Some young men of Nigeria’s Southeast extraction say they are considering joining the military following the recent increase in the salaries of the rank and file of the soldiers by the federal government.
THE WHISTLER recalled that President Bola Tinubu approved a salary increment of between 30 and 80 percent for men and officers of the Nigerian Armed Forces, effective September 1, 2026. The decision increased the annual wage bill of the forces from N660bn to N924bn. The federal government also approved the recruitment of fresh 28, 000 personnel into the armed forces, and creation of additional four military divisions.
Hitherto, the enlistment of youths of the region in the military had been characterised by lukewarm attitudes. Those that spoke with our correspondent in Enugu said the increment would attract many of them to the military; others however remained reluctant.
Stephen Ezike is from Okpoto in Ivo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State. Steven hawks plastic buckets on the streets of Enugu. He said he never wanted to join the military because his uncle retired from the Nigerian Army without building a house.
According to him, “He retired without building a house. He kept complaining that the injury he sustained in active service did not allow him to serve at war fronts where he could have gotten better allowances. My uncle currently works as a security man at a private university along Enugu-Abakaliki Road. He struggles to train his children. I hawk buckets, but I have built a house. I don’t want a job that I don’t know when I will die or not, and no guarantee that my children will go to school if I die early.”
Ebubeagu Okoye sells used shoes. He said with the increment, he will like to join the military. He said, “Joining may not even be easy as such because there will be competition. Unemployment is much. Many will like to join. Because of the activities of bandits, the need for more recruitment has arisen. I will join because I’m a patriotic Nigerian. Let them also make entrance to the Nigerian Defence Academy easy for everybody. Rich men’s children go through NDA, and become officers. Ordinary Nigerians start as privates. That should stop if the military career is all about patriotism.”
Mrs Dorothy Ekwueme said she likes her son to join. She referred to two brothers who are Major Generals in the military, and prayed her son to become like them.
“These brothers are doing fine; we respect them. I like my son to become a soldier. But I don’t want my son to go to war. The way soldiers die makes me sad. Before, any place a soldier is attacked would be in trouble. Today, even Generals die carelessly.”
A retired Assistant Commandant General of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, Mr Edwin Ugwuja, said the increment would boost the enlistment of South-East youths in the military. According to him, their aversion to the military stemmed from poor remuneration.
He said, “These youths understand the tenets of businesses. With the popular Igbo apprenticeship system, the young ones get established within some years. They will feel more comfortable to answer their own bosses than undergoing military assignments. But apart from serving your country as patriots, the military serves as an employment platform. The increment will boost the morale of the personnel and strength of troops who are fighting banditry and insurgency. If you don’t have enough men on ground, you can’t tackle insecurity. The criminals move in thousands. If you see their motorcycles moving, you will marvel. The increment will also reduce unemployment.”
Dr Obi Eze, an industrial psychologist, called for more sensitisation to encourage Igbo youths to join the military. “Some parents still recollect the episodes of the Biafran War. Some young ones read negative literature of the war. They need to be informed that the military is a noble profession, established as a patriotic institution to preserve Nigeria’s unity. Check it, there are many children of senior military officers in the military. If it were a bad career, you wouldn’t have seen them there. I commend the FG for increasing their take-home. They deserve even more to discourage bad eggs among them from engaging in nefarious activities.”
