Recruit Arewa Youths To Fight Boko Hram, Stop Disturbing Igbo – Ohaneze Warns Army

The Nigerian Army has been warned against recruiting Igbo youths to fight Boko Haram in the Northeast.

The warning was given by the Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide, OYC and was contained in a statement signed by OYC

President-General, Okechukwu Isiguzoro and Secretary-General, Okwu Nnabuike, and made available to newsmen.

The group made this known in reaction to a recent recruitment exercise announced by the army’s Director of Recruitment Resettlement and Reserves, Brig-Gen Emmanuel Akpan.

The Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Tukur Buratai, had said the army will embark on the recruitment of Nigerian youths to enable it to fight insurgency in the Northeast.

Buratai made this known through the Brig. Gen. Akpan, on Wednesday.

The Ndigbo Youth, therefore, said that if the army is recruiting solely for the purpose of fighting Boko Haram, it should recruit youths from the North as the Igbo youths are not comfortable with such recruitment.

The Igbo youth organization said it is suspicious of such “obnoxious recruitment” in the South East, rather than in the North – the epicentre of the insurgency or South West.

According to OYC, “such recruitment is a death verdict for any intending youth waiting to be recruited solely to fight insurgents in Northeast insurgents, insisting that Operations Shege Ka Fassa, the Civilian JTF, the repented Boko Haram insurgents, Meyatti Allah and Arewa youths should be instead, recruited massively to fight the insurgents.”

The apex Igbo organization advised Igbo youths to be engaged in community policing or regional arrangements, adding that “there are various recruitment exercises going on in various states in the South East regards to engaging youths to tackle insecurity challenges in the South East.”