B’Haram: Army to begin mass recruitment in May

The Federal Government has given  the armed forces and other security agencies the nod  to embark on mass recruitment.

The PUNCH gathered in Abuja on Sunday that the directive was to give fillip to the war against terrorism in the country.

It was also learnt that those who attended the expanded National Security Council meeting in Abuja on Thursday emphasised the need for the recruitment.

 A highly placed military source said that   President  Goodluck Jonathan  issued the  directive for more recruitment into the army in March after the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen Kenneth Minimah,  had briefed him about the operations of the army.

 The source, who did not want to be named because he was not authorised to speak on the  matter,  said   the army did not  begin   the recruitment immediately because of the need to expand training facilities in parts of the country.

 It was learnt that the army would commence  the recruitment in May 2014.

 Our source said,  “We have in  the pipeline, the plan to recruit. We are holding it because we want to upgrade our facilities.

 “The presidential  directive  to us to recruit was given  in March when the COAS briefed the President. But the  excercise would start next month (May)”

 The source added that  because of  Boko Haram and other security challenges,   the recruitment    would now hold  twice a year unlike in the past when it was done once.

Another source said, “It is true that recruitment has to be beefed up. The Federal Government has granted that request but recruitment is not just the number.

 “You must note that you cannot produce a soldier in three days or  weeks; this is a  serious business involving the requisite facilities for training.

 “If you want to raise your recruitment for instance, from 1,000 recruits to 2, 000 per annum, you must increase the facilities for their training.

 “And I can tell you that it takes time for you to increase such facilities. You see, the issue is that the country has neglected the Army for so long; several public commentators have questioned why public funds should be spent to maintain a large army when there is no war.

 “But is it wise for you to start screaming where are the soldiers when you did not make arrangement for training just because there is a threat now?

 “For you to increase the number of those being recruited, you have to increase the structures for recruitment because as you are recruiting, you are training.

 According to him, the structures  on the ground can only accommodate a   particular number of recruits.

He said that the best the army did last year  was to increase the timing for recruitment.

 “It used to be annual but it  is now going to be  twice a year,” the source added.

 He said that the  recruitment issue was being taken  more seriously because   the  about 150,000 men and officers of the army had come under stress due to the   involvement of some of them  in  internal security operations.

 The source  explained  that the army had assumed some traditional responsibilities of the   Nigerian Police Force,  especially in the North –East  where many  police facilities   had been destroyed by insurgents.

Punch