Impact and longevity are not necessarily mutually inclusive. Their exclusivity permits the liberty of one to blossom without the other. While it is true that both can go together, it is credibly arguable that influence is not essentially a function of how long a man lives, occupies a position or stays on a job. The lives of Anne Frank and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr are a testament to this assertion.
If we feel detached from faraway heroes and trailblazers, then there is Brig-Gen. Y.D. Ahmed, the 22nd Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC.) His impact within a remarkably short period of as DG compels us to believe that one does not need a four-year term to effect changes.
His official assumption of duty was on 30th January, 2023, a year plus now, and he has been able to etch his name on the pages of history, not being an alien to history himself. A graduate of History with double Master’s, one in Peace and Strategic Studies and the other in Educational Psychology, the amiable DG also holds a Doctorate in Educational Psychology. He has dutifully combined his staggering responsibilities- the discipline of the military and the rigour of the academic- with a family intact.
Somewhere I read, “The world stands aside to let anyone pass who knows where he is going.” The DG blazes the trail in this regard. He is history’s blue-eyed boy, seeing it has lined up with him as the 22nd DG of a Scheme formed on the 22nd May, 1973. It is no mere coincidence to have him at the helm of affairs during the fiftieth anniversary of the Scheme. Nature searches out her worthies and confers on them proportional honour, so the Golden Boy meritoriously leads the Golden Jubilee parade.
A robust policy thrust lends credence to his single mindedness and versatility. Among others, the DG sets out to improve the security and welfare of corps members and staff to engender optimal service delivery to the nation. This is eloquently justified by the release of the kidnapped corps members and the N70,000.00 allowance underway. History, you must remember, aligns with historians. The DG commits to providing enabling environment for research and development for the advancement of the Scheme, as it strengthens stakeholders’ engagement for the promotion of the frontiers of the Scheme. There is also the enhancement of capacity building to stimulate efficiency and higher corporate efficiency and higher corporate performance, coupled with deepening the impact of the Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) programme.
Now, it is easy to come up with what can be the figment of of one’s imagination, but to intentionally pursue a cause to a logical and laudable conclusion requires genius. And the DG is a genius of novelty and a visionary of enviable renown. This piece will not, in all honesty, be able to contain the array of his achievements, hence the selection of a few.
The colossus has sponsored ten members of staff in the Directorate Cadre to attend Non-Kinetic Operations Co-ordination Course organized by the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) between 11th and 12th September, 2023, the first of its kind in the history of the Scheme. His short time in office (still counting) has seen the resumption of Orientation Camp activities in Borno State with the 2023 Batch “B” Stream II, and this feat comes after many years of discontinued camp activities due to insecurity. Locked within the loins of the DG is heroism born out of sheer courage. He inaugurated a new Orientation Camp in Bayelsa State on February 12, 2023, completed and equipped the NYSC Skill Acquisition Centre in Potiskum, Yobe State, completed and commissioned the new ICT Centre at the NDHQ in May 2023, secured approval for the establishment of NYSC Technical College in Gombe State, funded and sustained the NYSC Half Hour on NTA International, renewed the MoU with Capital Express on corps members’ life insurance, among several noble others- all within the space of a year and some months, what will only practically happen in a lifetime for others.
Deservedly awarded with the African Youth Icon of the Year by the West African Youth Parliament, the DG also towers as the Icon of Women Empowerment and Education in Nigeria, 2023. The militant-mentor has in addition been conferred with the Lifetime Achievement Award for Contributions to the Development of University Education in Nigeria on the Scheme by the Committee of Vice Chancellors of Nigerian Universities.
Truly, he has espoused to the letter how to obey the clarion call, whether in the sun or in the rain. Every sane youth with a sense of duty must queue behind the icon, borrowing a leaf.
Such is the glowing and growing impact of the person, the professional and the pioneer.