‘Mandatory Military Service Can Help Win The War Against Insecurity in Nigeria’ – M.S Abubakar

Author Mohammed Sani Abubakar has said mandatory military service can make a difference in the fight against insecurity in Nigeria.

The concept of mandatory military service obligates the citizens of a nation of a certain age and above to undergo military training and combat readiness against future conflicts. This service is required in countries like South Korea, where citizens, regardless of social class or status, serve 18 to 21 months of military service.

Many may argue that, surrounded by enemy countries such as North Korea, and its former colonisers Japan and China, South Korea’s choice of mandatory military service is non-negotiable, but not in Nigeria.

However, Abubakar believes that mandatory military service does two key things: first, it raises Nigerians’ awareness of the magnitude of the present insecurity challenges (including terrorism and banditry) it’s battling; and second, it equips locals with the capacity to ‘deter or defend attacks’.

The author noted that while Nigeria may not be surrounded by enemy countries, it is, however, confronting ‘low intensity conflict’ – which has led, and still leads to an increasingly high loss of lives and livelihoods in a fourth of the six geopolitical zones of the country.

“That the media downplays this doesn’t change the fact. We are simply in a war situation. Nigeria requires mandatory military service because the numerical strength of our armed forces, which is 230,000 to 230,000,000 is quite weak.

“The population lacks basic self-defense skills. We don’t even know how to react in situations of attack, or how to collaborate with the security agencies to safeguard our societies.”

But mandatory military service, he said, will not only make citizens aware of the level of insecurity in the nation, but arm them with the capability to be combat-ready, and to deter or engage the enemy when their communities are attacked.

How will this happen?

Through the author’s propounded 5-step process outlined in Chapter 4 of his book, ‘Serving the Nation: Exploring Mandatory Military Service for Nigerian Youths’, including Training Objectives, Training Components, Training Methodology, Training Infrastructure, and Training Staff. Under Training Components – he outlines the process of undertaking the mandatory military service, whereby once a citizen clocks 18 years before matriculating to higher education must enroll for a six-to-one-year mandatory military service, after which they can continue on with their trade or education.

While in service, they will learn via the training components, physical training, military drill and discipline, basic firearms training, first aid and emergency, map reading and navigation, patrol procedures and tactics, leadership and teamwork, and finally, national values and ethics.

Abubakar’s admirable recommendations, affirmed by 71.2 percent of the 330 Nigerians via a Google Survey, raise more questions. How will the country fund this venture when it can barely fund its present security agencies, including the army, to fight insecurity? How will it ensure that the knowledge gained by citizens during service is not grossly misused?

Abubakar insists that the programme is fundable by the government if it eschews monumental corruption, block leakages and wastages of financial resources. Then, it can easily channel funds where necessary and establish a ‘Mandatory Military Service Fund’.

He added that although, as with all things, there’s bound to be a few ‘bad eggs’, the positive results from such a programme far outweigh the negatives.

Moreover, mandatory military service, he said, will “indoctrinate future Nigerians with the ethos and values of what it means to be a Nigerian.

“Presently, most Nigerians don’t really see themselves as Nigerians at the onset, but rather as either Yoruba, Hausa, Igala, or even a Christian or a Muslim. Thus, we define ourselves using an ethnoreligious lens, which is totally wrong. The Pledge says, “I pledge to Nigeria, my country,” not my tribe or my religion.

Conversely, the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Waidi Shuaibu, noted that the security architecture of a nation is shaped by context, contexts that include “constitutional arrangements, security environments, economic capacity and societal expectations. More so, complex security challenges rarely yield to singular solutions.”

He added that Nigeria’s security model, which includes voluntary and professional Armed Forces, defends the nation’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, is supported by civil authorities, and civic national services such as the National Youth Service Corps to promote national integration and youth engagement across the federation.

Constitution-wise, Nigeria has no law supporting mandatory civil service. Besides, “policy choices must balance ambition with feasibility and national aspiration with institutional readiness”.

Shuaibu affirmed that the federal government recognizes that scholarly inquiry and public dialogue are indispensable to policy evolution.

“In this regard, the publication being presented today represents a commendable effort to stimulate evidence-based discussion on an issue of strategic relevance,” he concluded.

‘Serving the Nation: Exploring Mandatory Military Service for Nigerian Youths’ is written by Mr Mohammed Sani Abubakar, published by Sprezzatura Publishing Limited, and publicly presented on February 20, 2026.