“Red Cross where are you!” Lagos State NYSC Coordinator, Prince Mohammed Momoh, boomed into the microphone as he stood to give his speech at the closing of the 2019 Batch ‘A’ orientation programme held on Tuesday at the Iyana Ipaja camp.
It seemed for a moment Momoh had forgotten he was in front of TV cameras about to give his speech.
After corps members and some officials scampered here and there to attend to whoever needed attention on the parade ground – affected by the sweltering heat of the late morning sun – Momoh apologised and started his speech.
Admonishing the 2,751 corps members to make the most of their post camp experience to impact on their communities as they proceed on the second leg of their national service – the posting to places of primary assignment, Momoh said:
“My dear corps members, I want to assure you that the scheme and the nation is proud of you. The skills you have been exposed to should be utilized to impact your host communities positively in diverse ways. You are expected to bring to the fore your ingenuity, creativity and innovativeness to help overcome the numerous challenges of our dear nation.”
After Momoh, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, represented by the Commissioner for Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Relations, Mr Oluseye Oladejo, gave his speech in which he promised that the government would reward “outstanding commitment and achievement done to foster peace.
All the while, Momoh stood till he was done – enduring the sun as the corps members of the four guards, the colour party, the band and others did after an impressive slow and quick time march round the parade ground.
He did same during the opening ceremony of the camp three weeks earlier (March 29, 2019) a similarly hot day. Momoh hardly sat down during the symbolic signing of the NYSC oath under the supervision of the Chief Judge of Lagos State, Justice Opeyemi Oke, represented by Justice Olabisi Akinlade. He not only stood by the Judge as representatives of the 10 platoons signed their oaths, he also kept looking into the parade ground to see if any corps member showed sign of fatigue or needed care before they collapsed out of exhaustion.
Momoh’s passion for his work and care for corps members easily shows in what he does more than what he says.
However his one desire as he prepares for redeployment to another assignment from the NYSC headquarters is for Lagos to get a befitting NYSC orientation camp.
He lamented that of all six states in the Southwest was the only one without a permanent orientation camp.
Though he thanked the Lagos State government for its support in repairing facilities at the camp once the request is made, Momoh said the camp was not up to standard as it had to be adapted for its present use.
He said: “It has been very difficult managing the scheme without a befitting permanent orientation camp. You will agree with me that the present facility we are using is not a built for camp activities. It is a facility adapted to the use to which we are putting it. And by that fact, it is not everything that you will expect to have in a standard camp that you have there. Example is the clinic. Equally, you will see that the structure is just one structure. In an ideal camp, there should be separation of the accommodation of the camp officials from that of corps members but here we share. It is only walls that separate us.”
Momoh also noted that the camp’s location in Iyana Ipaja, a busy suburb, was an anomaly as it should be situated in a rural or semi-rural area.
The Lagos State government has already earmarked a place in Agbowa, Ikorodu, for the camp.
Momoh said he had gone ahead to submit a design for a 7,000 capacity camp to the government for consideration when building the camp.
“I had to inaugurate a team of corps construction engineers and the allied courses, Architect, quantity surveyor and others to design a 7,000 corps capacity camp. And this camp can also conveniently accommodate 600 camp officials. We have already submitted the design to the state government for adoption. Our hope is that we the new administration comes in, we will still network with the people in government then and see to the fruition of our dream of having a permanent orientation camp in Lagos State,” he said.