2015 already but the only way to ensure we are alive to achieve our goals in 2015 is by being road safety conscious at all times and obeying all traffic laws and regulation”.

  • Kogi Governor honours six corps members

    Governor Idris Wada of kogi State has conferred state awards on six Batch C corps members who distinguished themselves during their National Youth Corp Service (NYSC) programme.

    They are: Dr Ohaeto Osita Cosmas, Kolawole Ayodeji Amos, Gana Jemina Stella, Dr Opara Emmanuel Chinedu, Ndubisi Stella and Ozor Ifoma Celestina.

    The Kogi State NYSC Co-ordinator, Mr Sam Udolisah said the awardees made sacrifices and contributions of “monumental dimensions in their host communities and places of primary assignments” and were identified by the NYSC Honours Awards and Screening Committee based on prescribed criteria.

    The governor presented the awards at the Government House Lokoja ahead of the nationwide Passing out Parade (POP) of the Batch C corps members.

    He described the recipients as worthy ambassadors of the youth and great citizens of the nation.

    Wada, who was represented by his deputy, Yomi Awoniyi, praised the corps members for their patriotism and perseverance, and counseled them to make use of the entrepreneurial skills acquired during the orientation programme of the scheme so they can be employers rather than job seekers.

    The corps members were presented with cash awards and promised more largesse when the governor returns.

    Over 1,749 corps members served in the batch C in Kogi State.

    Udolisah said the NYSC decided to decentralize the POP due to the security situation in the country.

     

  • Corps members offset medical bills of 11 patients

    Some corps members serving in Cross River State have given succor to 11 patients in the General Hospital in Calabar, the state capital. The youths, who are members of charity Community Development Service (CDS) group, offset the patients’ medical bills.

    The beneficiaries could not hold back their joy as the corps members presented cash gift to them. An old woman, who simply gave her name as Esther, prayed for several minutes after receiving the cash.

    The group also presented gift items such as beverages and toiletries worth over N50,000 to the hospital management for patients’ use.

    President of the CDS group, Faith Odey, said the gesture was in line with the mission of the NYSC and part of the group’s project to improve living condition in host communities.

    “We come to the hospital because this is where we can find the needy and those who really need our help to do one thing or the other,” she said.

    Faith said the gifts were handed over to the patients directly to prevent diversion.

    Receiving a set of six plastic chairs and three mattresses on behalf of the hospital management, the General Administrator, Eta Eteng, praised the youths for helping the poor in need.

    He said: “For young ladies and men to gather their resources for this wonderful venture, it is, indeed, a good gesture. The people who will use the material will forever be grateful to you.” He promised that the items would be used judiciously.

    Earlier, the Chief Nursing Officer thanked the CDS members for identifying with the hospital. She urged other group to emulate the gesture, while praying that God bless and replenish donors in all fronts.

  • Corps member inspires pupils to write

    Pupils in public schools in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have won laptops, desktops and other prizes in the Read and Write on FCT, an initiative of Rebecca Igwebuike, a corps member undergoing her primary assignment at the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) headquarters, Abuja.

    The 25-year old, Law graduate of University of Benin said she was inspired by the reforms in the NCS to initiate the competition.

    Before she began her National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) at the NCS last year, Rebecca had two impressions about the organisation -that customs officers make life difficult for citizens; and that the NCS was another government parastatal with history of bad leadership.

    But within a few weeks of relating with NCS, Igwebuike soon realised that her impression was wrong. “It is actually members of the public that break the rules and bribe NCS officials,” she said.

    However, with reforms initiated and sustained by the current Head of Customs, Abdullahi Dikko, Ms Igwebuike said she realised that the body could compete with other organisations worldwide.

    Determined to tap from the reform, Igwebuike thought of community projects that would impact the less privileged in the society, and came up with Read and Write, a competition for government secondary schools in the FCT.

    Participants were drawn from Government Secondary Schools (GSS) in Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC). The topic was: ‘Impact of Information Technology on the Reading Culture of Nigerian Youths.’

