The Government of Sierra Leone has sent a high-powered team
to Nigeria to understudy the National Youth Service Corps.
The delegation, which is being headed by the country's
Presidential Adviser on Youth, Dr. Sheku G. Kamara, was at the NYSC National
Directorate Headquarters today to interact with the Management team.
Kamara said the purpose of the visit was to enable Sierra
Leone learn from Nigeria's experience to enable it improve its own National
Youth Service.
"We researched a lot to learn from all countries that
have voluntary youth services after graduation from University, and I am proud
to say Nigeria emerged from our research as the best example in Africa.
"The purpose of this study tour is to find out what
have been your successes, what have been your challenges, and what we should
look for to make ours a strong one," he added.
Kamara, who described Nigeria as Africa's big brother,
conveyed his home government's appreciation of the long standing cordial
relationship between Nigeria and Sierra Leone, especially the brotherliness and
goodwill shown by the former both in war and peace times.
He particularly recalled how Nigeria's leading role during
the Sierra Leonean civil war helped in the return of peace and stability in
that country as well as its support to the latter during the outbreak of the
Ebola disease.
Responding, the NYSC Director-General, Brigadier General
Sulaiman Kazaure, thanked the Sierra Leone for recognizing Nigeria's successes
in youth development.
Kazaure told the delegation that the NYSC was established in
1973 with a pioneer batch of 2,364, adding that the scheme now mobilizes over
300,000 Corps members every year.
He said the huge rise in Corps population was a challenge
which the scheme had been managing to surmount.
The Director-General, however, averred that the NYSC had
gathered invaluable experience in youth mobilization for national unity and
development in its forty-four years of existence.
He expressed the scheme's readiness to share its experience
for the benefit of the sister African country.
A major highlight of the occasion was the presentation of
briefs on the mandate and activities of all Department and Units of the NYSC by
the Directors.
The Sierra Leonean team is also scheduled to visit some
Orientation camps in the country for on-the-spot monitoring of activities
during the on-going 2017 Batch 'A' Orientation course.
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