The Akwa Ibom State Coordinator of National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Mrs Chinyere Ekwe has said the scraping of the scheme may affect negatively the unity which the country is yearning for.
She made the disclosure during the 48 anniversary celebration of NYSC in the country at NYSC permanent camp, Ikot Itie Udung, Nsit Atai local government area on Saturday.
Already, a bill to scrap the scheme at the National Assembly which has scaled through its second reading.
But, reacting to the bill, Mrs Ekwe said, ” NYSC is a strong pillar that unites the entire nation. You can see so many corps members here, they come from diverse culture and ethnic groups, but, once they come for service they do not care about where anybody comes from, they are always united in everything they do.
“They do not care about the ethnicity, religion and culture, they are all one. So, the unity of Nigeria must continue, in NYSC we promote unity and say no to division. It is a rally point of young people in Nigeria.”
Ekwe said the unity of the country regardless some challenges facing the nation was still intact through the scheme, stressing that the unity would continue to exist no matter some differences.
She said the significance of this year’s celebration was unity of Nigeria, adding that NYSC was uniting the whole country, making young people come together to bring unity, prosperity and oneness in the country.
One of the corps members who spoke with Blueprint, Miss Chinasa Mba, a student of Theatre Art and Film study, University of Nigeria Nsukka, Enugu state, expressed happiness for the scheme in ensuring unity across the nation, but, disagreed with the idea of scraping it, adding that if NYSC was scrapped, the nation may not move forward.
Another corps member, Madaki Baba, Computer Engineering graduate of Federal University of Technology, Minna, said, “It is a privilege serving Nigeria this time and I feel that this nation needs to be more united because the vision of NYSC is nation building and unity.”
He said the scheme has enabled him contribute his quota to the society through training of teachers and students in computer literacy within his locality.
Baba said all Nigerians must continue to tolerate each other as one entity, “because living in pieces or disunity will not help this country move forward.”
