The Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu, has urged Corps Members to embrace and respect the cultural values of their host communities as part of their national service experience.
He gave the charge during his visit to the 2025 Batch ‘C’ Corps Members at the NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp in Wamakko, Sokoto State.
“You are guests here; therefore, you must respect your hosts,” the DG cautioned. “Do not look down on their culture and, please, try and understand why they do certain things.”
Brigadier General Nafiu encouraged the corps members to build friendships across ethnic and regional lines, saying such relationships would strengthen national cohesion while also serving as the foundation for future business collaborations.
“If you are from the South West and the only friends you make are from the South West, you have wasted this opportunity,” he said.
The DG highlighted the economic potential of Nigeria’s diverse regions, advising corps members to understand and leverage the unique productivity of each zone to foster inter-regional trade.
He also warned them against using social media to promote divisive narratives, urging reliance on credible information sources that support national unity and peaceful coexistence.
In addition, Nafiu charged the corps members to acquire vocational and entrepreneurial skills and to practise financial discipline to enhance their prospects for self-reliance and economic stability.
Earlier, the NYSC Sokoto State Coordinator, Alhaji Usman Yaro, briefed the DG that a total of 1,299 Corps Members comprising 762 males and 537 females had been registered and fully integrated into camp activities.
