Why our youths refuse to enlist in Nigerian Army - Igbo leaders

Igbo leaders have reacted to a recent concern raised by the Nigerian Army over the low participation of South-East youths in the ongoing recruitment exercise, explaining the reasons behind the development.

On Wednesday, April 16, 2025, the Army announced that only 200 people from the South-East had registered, appealing to the youths to participate in the exercise to fill the region’s quota.

“This programme is necessary because, according to records, only 200 persons have registered from the South-East, while in other states, not less than 4000 persons have registered,” leader of the Army Force Headquarters Recruitment Sensitisation Team, Anambra, Brig.-Gen. Chima Ekeator was quoted as saying.

However, the development has been attributed to historical grievances and systemic marginalisation against the region, according to Igbo leaders who reacted to Ekeator's concern, Vanguard reported.

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They argued that the persisting prejudices arising from the Civil War and perceived injustices being experienced by people from the region have seemingly created a sense of distrust among Igbo youths towards federal institutions, including the military and police.

Why Igbo youths refuse to enlist in Nigerian Army

The founder and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Chekwas Okorie, while lending his voice to the concern, noted that the lack of interest shown by Igbo youths is not only restricted to the Army but also the Police and other federal institutions.

“It’s sad that the lack of interest is being noticed now, it has been there since the end of the Nigerian-Biafran war,” Okorie stated.

He recalled that after the civil war, young Igbo men and women who applied for job opportunities like other Nigerians were turned away, adding that recruiting officers demanded impossible bribes from applicants of the South-East extraction.

According to Okorie, the repeated pattern led Igbo youths to lose interest, with the notion that government jobs, such as the police and military, were not meant for them.

“Gradually, Ndigbo began to look for other means of gainful employment other than federal institutions. So, I am not surprised,” he stated.

Proposing a solution to reverse the trend, the APGA chieftain said, “What the government should do if they are really interested in Igbo people taking up their quota, is to assure them that they will be given the same level playing ground like other people. They will have to make more effort in convincing our youths”.

For his part, the former President of an Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Aka Ikenga, Chief Goddy Uwazurike, toed a totally different line. He said Igbo youths don't regard the armed forces as a credible organisation worthy of their enlistment and ready to lay down their lives for.

“Right now, in Igbo land, the youth fear the armed forces and the police more than they fear the criminal gangs. The armed forces must do more to assure the youth that the armed forces and the police are in Igbo land for the good of the people.

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“The military must be seen as such to be a source of pride for the nations. The same youth eagerly join the armed forces of other countries such as the USA, UK and even Ukraine. Military enlistment must be seen as a professional engagement rather than a last-minute one. In other words, the military must be the pride of the nation,” Uwazurike argued.

Also reacting to the Army's concern, the Coalition of South East Youth Leaders (COSEYL) disclosed that the perception among young people in the South-East is that recruits from the region are disproportionately deployed to volatile areas in the North-East, particularly regions affected by the Boko Haram insurgency.

For Comrade Goodluck Ibem, COSEYL President General, this notion has created fear and discouragement, as many believe that such deployments significantly increase the risk of casualties among soldiers from the South-East.

He also highlighted a combination of political, historical and socio-cultural factors fuelling this hesitancy among Igbo youths regarding enlistment in the armed forces.

“A common sentiment among South East youths is that recruits from their region are more likely to be deployed to high-risk zones, particularly the North East, where Boko Haram and other insurgent groups remain active. This belief — whether fully accurate or not — has been reinforced by stories of young Igbo soldiers losing their lives in these areas. Many see this as an unfair and deliberate pattern, making military service seem like a death sentence rather than an honourable career.

“Many families that lived through the war passed down their distrust for the Nigerian military and federal institutions. This generational trauma has fostered a reluctance among many to serve in a force they feel has historically marginalised their people.

“Ironically, the rising insecurity within the South East has also become a deterrent. With the activities of unknown gunmen, violent enforcement of sit-at-home orders, and general tension around military presence, some young people fear being targeted by their communities for joining the army as being a soldier in the region is sometimes seen as betraying local causes or siding with an oppressive system,” Ibem said.

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