The Nation Newspaper

Tag: NYSC camp

  • ‘Anambra NYSC camp going on despite devastating rainstorm’

    Anambra State Coordinator, National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Kehinde Aremu, on Friday, expressed joy that the 3-weeks orientation exercise could go on in the state despite the rainstorm that affected some of its facilities.

    He said the temporary orientation camp in Umunya, Oyi local government area of the state was devastated by the storm last week Friday, appreciating the state government for its intervention.

    Speaking during the swearing in ceremony of 2019 Batch A corps members, Aremu was
    particularly grateful to the governor, Willie Obiano for his benevolent disposition to the affairs of the corps members, assuring him of God’s blessings.

    “This camp was devastated by rainstorm last week Friday, but it took the grace of God and the benevolence of the governor to get this camping programme going.

    “I wish to assure you that your personal and state investment in these young Nigerians is not unnoticed and would be soon rewarded.”

    He congratulated the 2048 corps members deployed to the state, urging them to take advantage of the programme to equip themselves towards impacting positively on the communities they would be posted to.

    “The NYSC is a training ground for leaders and a unique opportunity for young people in Nigeria to actively participate in national development.

    “You’re expected to fit into the scheme’s agenda as school teachers, agriculture extension workers, rural health care givers as well as foot soldiers in the emerging economies,” he added.

    Declaring the exercise open, the state governor, Willie Obiano, reminded the corps members that the success of each service year was dependent on the foundation laid during the orientation exercise.

    “This foundation is crucial in providing the requisite platform for your physical, mental, emotional and psychological preparation for the challenge ahead,” he said.

    Obiano, represented by the Secretary to State Government, Prof. Solo Chukwulobelu, assured them of enabling environment for the maximization of their potentials of self realization and fulfilment.

  • Davido’s presence electrifies NYSC camp

    Music star Davido’s resumption at the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) orientation camp in Iyana Ipaja, Lagos yesterday caused uproar.

    Fellow corps members fell over one another to catch a glimpse of the star, whose real name is David Adeleke.

    He is part of the 2,152 corps members mobilised for the 2018 Batch ‘B’ Stream II.

    The graduate of music from Babcock University, Ogun State was greeted by a crowd of cheering corps members, who almost mobbed him as he came out of a white Mercedes Benz with a Police Force number plate PF 413-S.

    NYSC Coordinator Prince Mohammed Momoh’s best effort to avoid commotion as a result of the star’s presence proved abortive, as corps members surrounded his office, screaming with excitement after soldiers and officials managed to get him in.

    Davido, dressed in the NYSC ceremonial uniform, signed the NYSC oath for corps members amid camp officials and soldiers.

    The officials had to summon the corps members to the parade ground with the beagle to draw them away from the coordinator’s office.

    Afterwards, he was brought out to the corps members, who had been made to sit on the parade ground. He refused to stand on a makeshift stage brought for him, but preferred to stand in front of his peers.

    He told them to stay motivated in serving their country.

    “Stay motivated, I love you all,” he said before he was taken away.

    Davido told reporters that he chose to serve three years after graduation because he was still young.

    “I am still young and I want to spend my time as a youth to serve my country.  I am a corper like any other and I think I can withstand the pressure.”

    Corps members and people who sell in the Mammy Market ran after his car as he left the camp. In his characteristic manner, he threw money in the air, which made some stop to scramble for the currency. But others still pursued him until the car left the premises.

    Some corps members described the experience as exciting, while others felt it was unnecessary.

    “Today was like the bomb. Lagos is the best camp. The best thing, Davido, came to camp. It was amazing.

    Being a celebrity doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go to school or serve. It is just to promote our country that no matter what you are, go to school and serve your father land,” said Victor Adebiyi, a graduate of Business Administration from Ekiti State University.

    Another corps member said it was okay that the NYSC was cautious about Davido’s presence in camp because of the distraction.

    “This is the best they should have done. Even if he is here in camp, it would cause a lot of distraction because many people would want to mingle with him,” he said.

    However, Tolani Tells, a Psychology graduate, felt the corps members should not have been kept on the parade ground because of the music star.

    “It was embarrassing to me as a person. I see it as demeaning to me. You won’t tell me to sit on the floor because someone is coming. He went to school as I did. I even spent six years for a four-year course; I spent more years in school than he did. I didn’t see him when he came to register and life did not end if I didn’t see him today. It wouldn’t matter,” she said.

    NYSC Coordinator Momoh said when Davido came for registration when the camp opened on Tuesday, there was quite some commotion – with the officials struggling to stop outsiders from scaling the fence into the camp.

    He said Davido came to camp dressed in white T-shirt and shorts – the uniform used by corps members for physical training in the morning.

    When asked why Davido was not in camp for the swearing-in yesterday, Momoh said he was issued an exeat to leave camp the day before and had come in early and left.

    “I knew what happened when he came for registration. Within minutes, it was uproar. From the camp market, everybody came around. People heard in town, they were struggling to come in. We had to send soldiers to the gate to stop people from coming in. And we know that that can be a breach of security. Whether we like it or not, he is a special corps member by his status. We are not giving him undue favouritism.”

    However, after the ceremony, The Nation learnt that the initial arrangement was for Davido to come in early, be on the parade ground just before the swearing-in by the Chief Judge of Lagos, and be smuggled out shortly afterwards. However, the star came late, thereby nullifying that arrangement.

    It was gathered that Davido was placed in Platoon Nine.

