Paiko (Niger) – The Minister of Youth Development, Malam Bolaji Abdullahi, on Friday gave conditions for banks and other organisations to engage National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members.

Abdullahisaid during a  visit to the NYSC Orientation Camp in Paiko, Niger, that the organisations must sign agreements to give jobs to such corps members at the end of their national service.

“We will stop the supply of corps members to banks and other organisations until they give us the guarantee that they will employ them after their service year, “ the minister said.

He said that a situation where corps members were meant to go through the fear of insecurity of joblessness after the service year was unacceptable and would be addressed holistically.

Abdullahicalled on NYSC members not to be deterred by the recent security challenges in the country,  saying  it was a temporary situation that would soon fade away.

“This uniform confers some privileges on you but how did we get to this stage that this uniform is now the one exposing you to danger? This has nothing to do with NYSC as a body but it has to stop.“

He said that NYSC had  come to stay irrespective of calls by some people that it be scrapped,  adding that in spite of the security challenges, the country  had a lot to celebrate.

The minister commended the National Assembly for taking the decision to reform the scheme, pointing out that  aside being a vehicle for  national integration, the country had many things to derive from the scheme.

“We can turn NYSC around  to  make  corps members stand on their own, and this is what the present administration will do’’.

The minister urged  corps members to be part of the solution to reform the scheme, stressing that as from 2012,  corps members would start serving their fatherland in the true sense unlike what obtained currently.

Abdullahisaid that the scheme had exposed NYSC members to the complexities and diversity of Nigeria.

“If not NYSC what will bring most of you here?  You can see how amazingly beautiful Nigeria is which the core objective of NYSC is,“ he said.

He said the scheme would develop the leadership quality and capacity of  corps members to  make them self-reliant, adding that the issue of looking for white collar jobs would no longer be a  priority.

Earlier, Mrs Fadimatu Mohammed, the Coordinator of NYSCin Niger, said that the corps members had established a high sense of discipline since they resumed and  had remained peaceful.

She, however, appealed to the government of Niger to give the scheme a new and permanent site.

A total of 1,775 NYSC members, consisting of 1,008  men and  767 women, registered for the orientation programme. (NAN)