The National Chief Imam, Sheikh Osmanu Nuhu Sharubutu, has advised the national service personnel in the country to let the spirit of nationalism and patriotism take the centre stage of their life so as to be able to assist in building a just and equitable society.
Sheikh Osmanu Nuhu Sharubutu urged the young people who got the opportunity to undertake the mandatory national service to eschew laziness, apathy, rancor and other negative tendencies that have a potential threat to their future and called on them to give of their best as they serve their country.
The Chief Imam gave the advice when the Executive Director of National Service Scheme (NSS), Mr. Osei Assibey Antwi, paid a courtesy call on him at his office , Fadama in Accra.
The Chief Imam reminded the personnel to use the service they are rendering to prepare themselves for bigger roles in future adding that national service is a transition from youthful student life to a more mature, productive, adult working life.
“They will soon take over from the aged, it, therefore, beholds on them to be dedicated and committed to the national service by learning on the job so as to acquire the work skills and experiences needed for their personal and national development” he added.
The Islamic leader emphasized that, the good work each of them will do could guarantee their success in future.
The purpose of the visit was for Mr. Antwi to officially introduce himself to the National Chief Imam and to seek guidance from the Islamic leader for a successful tenure of office.
He was accompanied by the Deputy Executive Director of NSS in charge of General Services, Mrs. Gifty Oware-Mensah; Deputy Executive Director in charge of Operations, Mr. Kwaku Ohene Gyan; and the Head of Corporate Affairs, Mr. Armstrong Esaah.
The National Chief Imam also advised the youth to be united and stay devoid of hatred and antagonism so as to learn from each other.
Sheikh Osmanu Nuhu Sharubutu further advised the management of the Scheme to develop more innovative modules which will help to build the capacity of the youth for national development.
He said the programmes should be designed in a manner that would help to exploit the potentials of these young graduates in areas where the country required more human resources.
“Since you are posting and training the personnel who are the future leaders for a whole year, it will be proper to pay particular attention to the areas that Ghana is lacking human resources”.
Mr. Osei-Assibey Antwi, for his part, explained that, aside the core mandate of deploying graduates to do one-year mandatory national service, the NSS operates farms and other commercial projects across the country which creates more jobs for the youth and also boost internally generated funds (IGF) for the scheme.
He assured the Chief Imam that his administration would continue to roll out more innovative programmes that would prepare and equip the youth to be ready for the job market.
"The youths from our universities are key partners in the nation building efforts, and Management of the NSS is keen to ensure that their potentials are harnessed to become catalyst for accelerated national development.” Mr. Antwi added.
