The Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu, has called on Corps Members to respect and appreciate the cultural values of their host communities during their service year.
He made the appeal while addressing the 2025 Batch ‘C’ Corps Members at the NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp in Wamakko, Sokoto State.
According to a statement issued in Abuja by the Director of Information and Public Relations, Caroline Embu, the DG urged the Corps Members to use the service year to explore Nigeria’s diverse cultural and natural endowments.
“You are guests here; therefore, you must respect your hosts. Do not look down on their culture, and please try to understand why they do certain things,” he advised.
General Nafiu encouraged the Corps Members to build friendships across ethnic and geographical lines, noting that such bonds could foster future business collaborations and promote national unity.
“If you are from the South West and the only friends you make are from the South West, you have wasted this opportunity,” he cautioned.
He further urged them to take advantage of the country’s regional economic strengths, adding that understanding what different zones produce would create opportunities for inter-regional trade.
The DG also warned Corps Members against using social media to promote divisive narratives, advising them instead to rely on credible sources that foster national unity and integration.
Additionally, he encouraged them to acquire vocational and entrepreneurial skills and to practice prudent financial management to enhance their prospects for self-employment and long-term financial stability.
Earlier, the NYSC Sokoto State Coordinator, Alhaji Usman Yaro, briefed the DG that the state had registered 1,299 Corps Members 762 males and 537 females all of whom were fully integrated into camp activities.