     

     

     

  • Corps member erects sculptures in NYSC Camp

    A corps member, Sunday Chukwu, has unveiled two  metal sculptures at the National Youths Service Corps (NSYC) Orientation Camp in Jigawa State.

    The two life-size art pieces, titled The Unknown Corpers, were unveiled as part of the University of Benin Fine and Applied Arts graduate’s Community Development Service (CDS).

    At the unveiling, the NYSC state Coordinator, Mr Michael Ashimedua, described them as one of its kind, stressing that he was dazed with Chukwu’s creativity. He urged corps members to emulate Chukwu, who he noted is a worthy ambassador of the scheme, to leave positive footprints while serving their fatherland.

    He said corps members should seek ways to leave their host communities better than they met them, adding that the NYSC remained one of the unifying factors in the country.

    On why he embarked on the project, which took him three months to complete, Chukwu, reputed to have built a 21ft sculptural piece, the 21st Century, as an undergraduate, noted that it was his contribution to his host community.

    “When I came to serve, the camp was complete but lacked an aesthetic bit. To add beauty to the camp, I decided to embark on the project which took me two months to finish,” Danladi, as he is fondly called, added.

    “Also, there was little or nothing to point to that there was an NYSC camp here. So, I took it as a duty to erect the artwork as my own way of leaving footprints in the sands of time, like they always told us to do.”

    He added: “It is a mark of honour to corps members who have served and still serving the nation but only remembered by a few.

    “Just like the torchlight in the NYSC logo, these corps members have illuminated the nation through their selfless service.”

    The 24-year-old also lauded the NYSC for building bridges across the nation, calling for its sustenance.

  • Ambode to build permanent NYSC camp

    Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has reiterated the government’s commitment to build a befitting permanent orientation camp for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC). He said the dream would soon be realised.

    Ambode spoke at the Iyana-Ipaja NYSC orientation camp during the closing ceremony of the orientation course for Stream II 2015 Batch “A” Corps members.

    Ambode said: “Our government will leave no stone unturned in working assiduously to ensure that the proper platform for youth development is provided and properly utilised.”

    He also urged the youths to accept their posting to the various parts of the state for their primary assignment in good faith, saying their contributions to the socio-economic development of their communities should be paramount to them.

    Earlier, the NYSC coordinator, Mr Cyril Akhanemhe, said the camp could not cope with the large numbers of Corps members it is hosting yearly, urging the governor to step up effort to build a permanent camp.

    He said: “Considering the fact that the youth hostel is quite inadequate and becoming inhabitable because of the large number of Corps members deployed to Lagos every year, I reiterate the need for a permanent camp. I passionately urge all stakeholders to make necessary effort to make this dream a reality.”

    Speaking on the training received by the Corps members, Akhanemhe said the youths were engaged in paramilitary drills by men of the Nigerian Army. He added that the Corps members were also trained in leadership and citizenship by officers of the Man O’ War.

    He said: “The Corps members also participated in social activities, such as cultural dance, drama, beauty pageant, debates and entrepreneurship course. All these were held to prepare the youths for challenges ahead.

    “To develop the Corps members’ leadership qualities, most of them were involved in camp administration and were appointed into various committees for the smooth running of the camp.”

  • Bayelsa takes campaign against Ebola to NYSC camp

    Bayelsa takes campaign against Ebola to NYSC camp

    Bayelsa State Government has taken its campaigns against Ebola virus disease (EVD) to corps members at the Kaiama Orientation Camp of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), warning corps members against making contacts with persons that show symptoms of the disease.

    The Commissioner for Health, Dr. Ayibatonye Owei, who led members of the state’s Anti-Ebola Task Force to the camp on Friday, appealed to the corps members to be vigilant.

    He asked them to look out for persons showing symptoms of the disease and avoid contacts with them.

    Explaining the Ebola virus and its deadly nature, the commissioner asked the youths to join other Nigerians in fighting the disease like a wounded lion.

    He told the corps members that all Nigerians that had shown symptoms of the disease were  persons who had direct contacts with the late Liberian-American, Patrick Sawyer.

    He, however, said the fear of Ebola should not affect interpersonal relationship among the corps members since the virus could only be transmitted by persons that show its symptoms.

    “It can only be transmitted from a sick person to a healthy person. It is one of the conditions that can easily be prevented. When the person is not sick, he is incapable of transmitting it,” he said.

    He said corps members must avoid secretions of sick persons and maintain high level of personal hygiene.

    He said the task force had distributed sanitisers, washing soap and water across the camp and appealed to the youths to wash their hands from time to time.

    “We are not saying that you shouldn’t shake hands, but don’t do it with sick people. Don’t eat bush meat because some of them are carriers. Ensure that any meat you eat is well cooked,” he said.

    He said the National Council of Health had cancelled the movement of dead bodies from one place to another.

    Describing the corps members as the foot soldiers, he asked them to carry Ebola message to other parts of the state.

    Earlier, the State Coordinator, NYSC, Mr. Ekeocha Anthony, told the corps members that the Ebola virus was deadlier than HIV/AIDS.

    “We know what is in vogue now. We know the disease that is in the air, which is more severe than the HIV/AIDS. This is the reason why the commissioner has come to sensitise us,” he said.

    Meanwhile, Owei in a separate event said the Bayelsa State Government had taken delivery of personal protective equipment (PPE).

    Speaking while declaring open a one-day training and sensitisation workshop for about 300 health and medical personnel in Yenagoa on Friday, he insisted that the government was ready for Ebola.

    He said: “The government has provided enough funds and we have just taken delivery of personal protective equipment.”

    He said the trainees were expected to go to the various local government areas and train other health personnel and community people.