The senator representing Anambra South, Emma Nwachukwu, has highlighted what he called a worrisome development concerning the deliberate decision of Igbo youths to shun recruitment into the military.
He warned that if the trend continues, there won’t be military officers of Igbo extraction in the Nigerian Armed Forces very soon.
Nwachukwu, who briefed his constituents at his country home in Ukpor, Nnewi South Local Government Area of Anambra State, said that because of the seriousness of the issue, several stakeholders have opened platforms to convince and explain to Igbo youths the need to enlist in the Armed Forces to fill the South-East quota and progress professionally.
“You know that there are recruitments in the Armed Forces and the police, but unfortunately our youths are not keen on working in the Armed Forces. The media should encourage our young people to please apply for these positions.
“During interactions, I found out that our youths are afraid of joining the military because they are afraid of being posted to the Boko Haram areas.
“But the calamity of such decision is that in a few years time, we won’t have officers of Igbo extraction in the Army, the Navy and the Air Force and when that happens, we will be shouting of marginalisation.
“This is the time to reach out to our young people and encourage them to take advantage of those openings in the security forces so that we will be fully represented.
“We try most of the time to put this matter in our social platforms to reach out to them, but because we feel the media is closer to the people, we want you to help us push the information to them,” the senator said.
On the 2027 election, Nwachukwu said that the ruling All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, in Anambra State is very confident of winning the 44 positions the party will contest.
“We are presenting candidates for the three senatorial seats, 11 House of Representatives seats and 30 House of Assembly seats and our party is determined to win all the seats.
“We have been having strategic meetings and putting all the plans in place to make sure that it would not be like the previous election.
“With the work Governor Chukwuma Soludo has done in the state, APGA has further been entrenched in the minds of Anambra people and I believe that come January 16, the governor, the national chairman and other leaders of our party will reap the fruits of their efforts,” he added.
He explained that within his short tenure in the senate, he has been able to establish a cordial relationship between Anambra federal lawmakers and the state government.
He, however, noted that more needs to be done to give the youths stable jobs to enable them build meaningful careers in the civil service.
“Continuity is an opportunity for one to complete what he has started and I plead with Anambra South constituents to give me the opportunity to serve them more and build a stronger and more prosperous Anambra State,” he said.
Igbo won’t have military officers soon if youths continue to shun recruitment – Sen Nwachukwu