US Ambassador Supports Retention of NYSC

The United States ambassador in Nigeria, Mr. Terence McCulley, has commended the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme, saying it was preparing future leaders for the country.

McCulley said this in Abuja yesterday when he visited the Director-General of the NYSC, Brig.-Gen. Maratzu Tsiga.

He said that the scheme distinguished itself during the general elections, stating that he was impressed with the performance of the corps members.

“I was deeply impressed by their effectiveness and commitment to their country and it says to me that this institution really is preparing the future leaders of Nigeria.

“You just finished what I think without question, the most historic election in Nigeria’s history, the freest, fairest, most credible and most transparent election since June 12, 1993 and perhaps in the country’s whole history,” he noted.

McCulley said that the election could not have succeeded without the engagement of the corps members, adding that where he monitored the election such as Nasarawa and Kaduna states and the FCT, corps members behaved themselves well.

“My hope is that the experiences that the NYSC had brought to this election would be carried through as they proceed in their lives because governance is not about election only, but also about bridging the gap between government and the governed. It’s about credibility and transparency,” he said.

The envoy said citizens had every right to demand transparency and credibility from governments.

Earlier, Brig.-Gen. Tsiga thanked the ambassador for identifying with the scheme during its trying period and asked for partnership with the US.

He said that the establishment of the scheme was to address mutual distrust among various groups in the country, noting that the distrust led to a 30-month civil war, which ended on 25 January, 1970.

The scheme, he added, had the largest concentration of educated youths working for communities nationwide.

According to Tsiga, the scheme now mobilises an average of 200,000 graduates per annum, adding that about two million participants had served under it since inception in 1973.

Tsiga said: “The appealing nature of the NYSC and its national spread as well as the conglomeration of youths, male and female from all religions, cultural and other divides that define Nigeria’s cultural plurality, has endeared her to the government and people of Nigeria.

“It makes available its rich stock of human resources to communities, organisations or agencies at minimal cost.”