Effective Recruitment Process And  Performance Of The Nigerian Army

Recruitment of competent personnel is regarded as vital for

any public organisation (both civilian and military) to achieve

its stated goals. Due to the plural nature of Nigeria, the

constitution requires that Federal Character Principle and

competence are emphasized in the recruitment of personnel

of the Nigeria Army. However, it has been shown that despite

several recruitment exercises over the years, personnel of

Nigerian Army have been performing below expectation,

especially in terms of combating terrorism, banditry and

other security challenges. The study therefore examined the

relationship between effective recruitment process and

performance of Officers and Men of the Nigerian Army. The

study adopted survey research design. The population was

Personnel of the 1 and 2 Divisions of the Nigerian Army. The

sample size was 400 set using Taro Yamane formular.

Validated questionnaire was instrument of data collection.

Descriptive and inferential statistics were employed in

analysis of data. The study found that there was significant

relationship between the efficient recruitment process and

performance of the Nigerian Army (r=0.769), P=0.000.

Military recruitment was highly selective and subject to a

constitutional mandate (X=4.5) and recruitment and

selection processes in the Nigerian Army were politicised

(X=4.3). The study concluded that there was significant

relationship between the efficient recruitment process and

performance of personnel of the Nigerian Army. It is

recommended that the National Assembly and the Federal

Character commission should ensure strict compliance with

Federal Character Principle alongside selection of competent

persons in recruitment into the Nigerian Army

Keywords: Effective recruitment process, federal character principle, Nigerian Army, Officers and men, Performance,