Why Should We Recruit 50m Soldiers When Existing Ones Haven’t Been Cared For, Shehu Sani Tells Tinubu

Shehu Sani, senator who represented Kaduna Central at the national assembly, has tackled Bola Tinubu, national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), over his call to the Federal Government to recruit 50 million youths into the army, to address insecurity in the country.

“We are under-policed and we are competing with armed robbers and bandits to recruit from the youths who are unemployed —33 per cent unemployed?

“Recruit 50 million youths into the army. What they will eat —cassava, corn, yam, will grow here,” Tinubu had said at the 12th Colloquium to celebrate his 69th birthday in Kano on Monday.

However, Sani, in a Twitter post on Tuesday, said the call is not feasible, noting that the 150,000 soldiers already on Nigeria’s payroll have not been adequately catered for.

He wrote: “If we have not been able to adequately cater for our 150k soldiers, how do we handle and cater for 50 million armed soldiers on our payroll?”

If we have not been able to adequately cater for Our 150k Soldiers,how do we handle and cater for 50 million armed Soldiers on our payroll?

— Senator Shehu Sani (@ShehuSani) March 30, 2021

Also, former minister of aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, disagreed with the former Lagos governor, saying what matters is not the size of the army, but patriotism and love for the country.

Fani-Kayode also stated that the country does not have adequate military hardware.

“Do you have hundreds of millions of dollars to pay them or will they fight for free? Do you have enough food to feed them or will they fight on empty stomachs? Do you have enough accommodation to house & keep them or will they sleep in the streets and fields?

You have asked for 50 million youths to be recruited into the Nigerian Armed Forces & everyone is clapping for you. Do you have 50 million weapons to give them or do you expect them to fight with sticks & stones?Do you have hundreds of millions of dollars to pay them or will..1/ pic.twitter.com/ZPvtH0CW2p

— Femi Fani-Kayode (@realFFK) March 30, 2021

“Do you have enough vehicles, cars, buses, tanks, planes, fighter jets, boats, battle ships, aircraft carriers & submarines or will they walk, jog, swim & fly on a broomstick into battle? Do you have enough hospitals to treat them in peace & war time or will you fly them abroad for treatment after they fall sick or have been blown up in battle by rocket propelled launchers and land mines?

..If we really want to win the war against terror & save lives it is not about the number of soldiers we have but about the political will, patriotism, love for country & courage that our Government & every single one of us as citizens must cultivate and display as a people. 6/ pic.twitter.com/EhXVylXtKj

— Femi Fani-Kayode (@realFFK) March 30, 2021

“Let us get real! It is not the size of the Army that counts or the number of soldiers you have but rather their fighting capability, professionalism, patriotism, discipline, training, logistics, supply lines, support and weaponry.”

He added: “If you put all the number of military personnel together from the countries of the entire developed world, including Europe, America, Russia, China, Israel, Brazil, Egypt and Turkey, they do not number up to 50 million troops. Let us stop running around in circles.

“If we really want to win the war against terror and save lives it is not about the number of soldiers we have but about the political will, patriotism, love for country and courage that our Government & every single one of us as citizens must cultivate and display as a people.

“Without any or all of those noble qualities we do not have a hope in hell of winning any war, let alone one that is being waged against the first and fourth most deadly terrorist organisations in the world like Boko Haram and the Fulani herdsmen.”