Military Salary Hike Sparks Mixed Reactions as South-East Youths Weigh Enlistment

Military Salary Hike Sparks Mixed Reactions as South-East Youths Weigh Enlistment

Young men in Nigeria’s South-East are reconsidering military enlistment following President Bola Tinubu’s approval of an 80% salary increase for junior ranks, though deep-seated distrust and historical grievances continue to shape attitudes toward service in the region. The Federal Government approved a salary increment of between 30 and 80 per cent for personnel of the Nigerian Armed Forces, effective September 1, 2026. The decision increased the annual wage bill of the forces from N660 billion to N924 billion, adding N264 billion in personnel expenditure. Approximately 250,000 officers and soldiers will benefit from the new pay structure. Under the new salary structure, junior personnel from Private to Staff Sergeant will receive the highest adjustment of 80 per cent. Middle-level personnel and non-commissioned officers, from Warrant Officer to Colonel, will enjoy a 50 per cent increase, while officers above the rank of Colonel will receive a 30 per cent salary increase. The government also approved the recruitment of 28,000 new personnel into the armed forces and the creation of additional military divisions, as part of the Strategic Force Expansion Initiative aimed at strengthening operational capacity against terrorism, insurgency, banditry, kidnapping and other security threats.

While some young men in the region view the salary increase as an incentive to enlist, others remain reluctant due to concerns about career prospects, safety and the legacy of past military actions. Stephen Ezike, a bucket hawker from Okpoto in Ebonyi State, said he never wanted to join the military because his uncle 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. 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, who sells used shoes, said with the increment, he would like to join the military. “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 would like her son to join, referring to two brothers who are Major Generals in the military. “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.”

READ ALSO:

• Osun Account Freeze: EFCC Insists It Has 72-Hour Power Without Court Order
• Osun Election: ‘Prepare to Sign Your Uncle as Dancer’ — Uzodimma Fires Back at Davido
• Abuja Earth Tremor: Minister Orders Hourly Monitoring, Assures Residents of Safety

Military authorities have repeatedly expressed concern over low enlistment in the South-East. Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu, speaking at the passing-out parade of 2,989 recruits at the Amasiri-Edda Depot, directly appealed to Ndigbo to embrace military service. “To Ndi-Igbo, I wish to urge you to encourage your youths to take up their rightful place in the defence of our fatherland. For some time now, the recruitment quota for this zone has not been fully utilised. That should not continue. Military service is not just a career but an honourable endeavour of patriotism, leadership, and national contribution.” COAS Olufemi Oluyede, during an engagement with stakeholders in Umuahia, Abia State, similarly warned that when allocated slots are left vacant, they are eventually taken up by qualified applicants from other parts of the country, reducing the region’s representation in the Nigerian Army. The Nigerian Army has intensified its recruitment sensitisation campaign in the region, establishing the Amasiri-Edda Recruit Training Depot in Ebonyi State – the Army’s third training depot nationwide and the first in the South-East. The depot became operational on November 25, 2025. The Ebonyi graduates are part of the first batch of 14,000 out of 28,000 new soldiers approved by President Tinubu under the Federal Government’s Armed Forces Expansion Initiative.

A retired Assistant Commandant General of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, Mr Edwin Ugwuja, said the increment would boost enlistment of South-East youths in the military. According to him, their aversion to the military stemmed from poor remuneration. “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.” 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.”

Aloy Ejimakor, Special Counsel to detained IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu, has argued that the reluctance of Igbo youths to enlist stems from distrust of the military rather than a lack of courage. “The reluctance of Igbo youths to enlist in the Nigerian armed forces is not a deficit of valour, but a calculated refusal to serve an institution they deeply mistrust. Historically and presently, Ndigbo face systematic marginalisation within an ethnically unbalanced leadership structure in Nigeria’s security services.” Ejimakor pointed to the anti-Igbo killings by soldiers in Northern Nigeria in 1967 as an “unhealed wound” that has been “constantly reopened” by more recent incidents. He also noted that South-East youths are unsettled by the integration of “repentant” Boko Haram fighters into the military.

The Labour Party and the Obidient Movement have questioned the motive behind the salary increase, despite acknowledging its benefits. The National Publicity Secretary of the Labour Party, Ken Asogwa, described the decision as overdue but suggested it was politically motivated. “It looks like it’s a political move done to score some political points.” However, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu praised the salary increase, describing it as a timely intervention that reflects the Federal Government’s commitment to improving the welfare of military personnel. Defence Minister General Christopher Musa (rtd) also expressed gratitude to the President, describing the move as a major boost to troop morale.

Military Salary Hike Sparks Mixed Reactions as South-East Youths Weigh Enlistment