What Fashola Told Out-Going Corps Members

Daily Independent (Lagos)

Oyeniran Apata

26 June 2011

Lagos — Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, has said that the killing of corps members during the post-election violent protest in parts of the North and the subsequent calls for the abolition of the National Youth Service Corp (NYSC), scheme should provoke, among subsequent beneficiaries of the programme the desire to make better use of the service year.

The governor, who described the event as sad, suggested various ways through which the respective service years could be put into productive ventures.

According to him, the nation could improve its food production by committing all the graduates or a majority to properly organised farm settlements every year.

In his words: “Can we improve on internal security with the programme to expose our graduates to one year of police training, improve our health and life expectancy if we submit all our graduates to nursing training, emergency rescue and life-saving schemes for one year?”

Fashola, who gave this charge during the passing out ceremony for 6,765 Batch “B” 2010 corps members in Lagos, recounted that about 34,830 corps members posted to the state alone within 2008 and 2009 would have accomplished an unimaginable achievements in the state if their talents were better harnessed and effectively deployed.

While lending credence to the call for a review of the NYSC, the governor, maintained that the programme remained a relevant vehicle for social interaction and national unity.

Eulogising the corps members nationwide for giving the country a voter register and election that met minimum global standard, and lamenting that instead of being rewarded they were murdered, Fashola explained that his presence at the ceremony was to honour the slain corps members, whom he described as the martyrs of Nigeria’s democratic experiment.

“The future of our country lies ahead of us. They are not behind us. Should we stop serving our country? The answer is emphatic no. Let us be positive and courageous. Let us see these young martyrs of our democracy as the architects of our new beginning. We must resolve that Nigeria should be dying for so that she can be worth living in,” he added.

He appealed to the graduates to make up their minds to contribute their quota, noting that the nation’s unemployment problems had persisted because the country’s economy was not growing in the right areas.

He told them to channel their efforts in the direction of jobs that were traditionally avoided like agriculture, mechanical, technology, construction, fabrication and other technical areas where the country required growth and development.

“Let your imagination run and you will see how many more areas and things we need to produce which are still lacking. You will understand what we mean that the onus is upon you to either be unemployed graduate or graduate employers.

“As a government, we can do a survey and also initiate programmes and policies that will enable people to find and create work for others. We shall continue to evolve policies and programmes that opportunities for entrepreneurs,” the governor advised.

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