By Joy Odor Reportcircle News
In a powerful signal of how far Borno State has travelled from the dark years of insurgency, the Theatre Commander of Joint Task Force North East, Operation HADIN KAI, Major General Abdulsalam Abubakar, has thrown the full weight of the Nigerian military behind the renewed operations of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in the state.
At the Theatre Command Headquarters in Maiduguri, what began as a routine courtesy visit on Thursday quickly transformed into a strategic security parley on youth safety, national unity and the fragile peace now reshaping Nigeria’s former epicentre of terror.
General Abubakar gave the assurance when the Borno State NYSC Coordinator, Mallam Nasir Bello, led his management team to formally engage the military leadership, an engagement that now carries far-reaching implications for youth deployment, elections and civil-military cooperation in the North East.
For years, Borno was off-limits to large-scale NYSC deployment as an insurgency made youth service a near-death assignment.
Today, the return of full orientation camps has become one of the strongest indicators that the security tide has turned.
“The successful return of NYSC camps to Borno is proof that the environment is stabilising,” General Abubakar declared. “And we will do everything necessary to ensure that corps members remain safe.”
He described the NYSC as a cornerstone of national integration and warned that protecting corps members is now a strategic national duty, not just a routine security obligation.
With local government elections approaching, the Theatre Commander stressed that the safety and welfare of corps members and election personnel remain non-negotiable priorities under Operation HADIN KAI.
Beyond ceremonial speeches, the meeting marked a renewed security pact between Nigeria’s war-fighting command in the North East and the country’s most symbolic youth institution.
General Abubakar assured the NYSC leadership that:
Military protection will remain active around NYSC camps
Corps members on field assignments will continue to receive security support
Civil-military collaboration will be deepened in vulnerable communities
“The Command is always open to support the scheme at all times,” he said.
Speaking earlier, Mallam Nasir Bello, who assumed office in April 2025, said his visit was both symbolic and strategic.
He formally reintroduced himself to the military high command and reaffirmed that the NYSC is now fully operational again across Borno State.
“There was a time we had to suspend activities because of insurgency,” Bello recalled. “Today, we are back because security has improved.”
In a moment that drew knowing nods from military officers, Bello described the NYSC as “a baby of the Nigerian Army”, an institution molded and protected by the military since its birth after the civil war.
He appealed for sustained protection of corps members, noting that young Nigerians posted to Borno are not just serving the nation they are testing the strength of Nigeria’s post-insurgency recovery.
The visit ended with the signing of the visitors’ register, presentation of souvenirs and group photographs but its political and security meaning runs far deeper.
In a state once defined by suicide bombings, mass displacement and school shutdowns, the open deployment of corps members now represents something more potent than policy:
It is a declaration that civic life is returning under the shield of military dominance.
With Operation HADIN KAI tightening its grip on remaining terror cells and NYSC fully reintegrated into Borno’s civic landscape, Nigeria is witnessing a rare convergence of security recovery and youth national service in a region long written off as ungovernable.
For the first time in years, thousands of young Nigerians may now serve in Borno without the shadow of terror hanging permanently over their helmets.
And for the Nigerian military, the message is clear:
Winning the war is no longer just about defeating terrorists, it is about protecting the future.
