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General Ahmed Advises Corps Members To Embrace Entrepreneurship
Joel Ajayi
The NYSC Director General, Brigadier General Yushau Dogara Ahmed has advised Corps Members to acquire vocational skills through the NYSC Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development program in order to become self-reliant.
He said the acquisition of skills would also enable them to create jobs for others instead of searching for unavailable salary jobs.
The Director General stated this while addressing the 2023 Batch ‘C’ Stream One Corps Members in Bauchi and Plateau State Orientation Camps.
He said the Scheme has partnered with several institutions like the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Access Bank, Unity Bank, NNPC Foundation, and NYSC Foundation and they have been giving soft loans without interest to Corps Members to finance their businesses.
“Many of your predecessors who embraced skill acquisition during the service year are now business owners in different states of the federation.
“I advise you not to waste this golden opportunity but utilize it to develop yourselves and prepare for the future”, the DG said.
General Ahmed also urged the Corps Members to avoid drugs, hooliganism, and cybercrime but serve their fatherland as patriotic youths.
He equally encouraged them to adhere strictly to the officially approved NYSC dress code, adding that improper dressing attracts sanctions.
The NYSC Bauchi State Coordinator, Mrs Rifkatu Yakubu disclosed that a total of 1,347 Corps Members comprising 735 males and 612 females were registered in the camp.
Similarly, the NYSC Plateau State Coordinator, Mrs Ikupolati Oluwatosin said 1,376 Corps Members comprising 678 males and 698 females have been registered in the camp.
She described them to be of good behavior and law-abiding since their arrival in camp.
From the Orientation Camp activities, the Corps Members are beginning to see themselves as one indivisible entity of a united Nigeria irrespective of their tribal and religious affiliations.
The Director General was accompanied on the visits by the Director of special Duties, Alhaji Musa Abubakar, the Director of press and Public Relations, Mr. Eddy Megwa, and the Acting Director, of North-East Area Office, Alhaji Ibrahim Abubakar.
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AWESSA 2026: Customs Assures Border Cooperation for Women Entrepreneurs
By James Samuel, Abuja
The Nigeria Customs Service has said the nation’s borders must become gateways of opportunity for African women entrepreneurs, not obstacles that kill their businesses.
This was disclosed at the African Women’s Economic Sovereignty Summit and Awards (AWESSA) 2026 held at the Customs House, corporate headquarters of the Nigeria Customs Service in Abuja.
Representing the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, MFR, his representative, an Assistant Controller, said hosting the summit inside Customs premises was deliberate.
“That this summit holds within the Customs premises is no accident. It is a statement of intent,” he said.
“The border is where the promise of every African trader either comes alive or dies quietly. And the men and women of this Service have resolved that for every woman entrepreneur of this continent, that promise will never die.”
He said women account for an estimated 70% of informal cross-border trade in Africa and over half of agricultural labour, yet they face documentation, standards, finance and harassment challenges.
“Too often she meets the border as an obstacle rather than a gateway. Because she trades in small volumes, in cash, in informality without formal papers, capable business women are now trapped in informality, invisible to trade statistics,” he noted.
He added: “AfCFTA will not be delivered by treaties alone. It will be delivered at border posts, in conference halls, and in market stores.”
Also speaking, the Executive Director of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, Mrs. Nonye Ayeni, represented by a Director, said women are central to Nigeria’s non-oil export sector.
According to her, NEPC’s focus is now on building export- ready competitive enterprises through programmes like the Women in Export Initiative, Export Clinic, and Zero to Export.
“Our focus is no longer on encouraging exports alone, it is on building competitive export-ready enterprises. We are supporting women to move beyond production into value addition, quality assurance, standard compliance, branding and market positioning,” she said.
She said AfCFTA offers a market of over one billion people, but women need knowledge, certifications and institutional support.
“Empowering women economically is one of the most effective tools for achieving poverty reduction, food security, job creation and inclusive growth,” she stated.
The Convener, Helen Okon, who is the Publisher of Business Review Africa & Africa Today Magazine, as well as representatives of NAFDAC DG and NEXIM Bank MD, reaffirmed commitment to supporting women-owned businesses access standards, certification and finance.
The summit, with the theme of positioning women as drivers of trade and sustainable development, is part of activities marking the International Year of the Women Farmer.
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