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.