Fani-Kayode Replies Tinubu: Nigeria Doesn’t Have Capacity To Recruit 50 Million Youths Into Army

Former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani- Kayode, has described the comment made by former Lagos State Governor and the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as economically unwise.

The former governor made the call during the 12th edition of the Bola Tinubu colloquium which is held annually to celebrate his birthday.

The edition of the event tagged ‘Our Commonwealth: The Imperative of National Cohesion for Growth and Prosperity’ held on Monday in Kano State to mark the 69th birthday celebration of the APC chieftain.

He said, ““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,” Tinubu said, adding that “what they will eat —cassava, corn, yam, will grow here.”

Statistics released by the National Bureau of Statistics revealed that from Nigeria’s 122 million working population over 68.5 million are youths.

About 23 million of the working population are currently unemployed.

Employing 50 million youths in the army means an average of N2.65trn will be spent monthly at the average salary of a recruit which is N53, 000 a month.

Annually, sustaining the 50 million would cost Nigeria at least N31.8trn.

Reacting, Fani- Kayode questioned Nigeria’s capacity to fund such an outrageous employment programme.

He said, “You have asked for 50 million youths to be recruited into the Nigerian Armed Forces and everyone is clapping for you. Do you have 50 million weapons to give them or do you expect them to fight with sticks and stones? 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 and keep them or will they sleep in the streets & fields?

“ Do you have enough vehicles, cars, buses, tanks, planes, fighter jets, boats, battleships, aircraft carriers and submarines or will they walk, jog, swim & fly on a broomstick into battle?”

The former minister also asked whether the chieftain understands the state of the country’s healthcare.

“Do we have enough hospitals to treat them in peace and 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?

He insisted that Nigeria does not need a 50 million army to defeat insurgency, adding that the country needed patriotism and good weapons to defeat the national threat.

He said, “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

“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.”