Boko Haram: NYSC finally resumes orientation in Maiduguri, twelve years after closure of camp
By Maina Maina
The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has resumed orientation services in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, 12 years after the camp was shut down due to the Boko Haram insurgency.
The NYSC Orientation camp, located along Kano Road, was shut down in 2012 during the height of the 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, with corps members deployed to Borno State for the one year mandatory service.
Governor Babagana Zulum described the Batch B Stream 2 orientation course as historic and special, having marked the end of perennial dislodgement of corps members from the state.
The governor noted that the absence of corps members has denied the 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 engage the corps 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 the long stays of IDPs overstretching the facility.
State Coordinator of NYSC, Comrade Mohammed Adamu, said a total of 1,125 prospective corps members have so far registered, comprising 629 males and 496 females, adding that none have reported any form of security threat in the course of their journey to the state.
The coordinator commended the military and other security agencies for ensuring that the camp and its environs were safe and secure.
Chairman of the NYSC Governing Board, Alhaji Mohammed Bukar, remarked that the state has been prompt in payment of allowances to the members, urging them not to relocate to other states for any reason at all.
The highpoint of the ceremony was the swearing in ceremony of corps members administered by the representative of the State Chief Judge, Justice Bukar Malgwi.
