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Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan Ali said hepatitis is responsible for the disqualification of northern youths into Nigerian military.
According to him, most of the Northern applicants seeking to be recruited into the army are rejected because of hepatitis. He therefore urged parents to always allow their children to take hepatitis test before applying.
The Minister who was responding to a listener’s question during a weekly Hausa phone in Programme “Hannu da Yawa”aired on FRCN monitored in Kaduna said hepatitis is treatable.
“Parents, particularly Northerners must take this issue seriously because majority of the youths disqualified during military recruitment are those with hepatitis.
“We need to imbibe the culture of taken our children for testing. Even though, Hepatitis is treatable, military will not recruit any person found with it until it’s cured. Another sickness is hypertension. Today, you will find small children with hypertension.
“All these are responsible for the disqualification because if not treated on time it affects liver. Military is a highly disciplined profession and only those with fitness and healthy get recruited,” he added.
The minister also said he has made submission to minister of health on the high increase of hepatitis among Nigerians in the country so as to find a lasting solution to it.
The minister’s comments came days after an investigation carried out by Daily Trust on the high increase of hepatitis in the country, particularly among northern youths.
DAILY TRUST