The Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brig.-Gen. Olakunle Nafiu, has urged corps members to cultivate a savings culture and develop multiple streams of income beyond their monthly allowance.
Speaking at the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum in Abuja on Wednesday ahead of NYSC’s 53rd anniversary scheduled for May 22, Nafiu emphasized the importance of financial discipline and entrepreneurship. He highlighted the role of the NYSC Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) programme in promoting self-reliance.
“We encourage them to save and think beyond monthly allowance. If you cannot save from N77,000, even if you are paid N300,000, you may still struggle to save,” he said.
According to him, the scheme has continued sensitizing corps members on entrepreneurship, small business development, and opportunities in the digital economy, including remote jobs and online service delivery for international organisations. He noted that small businesses and private enterprises, not government, are the highest employers of labour worldwide.
Nafiu revealed that more than one million corps members had been documented with the Corporate Affairs Commission through NYSC-supported initiatives aimed at promoting entrepreneurship and formal business registration nationwide. He added that NYSC recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Enterprise Development Centre of Pan-Atlantic University to digitalise entrepreneurship training, enabling corps members to access online courses regardless of their posting.
He explained that NYSC Ventures had expanded operations through investments in farms, bakeries, and water factories where corps members gain practical industry experience. “Even if they do not continue those businesses later, they leave with valuable entrepreneurial and management skills,” he said.
Nafiu also encouraged corps members to explore opportunities within the digital economy, stressing that many young Nigerians earn legitimate incomes remotely through jobs such as data entry and online support services. He dismissed stereotypes linking youth success to internet fraud, saying, “Sometimes it is simply about ideas and awareness, and that is what we are exposing corps members to.”
He further noted that the proposed NYSC Trust Fund would strengthen skills acquisition, entrepreneurship development, staff training, and ICT infrastructure while improving support for corps members pursuing viable business ventures after national service.
