Yakubu Gowon Foundation (YGF) National Essay Competition for NYSC members 2011 - Over N1million Cash Award to Be Won

The Yakubu Gowon Foundation (YGF) in collaboration with the National Orientation Agency (NOA) offers National Essay Competition 2011 for all serving National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members. Up to N1,250,000 cash award to be won.
The National essay competition for Nigerian graduates currently serving as NYSC members is announced as part of the activities to commemorate the 77th birthday and celebration of life and virtues of Nigeria's former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon. The former Head of State and Patron of Yakubu Gowon Foundation (YGF), will clock 77 years on October 19 2011. Ten (10) winners will be selected.

How NYSC Experience Can Win You Masters Scholarships to Study Abroad

If you are reading this, you are either preparing for your National Youth Service Corps - NYSC - in Nigeria or currently a serving Youth Corper. Or you have already completed your NYSC with personal experiences you thing are not worth much. You probably have been nursing the dream to achieve your postgraduate Masters Degree through international scholarship. It is a dream with the possibilities of achievement if you consciously prepare yourself towards it.

How do you qualify yourself for scholarships?

My Youth service adventure in Kaiama, Bayelsa State

Nysc is a program every Nigerian undergraduate and graduate who is yet
to be a part of, look forward to, but seen as insignificant and a
waste of time after being a part of it, by some of us.
My Nysc experience back in 2007/2008 is something that I can not deny
it's significance in my life.

If you are someone who happen to be used
to trying something new, i assure you, nysc will offer you lots of
such opportunities. It's a fun thing to make good use of these
opportunities at your beck and core. Although I can't really boast of
making use of every available opportunity during my youth service but
I did convert some to useful experiences.

Bayelsa State, if you remember, was never considered one of the safest
state to travel or live, as at 2007 and 2008 when I served. The Ijaw
militants, the oil company officials kidnappings, the vandalism and
general violence was enough news to keep immigrants away from the
state. The press made sure of that. But the untold story then, was the
fact that most times the colour of the bottle don't determine the
taste of the content. Even at that time, in the mist of the crisis,
corps members did find peace, friendliness and good stories to tell
among the people of Bayelsa.

Getting the unexpected

After the Orientation Camp, I was posted to served in Kaiama,
Kolokuma/Opokuma LGA, the same community where The orientation camp is
located. That is one thing any or let me say 95% of corps members will
pray against. Everyone wanted to move out, see new places in Bayelsa,
go to town (Kaiama, though considered a town ironically by the people,
is typically underdeveloped). I remember asking someone in Kaiama
during camp how I could get to town and his reply was "na town you dey
so eeh", meaning you are very much in town right now. I never thought
that after serving in camp as a platoon leader, I would be reduced to
a primary assignment in the same-old Kaiama. I guess there is a lesson
to learn from that outcome. I mean, while all other corpers were
having the best of fun in camp, I, among the ten platoon leaders, was
working my butts out for Platoon 10 corps member and the nysc
officials. But that was one of the best choice I made during my
service year. There really was no direct reward attached to it, but no
reward could surpass the leadership and people service experience.
Well,that's just another story on it's own.

I got to know about my place of primary assignment two days before the
passing out of orientation camp. At first it sounded like a blow up of
everything to me. I mean, everyone around me were already counting me
among the lucky ones (as a platoon leader) to get a favorable place of
primary assignment and having to remain in Kaiama wouldn't come as
lucky to anyone. But surprisingly, I recieved the posting letter in
good fate.

An employer who didn't keep to his words.

I had to carry out my primary assignment at the Kolokuma/Opokuma Local
Government Council, in Kaiama where I was posted. I was ready to take
whatever came from it, although it took most of my colleagues (about
18 of us)a hard time to get used to it. The Caretaker Committee
Chairman then happened to be our employer and, like most other Ajuwaya
employer, showered us with lots of empty promises.
It happened that the secretariate had never employed that much corpers
in the past, and the corpers lodge in Kaiama was build in the middle
of a swamp forest, around which, for the first time in my life, i saw
a snake as fat as my thigh and long as my leg (although it was very
much dead at the time, it voluntarily chose it's dying spot). The
Chairman promised to renovate a new lodge for his serving corpers but
during the three-week orientation camp, I never thought I was going to
spend the rest of my service year in the same old camp double bunk,
bath in the same bathroom and walk the same camp ground. Yes, we were
asked to squat in the orientation camp for two weeks before the
renovation is completed. But two weeks extended to the whole service
year. The orientation camp became our corpers lodge through out the
service year. We learned to live with the things we cannot change and
worked on the things we can change.

As the service journey continued

In all things we did our best to serve the kaiama community. We helped
build the Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Govt. Secretariat, from scratch.
Through our community development service -CDS, we showed example of
community cleanliness and service to humanity. And we all had a lot to
learn about all of that.
Of all things, I just can't forget the good times we had in the
jungle. The fellowships (courtesy NCCF), the parties and grooves which
we created ourselves. It was really a good time in the jungle.

