Onuminya Innocent in Sokoto
The Sokoto State Government has challenged members of the 2026 Batch B’ Stream 11 of the National Youth Service Corps posted to the state to position themselves as frontline agents of change in their host communities.
Governor Ahmed Aliyu gave the charge on Wednesday during the swearing-in ceremony that officially flagged off the three-week orientation course for the new batch at the NYSC Temporary Orientation Camp, Farfaru.
He was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Muhammad Bello Sifawa.
Addressing the corps members, the governor said their national service was more than a ceremonial rite of passage. According to him, it was a direct call to confront some of Nigeria’s most pressing problems with honesty, skill, and dedication.
“As a highly skilled segment of our population, it behoves on you to be part of the problem-solving team,” Aliyu declared. “Express your potentials through honest and dedicated service to your host communities.”
The governor did not mince words about the realities awaiting the corps members beyond the camp gates. He listed youth unemployment, poverty, rising crime, and a declining standard of living as “daunting developmental challenges” currently testing the country’s resolve.
Aliyu argued that such complex, multi-dimensional problems demand “every rationale means available to us,” stressing that corps members remain one of Nigeria’s most valuable human resources for grassroots transformation.
To succeed in their assignment, he advised the corps members to first seek to understand the people they are posted to serve. “Our people are generous and loving, but place high premium on respect for the law of the land, especially culture and ways of life generally,” the governor cautioned.
He also linked effective participation in camp activities to the broader goal of national development. According to him, drills, lectures, and skills acquisition programmes were carefully designed to put corps members “on the right perspective” for the tasks ahead.
Security concerns, a recurring worry for many deployed outside their home states, also featured in the governor’s address. Aliyu assured the gathering that the state government “is mindful of your welfare and security, and has provided significantly toward these.”
He further pledged that both the government and citizens of Sokoto would maintain a peaceful atmosphere to enable growth in the public and private sectors during the service year.
Earlier, the NYSC State Coordinator, Mr. Tyoyer Gabriel Ter, commended the new corps members for their conduct since arrival. He said they had “already exhibited positive virtues and high standard of patriotism” at the camp.
Ter charged them to embrace all camp activities, describing them as tools to build self-reliance and prepare youths for future responsibilities. He also expressed gratitude to Governor Aliyu and the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, for their consistent support for the scheme in the state.
The high point of the ceremony was the administration of the oath of allegiance by Justice Ibrahim Tambuwal, who represented the Chief Judge of Sokoto State, Justice Muhammad Saidu Sifawa. Hundreds of corps members clad in the scheme’s signature white and khaki, repeated the pledge to serve Nigeria with loyalty and integrity.