COAS Lt. Gen. Faruk Yahaya
Army recruitment call to national duty, not job opportunity – COAS Yahaya
Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Faruk Yahaya, has warned that recruitment into the force was not a job opportunity for the general public, but a call to national duty.
A statement by the Director Army Public Relations, Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu, quoted the COAS as making the disclosure, last Saturday, shortly before flagging off a 10Km endurance run for candidates undergoing screening to qualify for the 84 Regular Recruits Intake into the Nigerian Army (NA) at the Nigerian Army Battle Fitness Centre (NABFC) in Falgore forest, Kano.
‘Unlike other professions, recruitment into the NA is a national call to defend the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Nigeria and therefore requires citizens who are not only physically and medically fit, but also mentally and emotionally stable,’ Gen. Yahaya said.
According to him, ‘it is not a job opportunity, but a call to national service, as it requires selflessness and if need be, the supreme sacrifice, stressing, it is not an all comers’ affair.’
The COAS, therefore, advised candidates to take the screening seriously, as only the best will emerge in the final enlistment.
Gen Yahaya further admonished personnel conducting the screening exercise to protect their integrity by avoiding any form of compromise.
Speaking during a brief on the ongoing Screening Exercise to the COAS, the Chief of Administration (Army), Maj Gen Wilson Ali, stated that the progressive provision of infrastructure, such as electricity, portable water, upgrade of medical centre, dormitories and lavatories in the centre, enabled a conducive environment to effectively conduct the exercise. He assured the COAS of a hitch free screening exercise.
The COAS later embarked on a tour of the facility and paid a visit to candidates who were receiving attention at the medical centre.
Gen. Yahaya was accompanied during the tour by Principal Staff Officers from the Army Headquarters, GOC 1 Division, Commandant Depot NA and Commander 3 Brigade.
