President Muhammadu Buhari commended former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, for his “wise” decision to establish the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in 1973 as the initiative marks its 50th anniversary.
According to a statement released by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, Buhari praised the NYSC for promoting national integration by facilitating cross-cultural interactions and improving understanding. The NYSC was created after the civil war to encourage common ties among Nigerian youths and promote national unity.
Buhari has made it a tradition to receive corps members at his home during Eid-el-Fitr Sallah and engage in conversations to learn about their backgrounds. He congratulated Gowon and the 21 past and present Directors-General of the Corps for sustaining a legacy that has strengthened solidarity, promoted civic responsiveness, and created a better understanding of diversity and common values of fairness, justice, peace, and unity.
The NYSC has encouraged inter-cultural and inter-religious marriages, resettled people of various tribes, and fostered entrepreneurship opportunities, removing insularity among citizens and promoting a new culture of unity.
The statement partly reads: “As the nation celebrates the 50th anniversary of the NYSC, President Buhari affirms that the scheme must be sustained, with a constant reminder of the history, structure and purpose, that should not be abused, trivialised or undermined for any reason, by keeping a focus on the larger picture that Nigeria’s unity is a process and a collective responsibility that must not be negotiated.
“The President shares the joyous season of the milestone with all those that have enjoyed the adventures of the scheme, and have been sharing memories and pictures with nostalgia, while wishing potential corps members all the best as they move to different parts of the country, to share and explore new experiences of the diversity of Nigeria,” the statement read in part.
