The leadership of the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), the premier youth welfare and capacity development advocacy organization in Nigeria, hereby wishes to put on record its stamp of approval on the leadership of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC). Our independent observations have revealed that the leadership has done very well, with a lot of programs and Entrepreneurship innovations, which have been manifested in the recent approval secured for the increase of monthly allowance to Corp members in line with the new minimum wage.
The NYCN have also noted with grave concern, the attempts to pour scorn on the values of national unity that the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme represents, all in an attempt to discredit the good works of the leadership of the scheme. One such attempt was that by an organization, unknown within the youth circles, that was sponsored to carry out protests against the NYSC’s for preventing female Corp members from wearing skirts.
It is a rather worrying travesty that in the name of trying to demand for dignity of women to be respected, using images of women who have made the choice to serve their country as examples of the alleged wrongs in the scheme. We are not unaware of those responsible for this act and we urge them to desist from their unpatriotic course and quit their strategy of politicizing sensitive national issues that are purely administrative.
The so called protesters need not be reminded that the rigours of the service scheme would not practically allow the participants to dress in skirts, and they also need not be reminded that the said uniform is not a daily wear. These faceless characters also need not be reminded that the scheme has been ongoing for close to 50years and working seamlessly with continuous improvements and countless testimonies of young Nigerians who have passed through the system and have settled in other parts of Nigeria they would ordinarily not have visited.
The NYCN is also aware of the other ploys by this group to destabilize the NYSC to further their selfish agenda and herby wish to assure them that we shall meet them in the trenches with facts on the efforts of government to uplift the standard of youth in Nigeria. The NYCN hereby also warns such characters should desist from their unpatriotic course, as we will not allow an institution such as the NYSC to be used as a political tool.
We applaud the federal government on speedy implementation of the new salary structure for the Corp members which serves as Monthly allowance for the young Leaders of our country. We further urge government to strengthen the training programmes in camps and to ensure that the youth who pass through the scheme come out capable of contributing to national growth.
Finally, the National Youth Council of Nigeria passes a vote confidence on the DG NYSC and urge theDG to carry on with his good works and pay no heed to detractors who would want to keep him from doing his work in the ultimate interest of the nation.
Signed.
Comrade Akoshile Mukhtar.
Vice President, NYCN
NATIONAL YOUTH COUNCIL OF NIGERIA PASSES VOTE OF CONFIDENCE ON THE LEADERSHIP OF THE NYSC FOR PRIORITIZING CORP MEMBERS WELFARE .
