Umuahia, May 9, 2022
The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) on Tuesday staged a unity walk in Abia as part of the activities to mark the 50th anniversary of the scheme.
The corps members walked through the major streets of Umuahia in their large numbers, beginning from the NYSC Secretariat on St. Finbarrs Road and terminating at the Government House.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that NYSC with the motto: “Service and humility,” was established in 1973 by the Yakubu Gowon administration.
They chanted different songs and danced to the music provided by some band boys.
The jubilant youths bore large-size banners and placards with different inscriptions.
Some of the placards read: “NYSC for rural development”, “NYSC unlocking potentials with ICT”, “Say no to cultism, say no to drugs”, among others.
The state Coordinator of the scheme, Mrs Ufuoma Dick-Iruenabere, said that the walk was to kick-start the week-long celebration of the scheme’s achievements in its 50 years of existence.
She said the scheme was celebrating its achievements in the areas of intervention in education, agriculture, healthcare service delivery, skill acquisition and enterpreneurship development and sensitisation, amongst others.
“For us, the NYSC is helping the government to scale up development and economic growth indicators in the rural areas,” Dick-Iruenabere said.
Receiving the corps members at the Government House, Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu congratulated NYSC on the occasion of its golden jubilee.
Ikpeazu, represented by the Commissioner for Youth Development, Mr Charles Esonu, said that NYSC had made enormous contributions to the nation’s growth and development in the last 50 years.
“The scheme has developed itself over the years to meet new challenges, thereby becoming the leading light of youth organisation, not only in Nigeria but also in Africa,” he said.
A visibly excited corps member, Miss Joy Gordon, said she was fortunate to be part of the serving corps members at a time the scheme was marking its 50th anniversary.
“Some days ago in one of our camps, two corps members got engaged.
“That means NYSC is winning, Nigeria is winning and we are celebrating 50 years of national integration and co-existence,” Gordon said. (NAN)
