Corps Members Urged To Maximise Benefits Of Service Year

Founder and creative director of The International Students Podcast (TISP), Progress Oberiko, has advised National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members to maximise the full potential of their service year.

Oberiko, whose first book “Beyond the Usual” is soon to be launched, said, to a large extent, many young Nigerians do not fully grasp the significance and the purpose of the service year.

She said the book shares in “simple and endearing clarity” the NYSC programme’s inherent values and the opportunities available to corps members when they maximise their potential when they serve.

Oberiko shared not just the importance of NYSC in national unity and development, but also her “mind-boggling personal experiences” during her own service year, as well as the opportunities she identified and embraced.

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The writer and social entrepreneur, whose work draws on social impact, and global change added that the inspiration to write the book was drawn entirely from her NYSC experience.

“The need to write this book arose from the desire to reach out to other corps members including prospective and serving corps members, undergraduate students, and young Nigerian youths in fact; to offer them a window of insight into identifying the opportunities available to them through the NYSC platform and, at least, provide a more comprehensive understanding as to what the NYSC period can really offer.

“I also want to share with young Nigerians that there is so much impact they can make with their potential, skills, and talents in society. ‘Beyond the Usual’ is not just intended to be an information pamphlet about the NYSC; it is a book, based on real-life experiences, that includes insights, observations, unique stories, and ideas on how to make a social impact in our own unique ways.”

“These are there for the reader to enjoy and hopefully inspire the desire to go out into society with love and the desire to make a difference in the lives of others, and at the same time bringing joy and purpose into your own life.

“For many reasons, I used to think that NYSC was some sort of ‘verification’ that proves that one is now a full-blown graduate. And like me, many corps members share this same presupposition. This is often because the Nigerian society attaches an amount of value and respect to wearing the NYSC khaki uniform, including our parents.

“For example, as a graduate, many people may assume that you did not complete your tertiary education or that you are a university dropout, if you didn’t go for NYSC. Because of this, most parents look forward to their children going to service. They cheerfully display enlarged NYSC photos of their children in their living room. So basically, NYSC for many people is like a ‘blue Instagram tick’ that confirms your status as a graduate.

“However, the purpose of the NYSC program transcends this limited presupposition. The NYSC scheme has over time proven to be a valuable tool for national development and national unity.

“The scheme, which has given graduates across the nation a means through which to serve their fatherland, has undoubtedly embedded a lot of positivity in the life of tens of thousands of corps members, including myself, and this is essentially what this book encapsulates using stories and unique authentic experiences,” she said.

She urged young Nigerians, corps members, those going to camp soon as well as final year students to get a copy of the book which is available on Amazon.