CorruptionNewsOndo Corpers Doze Off During Anti-corruption Lecture At Orientation Camp

Photos of some corps members sleeping during a lecture at NYSC orientation camp, Ondo State have gone viral on social media.

In the photos made public by a Facebook user, Onwuka Onyemaechi, the corps members were seen fast asleep during an anti-corruption lecture organised by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

Known to be the next phase of life for every Nigerian graduate, the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme is a program every youth anticipates and looks forward to.

NYSC has been on ground since 1973 to involve graduates in the development of the country. In pursuance of the ‘objectives of forging unity, integration and inter-ethnic understanding’, fresh graduates under the age of 30, referred to as corps members are posted to states other than their own and outside their cultural boundaries to ensure that the corps members (popularly called ‘corpers’) learn the ways of life of other Nigerians, and imbibe a more liberal outlook in preparation for their role as future leaders of the country.

First, they undertake a 3-week long orientation course in a military-controlled boot “camp”, engaging in physical training, taking professional lectures and going through skill acquisition training; then they are deployed to their place of primary assignment where they will work for the duration of 11 months.

While the corps members are working, they are expected to engage in the Community Development Service (CDS) programme which entails weekly meetings towards completing projects in their host communities that will positively impact its inhabitants. After 11 months, a “passing out ceremony” is held, followed by one month of vacation, and the corps member is free to get on with his/her life.

Life in the orientation camp is regimented, with soldiers keeping a watchful eye on corps members. Corps members go to bed around 11:00pm and are expected to be awake as early as 4:30 am.

Unable to get enough rest and sleep in the camp, the lecture period is the period when most corps members sleep.

Everyone who has gone through the compulsory one-year service can relate to this, especially during the Skill Acquision and Entrepreneurship Development  (SAED) classes.

The SAED lectures literally mean Sleep Activated Every Day.