By Sam Kayode
The National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) has resumed orientation services in Maiduguri the Borno State capital 12 years after it was shut down due to Boko Haram insurgency.
The NYSC Orientation camp located along Kano Road in Maiduguri was shut down in 2012 during the height of Boko Haram insurgency due to fears expressed by Nigerians over the safety of their wards.
Due to years of inactivity, the NYSC camp was later converted to an internally displaced persons (IDPS) camp, where IDPs from Damboa, Gwoza and Konduga took refuge.
With the return of peace camping activities have resumed to the full this time with over one thousand one hundred Corps members deployed to Borno state for the one year mandatory service.
Governor Babagana Zulum described the batch B Stream two orientation course as historic and special having marked the end of perennial dislodgement of Corps members to the state.
The Governor noted that the absence of Corps members have denied people of the state the right to enjoy auxiliary services from the scheme and the opportunity to share different norms, customs and cultures across the country.
Governor Zulum promised to engaged the Corp members especially medical doctors and other frontline health workers to contribute in critical areas of the state.
He also promised to reconstruct the NYSC permanent orientation camp which has become a shadow of itself due to long stay of IDPs over-stretching the facility.
State Coordinator Comrade Mohammed Adamu said 1,125 prospective Corps members have so far registered, comprising 629 males and 496 females, adding that non have reported any form of security threat in the course of their journey.
The Coordinator commended the military and other security agencies for ensuring that the camp and its environs were safe and secure.
Chairman NYSC Governing Board, Alhaji Mohammed Bukar, remarked that the state has been prompt in payment of allowances for the members, urging them not to relocate to other states for any reason at all.
High points of the ceremony was the taking of oaths by Corps members administered by the representative of the State Chief Judge, Justice Bukar Malgwi.
