The Nigerian Army has raised concerns over the significantly low enlistment of youths from the Southeast region, urging a shift in mindset to address the ongoing issue during the 2025 recruitment process.
Brigadier-General Chima Ekeator, head of the Army’s 2025 recruitment enlightenment team, highlighted the stark contrast in recruitment numbers between the Southeast and other regions of Nigeria.
While Kaduna State has seen over 3,000 applicants for the ongoing recruitment drive, Enugu State, in the heart of the Southeast, has only managed to secure around 100 applications, a number Ekeator described as inadequate.
Speaking at a town hall meeting in Enugu, attended by local government chairmen, traditional rulers, and thought leaders from the region, Ekeator made an impassioned call for more youths in the Southeast to participate in the recruitment process.
He noted that the region’s poor performance in recruitment was an ongoing issue, with Enugu State, for example, being allocated 200 slots in past recruitment cycles, yet failing to fill even half of them.
Ekeator’s remarks underscored the long-standing challenge of underrepresentation from the Southeast in the military. “Each year, whenever a slot is being allocated to our people, we keep noticing that the number of applicants from our side is usually very poor,” he said.
The general further revealed that the Army was facing a shortage of candidates from the region, with concerns that the Southeast might fail to meet its required recruitment quota if the trend continues.
The Brigadier-General called for a collective effort to encourage more youths from the Southeast to apply.
“Today’s statistics on the number of applicants show that Kaduna has about 3,000 applicants, while Enugu is still battling with about a hundred. By the time we complete screening, there won’t be enough applicants to recruit from the state,” Ekeator warned.
Addressing misconceptions about the Southeast’s representation in the military, Ekeator refuted rumors claiming that people from the region were being disproportionately sent to battlefronts and were being killed at a higher rate. He emphasized that such claims were false and damaging.
“There are a lot of falsehoods out there, stating that the Igbo are being killed because they are the first to be sent to the battlefield. These things are not true. After all, we who are here have risen high in the Army and we are telling you that they are lies,” he clarified.
To reinforce his point, Ekeator highlighted the example of Chibueze Ogbuabor, a prominent Southeast officer who currently holds a top position in charge of equipment within the Nigerian Army. This was meant to showcase the ongoing contributions and successes of Southeast personnel in the military.
In response to the low enlistment numbers, Enugu State’s Commissioner for Youths and Sports Development, Mr. Lloyd Ekweremadu, expressed regret over the persistence of the issue despite continuous efforts to reverse it.
The Commissioner stressed the importance of the military in shaping the future of Nigerian youths and urged the people of the Southeast to reconsider their stance on military service, emphasizing that it offered opportunities for growth and national service.
The Nigerian Army’s plea for increased participation from Southeast youths is a call to action for both local leaders and young people in the region to seize the opportunity to serve their country and fill the recruitment slots allocated to them.
The outcome of the current recruitment process could have significant implications for the Southeast’s future representation in the military.
