The Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps, Brigadier General Olakunle Oluseye Nafiu, has urged Corps members to take the Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development programme seriously as a pathway to self-reliance and job creation.
Nafiu gave the advice while addressing Corps members deployed to Ebonyi State for the 2026 Batch B Stream II service year at Afikpo.
Here are five key points from his message:
1. Government cannot provide jobs for everyone
Nafiu told the Corps members that no government in the world has the capacity to provide white-collar jobs for its entire young population.
This, he said, makes it important for young graduates to look beyond traditional employment and develop skills that can help them become self-reliant.
2. SAED was created to tackle unemployment
The NYSC introduced the Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development programme in 2012 as part of its orientation course.
According to Nafiu, the programme was established because NYSC management had anticipated the unemployment challenge facing young Nigerians.
He said SAED was designed to promote entrepreneurship and help Corps members develop practical skills they could use beyond their service year.
3. Corps members are encouraged to create jobs, not only seek them
Nafiu urged the Corps members to participate fully in SAED training both in and outside the orientation camp.
The objective, he explained, is to equip them with skills that can help them establish businesses, become self-reliant and potentially create employment for others.
4. The programme has produced successful entrepreneurs
The NYSC DG said there were numerous examples of young Nigerians who had become successful entrepreneurs after participating in the SAED programme.
He therefore encouraged the Corps members to take advantage of the training rather than seeing it as just another activity during their service year.
5. NYSC is also about national unity
Nafiu reminded the Corps members that entrepreneurship is not the only objective of the NYSC.
He said national unity and integration remain central to the scheme and urged the graduates to relate freely with colleagues from different cultural, educational and religious backgrounds.
He also encouraged them to respect the customs and traditions of their host communities, learn local languages and embrace aspects of their hosts’ culture.
According to Nafiu, understanding and respecting host communities can help Corps members earn their trust, goodwill and hospitality throughout their service year.
Earlier, the NYSC Ebonyi State Coordinator, Mrs Pat Maidariya, said orientation activities were progressing smoothly, with Corps members participating actively.
She added that camp officials were working together to ensure the success of the exercise.
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