In whatever circumstances we find ourselves in the journey of life,
our Attitude is what makes all the difference. We either choose to
keep cursing, criticizing and worrying about the situation of things
or find the opportunity it presents, make use of it and move on with
your life.
Even when I try, I just can't forget the National Service day's, the
people, fellow corps members and all the good times and rough times.
Each of these factors did play a good role in my life.

How about you? Do you have stories to tell about your national
youth service year?

NYSC-a blessing or curse to Nigeria Graduates.

Over One year after passing out from the National Youth Service Corps
(NYSC), I was compelled to ask myself this question all over again.
"Was NYSC a blessing to me as a graduate in Nigeria or a curse?"
Please, if you are a non-Nigerian or don't understand what NYSC is all
about, visit the official site www.nysc.gov.ng. In a brief
explanation, it is a one year national service program every Nigeria
graduate under the age of 30, must undergo before he or she is able to
fully join the work force/labour market.

I know different persons will have different opinions to this, but
it's an issue worth discussing all over again before jumping into
conclusion. While some corp members will end their service year being
favored with a job to retain and maybe some useful contacts, most,
you'll agree with me, will have to start all over after the one year
exercise. Well, ironically, it's not too much sacrifice to pay for
ones country.
After all, you-ths should obey the clarion call of lifting the nation
high, under the sun or in the rain, with dedication and selflessness.
Even more so, Nigeria is our country and Nigeria we should service,
however good or bad it turns out. But I wouldn't want to base my
opinion, as to the impact of the scheme, on patriotism neither would I
on sentiments. I would rather base my points on the NYSC experience
and the aftermath. After all, the end justifies the means.

In my opinion, NYSC scheme as it affects the Nigerian graduates is
neither a blessing nor a curse. It's a one year program of making a
group of young Nigerian graduates equal. It's a lesson and a course.
Let me explain, you'll have the chance to air your view in the comment
tab below.

First, NYSC as a course not a curse.

Think of NYSC as a one year transition period from the academic
environment to the practical/real world. School-campus life have a way
of making life seem easier and straighter than it really is. Often as
students we get a wrong impression of what life and survival is all
about. But With the training and rigorous activities accompanying the
NYSC program in one year, if duely followed, Nigerian graduates are
much likely to get a glimpse of what follows after school. If you had
expected a more direct positive benefit from the scheme, but feel
disappointed by the outcome, it's only a normal human reaction and I
can only say, welcome to the real world . After all, you could have
'gone far', apparently within the one year on your own-so you think.
One might as well, conclude that the four or five years spent in
higher institution was a waste of time, because s/he is not practising
and earning from his/er course of study/profession. I, for example,
spent five years in the university studying Petroleum Engineering but
I apparently don't feel a direct benefit of studying the course
particularly in the first place, while some of my colleagues/course
mates would consider it the best thing that ever happened to their
career. But in actual fact, my five years in school were years well
accounted for with lots of useful learning experiences. So I wouldn't
say studying Petroleum Engineering for five years has been a blessing
or a curse but what I make of it will tell better.

What about victimized corps members?
Crisis are always accompanied with victims, regardless of where, when
and how they happen. Corps members loosing their lives is not reason
enough to condemn the scheme. For corps members who lost their lives
during the NYSC program, may their souls rest in perfect peace. But
life must go on. We will all die somehow and someday. Let's not bother
about dying and concentrate on living. There are always victims of
war-dead or alive. What matters is the inner victory that we win in
the end. That is what keeps us going, the assurance that we can
overcome what ever circumstances that come our way. The NYSC scheme
gives us this opportunity- an essential practical course for Nigerian
graduates- but it is the NYSC experience you create (remember the word
'you create') or encounter and how you interprete them that will
determine your opinion about the scheme.

This takes us down to the fact that NYSC is a life lesson not
particularly a blessing.

Like I said earlier, it's about your personal NYSC experiences and how
you interprete them. I personally had a load of Nysc experiences,
enough to take to the opinion that the scheme is a total waste of
time. But on a second thought, I probably wouldn't have had the
opportunity to learn from that perspective. We (I inclusive) most
times want to have everything going nice and easy for us. And when
they don't go our way, we criticize rather than analyze the situation.
Life has never being a bed of roses, at least, as far as I know. In
fact, NYSC even shields you from some real societal difficultes
(you'll understand this better went you've lost your ajuwaya
immunity).
NYSC is a real life learning experience. If you learn to see things
from the reality-perspective, you'll find Your service year a life
transforming experience, filled with lessons, adventure and better
understanding how far you've come in life. Then and only then can you
truely answer the question 'NYSC-a blessing or curse to Nigerian
Graduates'.
The NYSC course is a lesson worth attending.
I'd love to here your honest opinion.