Nigeria recruiting job-seekers as security personnel, says Zulum

Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State has stated that Nigeria cannot get the required commitment and dedication from its security personnel as long as it continues recruiting job-seekers.

Zulum stated this, yesterday, evening while delivering a lecture at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Plateau State.

One of the major problems of security agencies in recent time was politicisation of the recruitment process, he asserted.

He said: “The major problem is the recruitment process. Those being recruited into the Nigerian Army, police and other security agencies are job-seekers. Many of them are there because they don’t have jobs. Those enlisted 20 ago are performing well, but these people (nowadays recruits) are looking for employment only; so there’s no commitment and dedication.”

State police, the governor said, will worsen the security challenges in the country, adding that the implication had to be examined before it could be embraced.

“Honestly, I, Babagana Zulum, will not support it, not because I don’t like it, but because of the implication. Nigeria is not mature for state police; some state governors can use it to wipe away other tribes aside theirs. So, we have to be very careful.”

According to him, Nigeria did not have effective monitoring mechanism to check all the anomalies in the government.

“Nigeria needs to establish an independent monitoring mechanism that can provide adequate check and balance for the country to move forward.

“Unless we get it right, nothing will happen in this country. If we want to make progress, we must ensure that we pick the best (soldiers). If not, we shall continue to recruit the dull ones. We must engage those that can deliver because we have a lot of competent Nigerians.”