The NYSC Scheme was founded on high, laudable and admirable ideals. The cardinal objective of the Law establishing it was National Unit. The entire Scheme was geared towards developing an educated, nationally oriented, Nigerian citizenry, bound together in brotherhood and unity, irrespective of cultural, ethnic or social background. This noble visionary concept towards establishing the NYSC Scheme over the years might have been slightly impaired, as a result of recent, socio-political and economic maladies be-devilling our nation. Your call to selfless and patriotic service at this trying period, in the annals of our history, is a call in the right direction, to contribute your quota towards assisting, in refocusing the Scheme to achieve high level manpower training, reduce unemployment among youth and encourage skills acquisition and self reliance in our youths, for the much needed national development.

Delightfully, I observed that most of you promptly responded for the call-up with the expected zeal, determination, commitment and enthusiasm. The NYSC Scheme has always been a reservoir of highly skilled personnel, drawn from diverse geo-ethnic and socio-cultural backgrounds, united together with sense of purpose to make Nigeria a better place.

The programmes of the service year have been designed objectively to suit or compliment the aims and goals of the Scheme. It starts with the Orientation and induction course (2-4 weeks), the primary assignment (10 months), community development service (10 months) - which runs concurrently with the primary assignment, and finally ending with the Winding-Up Exercise and Passing-Out ceremony (One week). The are all characterized by strict regimentation and a predictable cadence that gives no room for laxity and lackadaisical behaviour.

The Orientation programme provides a basis for you to acquire the requisite leadership training essential for a successful service year. The Primary Assignment offers you the opportunity to acquire on the job experience relating to skills learnt during your course of study. During the period of your Primary Assignment, on a year-round basis, a community development project, which is considered essential to the need of your host community as well as co-operative ventures that will make you gainfully employed after the service year. This could be done jointly with a group of other corps members or individually. The period of your Primary Assignment and Community Development exercise has the advantage of broadening opportunities for you and also and also enable you as future leaders to develop an appreciation for the dignity of labour and of the diverse lifestyles and cultures of Nigeria. I am sure you will find these experiences both interesting and rewarding.

My beloved corps members, your are enrolled in the Scheme at a very crucial and turbulent period in our National history, when we are assiduously trying to build an enduring and enviable democracy, vis-à-vis reviving the Nation's ailing economy. Corruption is one of the dreaded "Monsters" that has assisted to batter our once buoyant economy to its present precarious and pathetic state. Must we all fold our hands, resign to despairs cold grips, and watch this ugly monster destroy our beloved nation? Definitely Not! Something must be urgently done. "Charity they say begins at home", I enjoin you all to join hands with me, to give the NYSC Scheme a new focus, a new direction, and make it an invaluable organization, endeared to All.

Accordingly, Management was forced to take the following measures to ensure that the ever increasing corps population is considerably trimmed to accommodate henceforth corps members who are ready, willingly and fit to selflessly and patriotically serve their Nation for one year in any location they are posted to:-

1. Only Senate/Council approved results are admissible for Call-up of prospective corps members;
2. Pregnant women and nursing mothers are not to be registered on any camp, until such a time, after their maternity/nursing period when they can really SERVE. This is not to say they are EXEMPTED from service and should also not be construed for gender discrimination or insensitivity. All we are saying is that, what is worth doing at all, is worth doing well;
3. Corps members are not allowed to bring their cars into the camp;
4. No redeployment will take place in the Orientation Camps. Applications for redeployment will only be entertained, six weeks after the Orientation and must be routed through the corps employer to the State Director, who thereafter, shall on its merit process and forward same to the Directorate Headquarters Abuja for consideration;
5. There will be no redeployment for any reasons whatsoever after three months into the service year, except in extreme cases;
6. Corps members are not allowed to embark upon unauthorized journeys, for the avoidance of doubt, any corps member caught traveling without a pass from the State Director would be made to face severe disciplinary measures.

Talking about kits, may I seize this opportunity to warn you to carefully keep your kits and personal belongings properly, during the Orientation programme. This is with a view to guiding against their being pilfered by undesirable elements.

