The 2026 Miss World Nigeria, Tamunosoye Karibi-George, has sought the support of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) for her youth empowerment initiative focused on skills acquisition and entrepreneurship.
Karibi-George made the request during a courtesy visit to the NYSC Director-General, Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu, at the NYSC National Directorate Headquarters in Abuja.
According to information shared by the NYSC, the beauty queen, who is also a former Corps Member, disclosed that her pet project currently operates a skills centre in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, where young men and women are trained in fashion design.
She appealed to the NYSC leadership to support the initiative and approve visits by her and her team to orientation camps across the country. The visits, she said, would provide an opportunity to encourage Corps Members to embrace skills acquisition and entrepreneurship.
Karibi-George also invited the NYSC Director-General, staff and Corps Members to her national send-forth ceremony scheduled for August 5, 2026, at the Transcorp Hilton in Abuja.
Reflecting on her own experience as a Corps Member, she said her participation in the NYSC Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) programme inspired her to establish the fashion design centre.
“Director General Sir, while in camp at NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp, Kubwa-Abuja in 2021, I participated actively in SAED training and this gave me the impetus to establish a fashion design centre in Port Harcourt,” she said.
She explained that the centre provides practical training for young people and supports successful participants with start-up kits to help them establish their businesses.
“We have been training youth at the centre and giving them start-up kits at the end of their training. We don’t give them money so as to avoid the temptation of them diverting it into another use than the business we train them for,” she stated.
Responding, Nafiu commended the Miss World Nigeria for investing in youth empowerment and promoting entrepreneurship among young Nigerians.
The NYSC Director-General noted that her initiative aligns with the objectives of the SAED programme, which was established to equip Corps Members with practical skills that can help them become self-reliant and create employment opportunities.
He assured her of the NYSC’s willingness to collaborate on initiatives aimed at encouraging more young Nigerians to acquire entrepreneurial skills, describing skills acquisition and entrepreneurship as important tools in tackling poverty.
“As an institution, we introduced SAED in 2012 having realized that government alone cannot provide jobs for the ever increasing number of young graduates annually,” Nafiu said.
He encouraged Corps Members to acquire at least one practical skill during their orientation period and continue developing it after completing their service.
“We encourage Corps Members to pick up at least one skill during the Orientation period and nurture same afterwards, in addition to the certificates they obtained from school, in order to have multiple streams of income,” he added.
Nafiu also congratulated Karibi-George on her emergence as the 2026 Miss World Nigeria, succeeding Joy Mojisola Raimi, and encouraged her to prepare for the 73rd Miss World Festival, where she is expected to represent Nigeria in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
“As we wish you a very successful outing at the global fiesta, we want to assure you of our moral support and prayers,” he said.
The NYSC chief expressed pride in Karibi-George’s connection to the scheme, noting that she completed her national service a few years ago.
“We are particularly proud of you because we see you as a member of the NYSC having passed out from National Service just 4 /5 years ago,” he added.
Nafiu further described her participation in the international pageant as an opportunity to promote Nigeria’s rich cultural heritage on the global stage, noting that such representation contributes to the country’s cultural diplomacy.
