The Nigerian Army has urged youngsters in Abia State and throughout the South-East to answer the national call to service by joining the military.

The request was made on Thursday in Umuahia during the first round of an awareness campaign coordinated by the Army’s Department of Civil-Military Affairs.

The program brought together young people, traditional rulers, and leaders from civil society groups. Speaking at the event, retired Major General Gold Chibuisi, the guest lecturer, urged South-East youths to reconsider their stance on military service and look into the various career opportunities available in the Army, such as medicine, law, engineering, and other professional fields.

He dismissed concerns about suspected profiling of Igbo soldiers and said that soldiers from specific regions are intentionally dispatched to the most dangerous battlefronts.

Chibuisi promised participants that soldiers from the South-East will have equal possibilities for welfare, job advancement, and promotion, while also encouraging parents to encourage their children who want to join the military.

Also speaking to the audience, retired Major General Chukwunedum Abraham said that recent recruitment statistics showed poor participation from South-East states. According to him, Imo State had only 671 applicants, while Ebonyi State had 428, which he described as significantly fewer than other geographical zones.

In his remarks, Maj. Gen. Musa Awwal Etsu-Ndagi, Chief of Civil-Military Affairs, noted that the awareness campaign was created to educate adolescents and community leaders about Army opportunities and to dispel myths about the military institution.

Meanwhile, Abia State Governor Alex Otti renewed his call for the state’s youngsters to seek military service. He voiced concern about Abia’s continually low application numbers during Army recruitment drills.

Otti, on the other hand, expressed optimism that the awareness campaign will help shift the narrative and encourage more young people in the state to join the Nigerian Army.

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