    The first stage of the competition kicked off with a donation of 210 copies of Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart to 21 schools in AMAC to read for the competition.

    Nine schools qualified for the finals which was won by Orjiakor Faith of GSS Nyanya.  She was rewarded with a laptop and N100,000, while her school won a desktop and N50,000 worth of books.

    Adejoh Ann from Government Day Secondary School, Karu came second, claiming a Laptop and N50,000 cash prize; while her school got a desktop and N30,000 worth of books.

    Dangana Peace who came third also went home with a laptop and N30,000. She won a desktop and N20,000 worth of books for her school.

    Consolation prizes, which included books and mathematical sets were given to those that finished from fourth position to 10th.

    A writer, Molara Wood, who was the special guest of honour, urged participants to take reading and writing seriously as they will help improve their vocabulary.

    While encouraging them to master the art of writing and reading in English language, Wood urged pupils not to forget their indigenous languages, arguing that the mastery of both is very important.

    She expressed happiness that the beneficiaries were from public schools, as lots of initiatives are targeted at private schools.

    “No matter the school you attend, you have the chance to be great and one of the ways one can achieve this is by reading, which improves one’s vocabulary. People like Prof. Wole Soyinka and President Barack Obama, who have the mastery of English language, did not bring the gift from heaven, they acquired it through reading from a  very young age,” Wood said.

    She also urged participants to consolidate on Information and Communications Technology (ICT) positively.

    In a remark, Igwebuike revealed that the competition is her little way of encouraging students, especially those in public schools, to read. According to her, it is also an avenue to examine the impact of information technology on the reading culture of Nigerian youths.

  • Corps member facilitates scholarship for seven orphans

    Though he is a National Youth Service Corps member, he has facilitated scholarships for seven orphans from nursery school to Primary 6.

    Samson Oluwagbemiga Bisiriyu from Lagos State serving with the Ikom local government area in Cross River State said the gesture was in fulfilment of the motto of the corps which is service and humanity.

    It was learnt scholarship was going to cost N13, 000 per session for each of the children per session till they are through.

    The corps member also printed and distributed 1, 500 exercise books to pupils in different schools as well as constructed a monument for the council.

    Bisiriyu, who studied Public Administration, Local Government Studies at the Polytechnic, Ibadan, is a batch C 2013 corps member.

    Our reporter who met with the corps member who said, “I have embarked on this because our motto is service and humanity and in this spirit I visited an orphanage and when I asked about their educational challenges they told me seven children could not go to school. I was touched. I took the seven names and approached the church, the Methodist Church, in Ikom. The Bishop chaplain accepted to assist me. So instead of putting them in public schools the church adopted them and put them in their own school and gave them free scholarship from nursery to primary school, for seven years for the seven children.

    “Also my primary assignment is at Ikom local government council, I observed there was nothing to show that it is a council. So as a public administrator I felt there was need for a sign so I constructed a statue with the mace of the legislature and cocoa which is the economic mainstay of the Ikom people. It’s the first of its kind and also to beautify the environment.

    “Also having seen the children going back to school without exercise books and due to poverty in this area, I discovered so many parents had challenges of buying exercise books so I decided to come in that area especially now that schools are reopening. So I decided to print 1500 exercise books for the children to help the parents. So when the children resume, they resume with books.”

    According to the corps member he had spent over N400, 000 on the projects, besides the scholarship.

    He said for the scholarship was handled by the church.

    On how he managed financially with his economic status as a youth corps member, he said, “There is nothing we cannot do with God. He has been helpful. He gave me the inspiration and gave provision for this.”

    Bisiriyu, who is also the Vice President of the MDGs CDS group in Ikom, he also got assistance from the chairman of council and other principal officers.

    Chairman of Ikom, Pastor Ojong Ayiba thanked the corps member for his kindness and service to the council.

    Also Mr Richard Ayaka, who is in charge of corps members in the council, urged others to emulate the gesture and always give their best wherever they are sent for their primary assignment.