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NYSC Founder Gowon, Other Insist On Continuity Of The Scheme For National Development

Published

4 years ago

June 10, 2021

..Calls For Scheme Trust Fund

Joel Ajayi

The former Head of State and founder of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Scheme, Gen Yakubu Gowon, among other prominent Nigerians have called for the establishment of NYSC Trust Fund that would cater for the financial empowerment of all Corps Members as they pass out from Service.

He made the call in Abuja during the official unveiling of Nine (9) books on the NYSC and its maiden Film titled, ‘A Call To Service’ in commemoration of the 48th anniversary of the scheme.

Gowon who spoke virtually at the event said contrary to calls against the scrapping of the scheme it is making significant impact to the development of the country.

He said the scheme is one of the best things that has happened to Nigeria, adding that it is exposing youths to life changing opportunities and has contributed immensely to the development of the country.

While commending the management for comprehensively bringing development to in the Scheme over the past years he said, “Great effort should be made by government to strengthen the Scheme.”

The nine books unveiled include, The NYSC (1973-2020): Emergence, Growth And Development, NYSC and National Development, NYSC and Community Development Service in Nigeria, NYSC and Election in Nigeria, NYSC and National Integration, NYSC and Nigeria’s Health Sector, NYSC and the Educational Sector, NYSC and COVID-19 pandemic and NYSC and Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development.

The Director-General, National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, Brig. Gen. Ibrahim Shaibu said th books were to chronicle NYSC chronicles NYSC contribution to national development, saying that the publications will enrich the knowledge of Nigerians about the scheme and engender greater appreciation of its relevance and achievements.

The DG however, lamented some daunting challenges facing the scheme despite huge success mailing arising from the gap in the discharge of the obligations of stakeholders.

“Despite various challenges in its forty-eight years of operation, the NYSC has been a remarkable success. By largely discharging its mandate through the nation’s development objectives, the Scheme has become a national asset and a beacon of hope to Nigerian youths.

“Accomplishments made on NYSC platform have strengthened the belief that youths can make meaningful contributions to national unity and development if their talents and skills are properly harnessed.”

However, he noted that problems such as inadequate office accommodation for state Secretariats as well as zonal and local government offices of the scheme and the establishment of the Service Trust Fund will support adequate provision of infrastructural and other logistics for Orientation and other activities of the Scheme need to be addressed.

The president of Historical Society of Nigeria, Professor Okpeh O Okpeh, while reviewing the books said NYScC is one of the significant institutions that is holding us together. “It is significant to Nigeria’s development from a point that covers inter marriage to unity of Nigeria,” noting that without the NYSC our national health sector would have collapsed

He said NYSC has continuously demonstrated that it is in a good position to take this country to a greater height through it skill and entrepreneurship programme which was introduced in 2012. “It is changing the labour market in the contemporary Nigeria. It may not be contributing monies in to the coffers of Nigeria but it is contributing immensely to national development.”

On his part, the Chairman House Committee on Youth Development, Yemi Adaramodu stressed the imperative of the Scheme in unifying the country, saying that no one will stop its existence in the country.

Others who stressed the imperative of the Scheme in promoting national unity include the governor of Nasarawa state, Engineer Abdullahi Sule, amongst others.

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ELECTING A POPE: THE BURDEN OF MAKING CHOICES

Published

3 days ago

May 11, 2025

The Gleamer

By Olubunmi Mayaki

“Habemus papam!” which in the English Language means, “We have a Pope.” was pronounced by Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, a French Catholic prelate, His Eminence, Cardinal Dominique Mamberti from the iconic loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican City on Thursday 8 May 2025 after white smoke billowed from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel. Those Latin words proclaimed to a tensed global audience the result of the election of a new Supreme Pontiff after the death of Jorge Mario Bergoglio (Pope Francis) on 21 April 2025 at the age of 88 years.

The Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, Cardinal Robert Prevost (Pope Leo XIV) emerged as primus inter pares (first among equals) from the cardinals after undergoing detailed election rituals, which have been the process of selecting the head of the 2000-year-old Catholic Church for centuries.

A papal conclave, the process by which a new Pope is selected, was held consisting of one hundred and thirty-three (133) College of Cardinals, drawn from different parts of the world converged at St. Peter’s Basilica for a public mass before heading to the Sistine Chapel to cast their votes to elect the 267th Pope. During the mass, part of the choir renditions reminded voters to remember their last day when they would stand before God in judgment to render their stewardship on earth, which is to prevent them from rigging the voting process. At the behest of the senior cardinal deacon, voting formalities were read to the electors, which included- oath-taking- “I call as my witness Christ the Lord, who will be my judge, that my vote is given to the one whom I believe should be elected according to God”. Other processes are banning phones, jamming calls, forbidding speaking or contacting any of the candidates, voting rounds, spiritual pauses etc.

Looking at the voting process, one should be curious about how an election to pick a leader for a religious body could be so systematic and attract such global attention. It is a sharp contrast to elections where political leaders are chosen. Even in the so-called advanced democracies, we have seen electoral flaws and a dearth of political leaders. States are finding it difficult to pick genuine statesmen, giving rise to hegemonic leaders. These political imperia ums are emerging and stoking crises in their domain. Fallouts of elections are no longer favourable due to unpopular candidates forced on citizens.

Africa, as a case study, shows that no matter the rules put in place by the continent’s leaders, our election processes have been fraught with rigging, corruption and waste. In most cases, the leaders who set the rules are the violators of the same process. Governments conspire with electoral bodies to truncate election processes at will. Such political brigandage has destroyed the progress of the continent.

Closing this view, I hope that African leaders will take a cue from the Catholic Church’s election process to reinvigorate and rejig the continent’s faltering political process for the good of its people. Better still; political scholars from the continent can study the Catholic model. The common features of elections in most parts of Africa, especially sub-Saharan Africa, are riddled with vote rigging, violence, human rights abuse, repression, barbarism, crises, untold hardship, and sometimes, outright war. This is the bane of Africa’s development.

The burden of making good political choices should ordinarily rest on citizens. However, politicians have hijacked this process for selfish reasons. It has given birth to bad leaders. If we fail to get it right, what we see is what we get. That is the story of the world politics!

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