Atiku celebrates NYSC @ 50 as great policy conceived in Nigeria, notes, disunity feeds hate, conflicts

The Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the February 25 presidential election, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has celebrated the National Youth Service Youth Corps (NYSC) at 50, saying that the establishment of the agency is one of the greatest policies ever conceived in Nigeria. he commended retired General Yakubu Gowon for introducing the wonderful policy for national unification.
Atiku, in a statement in Abuja to mark the 50th anniversary of the scheme, noted that unity is one of the toughest challenges of the country’s nationhood, saying that the NYSC programme was a major effort towards national integration and unity.
Recalling that the NYSC was founded on 22 May 1973, Atiku declared: “we must acknowledge and give credit to General Yakubu Gowon for introducing this brilliant idea aimed at consolidating national unity after the bitter memories of the tragic Nigerian civil war.
“Unity which is also my personal agenda as a politician, is essential to building a strong country because a divided country is a weakened country. For decades our youths and children have been infected with hate and prejudice. They can’t think for themselves; they judge others unfairly because they didn’t interact with others to understand them. Interaction with others is one of the best ways to independently and objectively judge them, thereby changing our notions about other people.”
The Wazirin Adamawa acknowledged that “indeed, the NYSC went a long way to neutralise the impact of prejudice through interaction with other people, and in fact, even encouraged inter-marriages.”
Atiku particularly paid tribute to General Yakubu Gowon for the effort to introduce NYSC.
“The history of this great policy will be incomplete without a mention of the remarkable role played by Gowon and his administration in the success of this programme. Gowon had demonstrated great leadership skills and statesmanship in the adverse consequences of the civil war, one of which included the task of rebuilding national unity,” Atiku stressed.
The former Vice president called on politicians, religious leaders and other opinion leaders to continue to encourage unity among the people, warning that disunity feeds hate which in turn, feeds conflicts.
“We should at all times make utterances that promote love and unity and avoid statements that stoke up bitter divisions and intolerance,” he added.
He, however, called for a review of the mandate of the scheme to reflect the demands of the current reality.