I think this makes a little sense even though am not so sure if this is the right forum for it, mod you can do the needful., thanks. It suppose to be an easy made for submission during my service year for national competition I guess but our ZI failed to provide us with the right link. So I feel like sharing it fellow NLs. Please note that some statements are not originally mine but gleaned from different sources. Critics are welcome!


THE ROLE OF CORPS MEMBERS IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND ASPIRATION FOR A GREATER NIGERIA

Nigerians have always looked forward to a better society, a nation bound in peace and unity and void of tribal bigotry. A nation where we would all come together from our different niches and proudly call our own. Having known the need for a peaceful coexistence among the various people of Nigeria with diverse cultures and religions, the federal government of Nigeria under the leadership of President Gowon established the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC). The scheme was established in 1973, a pool for the most enlightened and sophisticated class of Nigerian youths who are brought periodically from diverse socio-cultural and religious backgrounds with the sole purpose of building a strong, indivisible and united Nigeria.
The NYSC scheme was built on the spirit of oneness as a people, to foster peaceful coexistence among diverse people of different cultures, religions, economic and social backgrounds. This is being done by the deployment of corps members from their states of origin to different parts of the country. For instance people from the western parts of the country are being deployed to the eastern or northern parts or the other way round. The reason being that as people serve outside their geographical zones it will enable them to interact with people from diverse ethnic groups, while getting acquainted with their cultures, social and economic background of the host community. It is believed that by serving outside ones respective state of origin, the corps member would have a strong conscience of realities around him/her while promoting peace and national cohesion.
To this effect, the leadership role of the corps members in the country cannot be over emphasized; because the country’s leadership development is of utmost importance to the youths. At this particular stage, the burning desire to build a better Nigeria is clearly evident among corps members. This can be seen by the unflinching demonstration while carrying out various tasks assigned to them. Corps members aspire and demonstrate high level of leadership skills at different levels of organizations at the course of the service year, ranging from CDs and PPA etc. even at higher level of government, the corps members have proved to be reliable sets of administrators and leaders. This they did at the 2011 and just concluded 2015 general elections. The level of professionalism and integrity demonstrated by corps members during these exercises stand to be clear evidence that Nigeria youths under the NYSC scheme are truly leaders of tomorrow. As part of the scheme’s core value, the corps members support the government of their host state and federal government through many avenues, such as involving in some of the government initiated programmes towards nation building, embarking on some projects tailored towards improving the lives and living standard of the people, awareness creation and enlightening the rural people about some information concerning their health or lifestyles, help in disseminating information to the rural people where other government agencies could not reach. Corps members also help the government at all level to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by providing some basic social amenities and other felt needs of their host communities. More so the impacts of the corps members have been seen across the agricultural and educational sector, rural health scheme, the rural infrastructural and monthly sanitation programmes.
With all these combine together it can be seen that the corps members strive in all possible ways to consolidating the effort of the government towards national development. Also there is no gainsaying about the fact that corps members are spread across all areas of government and some non-government establishments, thereby contributing to the daily running of all these establishments towards national development. It has been seen also that corps members are involved in some voluntary tasks just to help improve the living standard of their various host communities.
In aspiration for greater Nigeria, it is therefore very important that corps member work harder to transform Nigeria by sustaining the virtue of tolerance which they had acquired during the service year. As NYSC is one of the tools by which Nigeria hoped to achieve some of her post- civil war objectives of a united, strong and self-reliant nation, a dynamic economy, a free and democratized economy. The attention of the government at the various level towards corps members should be intensified, create more favourable opportunities to encourage corps members sacrifice the best of their resources to building a stronger, vibrant and reliable country that can compete with the rest of the world in terms of physical and human development.
Government should also create an avenue for corps members to be part of decision making body, especially areas that concern the youths. This can be done by involving or considering the opinions of youth corps members in the decision making processes in the country.
Finally, as corps members have tasted the true nature of our diversity as a nation, the government at all level should understand that much power lies with the corps members in a democratizing system like ours, and therefore give the corps members the necessary attention in the areas of attaining more democratized and developed nation.

ANOLIEFO CHINONSO KINGSLEY
EN/14B/2495
08064349992

NYSC is truly a tool for fostering national unity, but the worst part of it is the fact that the Nigerian government no longer hold the scheme in high esteem. The lives of the corp members is no longer safe owing to the various security threats in the nation. There is need for evaluation of NYSC.