I enjoin you all to reduce traveling to the barest minimum, in view of the fact that many, brilliant, talented, promising corps members have sadly been seriously maimed in road accident or outrightly had their precious lives prematurely terminated, thereby, causing great sorrow, anguish and trauma to Management, their parents, friends, families, loved ones and of course the Nation.

Furthermore, I will strongly advise you to shun any form of religious fanaticism wherever you find yourselves and to equally respect the culture, norms and religious beliefs of the people you dwell with. There must be religious tolerance, in view of the fact that Nigeria is a secular Nation, practicing freedom of worship as enshrined in the constitution. Therefore, practise your own faith, in your own way, at your own designated place of worship do not treat one religion as superior or inferior to the other, remember, wisdom is profitable to direct. May I sternly warn that where such negative reports reach me I would be forced to take rather stern actions. All religion preaches peace and not violence. You must vehemently resist pressures from any quarter to manipulate you to cause or ferment any breach of peace. Please remember that you are intelligent, peaceful, law abiding youths, who are the leaders of tomorrow. In addition, you must continue to demonstrate to the world that corps members have been co-existing peacefully together for the past, almost 30 years, despite their diverse ethnic, cultural, religious, political, social, tribal backgrounds vis-à-vis beliefs. I encourage you to effect positive changes in your host community by leaving it better than you met it.

You are all aware that in recent years there has been steady rise in cultic activities in our institutions of higher learning where our cream of corps participants are mobilized. The commandant and other security forces on camp are at alert to fish out cult members. Anyone caught will be decisively dealt with and summarily decamped. May I add this caveat, for any avoidance of doubt, decampment means outright expulsion from the service year.

It is the policy of the Scheme to reward excellence and outstanding achievements during service. This policy provides for conferment of special honours on corps members who demonstrate exemplary performance at the Local Government, State and National levels. Over the years, these honours have become more competitive because of the special privileges of automatic employment and monetary rewards they bring to the recipients. While aiming for these honours you should seek to leave behind legacies, that can contribute to stilling the stormy tide and reducing the poverty scourge among your host community.

It is in pursuance of this objective amongst others , like curbing corps rejection and underutilization that the NYSC Community Development Service (CDS) under the auspices of its Integrated Rural Development Programmes (IRD) launched the NYSC co-operative ventures.

The NYSC co-operative ventures programme is ultimately aimed at alleviating unemployment and its attendant social ills, expose corps members to the practical issues of life, business and career, create a platform for model entrepreneurial exposure and make the NYSC year more rewarding and more productive for corps members. You will be hearing more about the project in the course of your service year. Similarly, collaborations to encourage self-employment, skills acquisition, poverty eradication/reduction, are presently being embarked upon with the N.D.E. and N.A.P.E.P.

In addition, the NYSC Is also collaborating with some organizations like U.N.I.C.E.F., N.A.C.A. and E.A.I.I.T.A., John Hopkins, I.I.S.D. (Colorado) etc.

Under a democratic dispensation, a child regardless of his social background has a right to education and equal opportunity to employment and decent living. Expectedly, you will all be involved in other Federal Government Programme like Universal Basic Education Programmes (U.B.E.), National Youth Employment Scheme (Y.E.S.) etc.

Permit me to add that there is dignity in labour, be assured that present National needs, would influence vis-à-vis dictate the pace of our posting and basically the needs are preponderant in the rural areas. Consequently, majority of you, would be posted to the rural areas, to serve. You are enjoined to accept your postings in good faith. Whatever you are deployed to do,should be done to the best of your ability,having in mind that, that is the area the Nation needs you most during your one year of service, regardless of your qualification or personal dreams/aspirations. Remember, "It profits most who serves best".

Get ready, fasten your seat belts and welcome to a new dawn, a new beginning where the versatility, strength, dynamism, creativity, resilience and ruggedity of youth is about to be harnessed and purposefully chanelled into a very adventurous, exciting and patriotic service year. The Nation believes in you and expects a lot from you. I charge you therefore, to go and prove your mettle.

On behalf of Management and staff of the Scheme, I wish you an exciting and rewarding service year and look forward to meeting you in person during my visit to your camps.

Thank you and God Bless.

W. OKI
Brig. Gen.
Director-General
16th September, 2002