Shuaibu Ibrahim, the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) director-general, has urged corps members to use social media to promote national unity, warning that it “can bring down” Nigeria.

The NYSC boss made the call through the coordinator of NYSC in Cross River, Zemoh Andrew, on Tuesday during the swearing-in ceremony for the 2021 Batch C Stream 1 corps members at the NYSC camp in Obubra local government area.

“You are aware that social media can bring down a nation as a result of the risk of inaccurate reporting and loss of privacy, and that can be embarrassing and can harm any organisation’s corporate image,” said Mr Ibrahim. “I urge you to use social media to promote national unity, rather than using it to spread rumour and hatred.”

The director-general commended the corps members for their orderly conduct while encouraging them to continue demonstrating a high level of discipline and enthusiasm throughout the camping period.

On the NYSC Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) programme, Mr Ibrahim explained that white-collar jobs are hard to come by. According to him, the empowerment of corps members for self-employment and wealth creation has been a significant area of focus for the scheme since 2012.

“I, therefore, encourage you to stay off the long queue of job seekers by choosing from the various skills sets,” he said.

The NYSC chief also called on the corps members to adhere strictly to COVID-19 safety protocols while in camp.

(NAN)