From Sola Ojo, Kaduna
The Director General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brigadier General Shuaibu Ibrahim, has reiterated his leadership’s commitment to the security of serving Corps Members through the service year.
NYSC boss, who stated this on Wednesday while delivering a keynote address at a one-day NYSC/Corps employers workshop at a hotel in Kaduna, also called on the corps employers to support the scheme in securing the lives and property of Corps Members serving in their respective organisations and offer deserving ones permanent employment after the service year.
Represented by the Scheme’s Director in charge of North West Hajiya Zainab Isa, the DG said the ‘NYSC places a high premium on the security of lives and property of Corps Members through the service year.
‘Accordingly, employers are required to equally pay particular attention to the security of Corps Members posted to your organisation.
‘Given the fact that they are new in the environment, you are enjoined to effectively guide them on safety,’ he told employers.
According to him, the theme of the workshop, “Optimising the NYSC/Corps Employers Partnership for National Development on the context of the new normal”, was arrived at to emphasise the collective roles towards sustaining the impact of the scheme in the face of the challenges thrown up by the COVID-19.
Some of the identified shortcomings on the part of Corps employers which were expected to be addressed at the workshop include rejection of Corps Members, aiding Corps Members to stage-manage their rejection, underutilisation of Corps Members, inadequate provisions for Corps Members’ security.
Others are exposure of Corps Members to COVID-19, inhuman treatment of Corps Members in workplaces, delay in issuance of final clearance to deserving Corps Members at the end of the service year and inappropriate usage of the recently introduced NYSC ICT Apps.
Earlier, the Coordinator of the Scheme in the State, Isah Wana reminded participants at the workshop that, the history of Nigeria ‘is indeed the history of every family in Nigeria.’
‘In this era of COVID-19, we must continuously meet to discuss the safety and welfare of youth Corps Members who are part and parcel of our economic, political and security sectors, so, the need for regular convergence such as this is important,’ he said.