By Mohammed Aminu in Sokoto
The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, has urged Nigerians to emulate the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) for the role it is playing in promoting peace and unity in the country.
The monarch made the remark when he received the newly posted NYSC Sokoto State Coordinator, Mr. Philip Enaberue, who paid him a courtesy visit in his palace in Sokoto on Thursday.
He described NYSC as a catalyst for promoting national unity, mutual
respect, religious tolerance and harmony in the country.
According to him, if Nigerians should embrace one another and forget their differences as demonstrated by corps members during the national service, the country would have been better off by now.
The Sultan noted that despite persistent crises occasioned by intolerance and mistrust existing in some parts of the country, the NYSC scheme still remains a veritable tool for unifying the nation.
“If Nigerians will embrace the spirit of oneness and live with one another harmoniously like corps members, issues of diversity will not even arise.
“We should live as our brothers’ keepers and tolerate one another irrespective of our background,” the monarch said.
He extolled the scheme’s resilience for maintaining its objective of promoting unity especially among youths who are the bedrock of any nation.
The monarch thanked Enaberue for the visit and assured him of the usual support and assistance being rendered to corps members to make their stay in the state memorable.
Speaking earlier, Enaberue told the monarch that the visit to the palace was to present himself formally.
“Your eminence, I am here to present myself formally and not for familiarisation because I have been a visitor to the palace severally with other coordinators when I was an assistant director with the state secretariat.
“So, Sokoto is not new to me rather, I have come back home to take charge as the new chief executive,” he stated.
Enaberue therefore expressed gratitude to the Sultanate Council for the support the NYSC scheme has been enjoying in the state.
