By Jamiu Ganiyu
The Governor of Osun State, Gboyega Oyetola, has appealed to the newly posted corps members to Osun State to be good ambassadors of the scheme and an advocate of peaceful coexistence during and after their service year.
Oyetola gave the charge while speaking on Thursday, at the Official Opening and Swearing-in Ceremony of the 2019 Batch ‘B’ Stream ll Orientation Course, at the NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp, Ede, Osun State.
He called on the corps members to live up to the scheme’s objectives of fostering bridges of love, harmony and productive integration across the country just as he warned them to abstain from vices such as drug abuse, advance fee fraud, kidnapping, robbery, cultism, violence and cyber-crimes.
The Governor who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Prince Wole Oyebamiji, admonished the corps members to channel their energy, vigour and drive towards the achievement of national lofty ideals and aspirations.
“NYSC is the one singular institution in this country that has done so much to curb ethnicity, sectionalism and tribalism.
“Our plans for the future cannot be actualised without the involvement and active participation of the youths.
“I want you to complement the gestures of NYSC and the government by being good ambassadors and advocates of peaceful co-existence and the corporate existence of our nation.
“I implore you to comport yourselves in a most noble way worthy of your calling into the national service, as your predecessors who successfully completed their three-week orientation course recently did.
“Embrace the virtues of patience, hard work and humility; learn all you can while you can, let your quest for self-development pilot your active participation in all camp programmes, including the empowerment programme of the NYSC.
“I want you to know that your three-week orientation will expose you to additional skills which set you on your journey towards self-realisation and self-reliance needed to be relevant in the economic revamping of the nation.
In his address, the Director-General of NYSC, Brigadier General Shuaibu Ibrahim, who was represented at the occasion implored the corps members to make a positive impact in their host community by leaving it better than they met it. He urged them to get integrated into the community-learning their language and culture of the people, knowing their norms and avoiding their taboos.
He, however, begged them never to get involved in their local politics or show partisanship in national politics.
The NYSC boss also warned the corps embers to avoid embarking on frivolous journey whether within or outside the state of their national assignment
“I hasten to add that you should avoid embarking on frivolous journeys whether within or outside the state. Many have gone through such gratuitous journeys thereby putting their families in grief. If there is need for you to travel outside the state, permission must be obtained from the State Coordinator, using the right channel. This also will be explained to you in detail by the State Coordinator. Remember, the Nation and your family need you alive to complete the service”
While speaking earlier, the state coordinator of NYSC, Mr Adegoke Adewale, in his welcome address, congratulated the corps members on the successful completion of their studies from tertiary various institutions and their mobilisation for national service.
Adewale also enjoined the corps members to participate in the camp activities, stressing that their success during the service year would be determined to a large extent, through internalising the ideals of the scheme which they would be exposed to during the course of their three weeks orientation exercise