South East Youths Urged To Embrace Army Recruitment

The Nigerian Army has renewed appeals to youths across the South East to stop boycotting its recruitment exercises and seize the employment and career opportunities available in the force.
At a recent awareness programme in Umuahia, Abia State, senior officers and invited resource persons expressed concern that the region continues to record some of the poorest enlistment figures in the country despite having dedicated recruitment slots each year.

The sensitisation event, organised by the Army’s Department of Civil-Military Affairs, drew youths, traditional rulers, parents and civil society representatives from Abia and other South East states.​

Delivering a lecture at the forum, retired Major General Gold Chibuisi urged young people from the region to rethink their attitude towards military service and explore the wide range of professional careers now available in the Army, including medicine, law, engineering and other specialised fields.

He dismissed long‑running fears that Igbo officers are deliberately profiled or deployed disproportionately to dangerous fronts, insisting that personnel from all parts of the country enjoy the same terms of service, welfare and promotion prospects.

Chibuisi also appealed to parents and community leaders to stop discouraging interested youths from joining the military.
According to him, persistent suspicion about the federal security establishment, as well as misinformation and secessionist rhetoric, have contributed to the low numbers of applicants from the South East…

He argued that greater participation in the armed forces would give the region a stronger voice in national security decision‑making and help address feelings of marginalisation.

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Another retired senior officer, Major General Chukwunedum Abraham, highlighted recent recruitment statistics which he described as “worrying”.​
He revealed that Imo State produced only 671 applicants in a recent exercise, while Ebonyi recorded 428 candidates, figures that fall far below turnout from several other geopolitical zones.​

Separate data from earlier campaigns showed that Abia, which at one point received nearly 200 available slots, was only able to fill 53 positions, leaving the remainder to be taken up by applicants from outside the region.

Army officials warned that such trends mean South East states are continuously forfeiting positions that “rightly belong to them” in the military.

The Chief of Civil-Military Affairs, Major General Musa Awwal Etsu‑Ndagi, explained that the awareness drive is part of a broader strategy to bridge the trust gap between the military and communities in the region.​

He said the outreach aims to educate youths on recruitment procedures, correct the impression that the process is manipulated, and reassure them that the Army is open to all qualified Nigerians irrespective of ethnic or religious background.

According to him, the campaign will be sustained in South East states until enlistment figures reflect the quotas allocated to the zone.

Abia State Governor, Dr Alex Otti, who hosted one of the Army teams in Umuahia, echoed the call for a change of attitude among young people.

He lamented that Abia has repeatedly ranked low in national recruitment exercises, despite high youth unemployment and complaints of exclusion from federal structures.

Otti commended the Army for taking the initiative to engage directly with local leaders and pledged the support of his administration to help mobilise eligible candidates.

Beyond Abia, military authorities have been touring other South East capitals, including Enugu, to press home the same message.​
Brigadier General Chima Ekeator, who led a 2025 recruitment awareness team to the region, noted that while northern states such as Kaduna have recorded over 3,000 applications, some South East states are still struggling to cross the 100‑applicant mark.​

He urged traditional rulers, local government officials and youth organisations to actively encourage interested candidates and to help them overcome bureaucratic hurdles such as endorsements and documentation.​

Security analysts say the reluctance of many South East youths to join the armed forces is fuelled by a mix of historical grievances, fear of deployment to conflict zones and persistent campaigns by separatist groups, which often warn against enlisting in federal security agencies.​

They warn that if the current trend continues, the region could further weaken its representation within the country’s security architecture at a time of heightened national security challenges.​

Army officials, however, insist that increasing the number of South East personnel in uniform will not only provide jobs and skills to young people, but also help build confidence, improve community‑military relations and ensure that the interests of the region are better reflected in security operations.