DETERMINED to make Enugu a clean city, officers and men of the 82 Division of the Nigerian Army, Enugu, last Saturday, moved out in their large number to carry out environmental sanitation exercise. They also carried out free medical treatment to residents of the town and its environs.
Tagging the exercise, ‘Know your Blood Pressure: Avoid Silent Killers’, the army
moved to some communities within and around Enugu metropolis clearing and removing debris in the streets and roads.
The exercise, which was part of the activities selected to mark Nigerian Army Day Celebration (NADCEL) 2016 saw the officers and soldiers moving to the Old Artisan Market, Nigerian Railway
Corporation, Enugu North Local Government Area while the free medical outreach was held at Umuatugbuoma, Akegbe-Ugwu and Awkunanaw in Nkanu West Local Government Area of the state.
The traditional ruler of Umuatugbuoma Autonomous Community, Igwe Okechukwu Nwobodo expressed his happiness towards the free medical outreach brought by 82 Division to his community.
One of the beneficiaries from the free medical treatment, Nnamchi John Ogbodo, described the exercise as a marvelous one.
“It is what the Federal Republic of Nigeria should be doing to the rural areas like ours. Sometimes, we do not have access to medications because of some certain limitations of life, but this army team brought it to us, to our door step. It is a marvelous thing. “We appreciate it and it’s worthy of emulation by other organisations and we appreciate the move without reservations”, he added.
The leader of the Medical Team, 82 Division, Medical Services and Hospital, Colonel Olufunke Omoyemi Kayode, told newsmen that their choice of selecting the community by the team was based on the fact that no medical centre was very close to them.
“By the grace of God, we’ve really achieved a lot. So far, we have identified a lot of cases, both medical and surgical cases, and we have treated a lot of them”.
She explained that the team was divided into sections like dental care, eye care, general medical care as well as HIV testing and counseling unit.
“We are really making progress. We have seen cases that have stayed for a very long period which ought to have been reported to the hospital, but maybe because of Health Centre not being closer to them and we have identified some of them.”
“We have also identified about two cases we cannot handle here and we’ve given them appointment to come to the hospital on Monday”, she added.
In a statement signed by Captain P E Okoye on behalf of the General Officer Commanding (GOC), 82 Division, Nigerian Army, Enugu, Major General Ibrahim Attahiru, “the exercise is in line with the
Nigerian Army compassion for offering humanitarian services in the health sector to communities around its barracks and its environs.
“The main event, which is scheduled to hold on 6th July 2016 motivated the sanitation exercise, free medical outreach among series of other activities earmarked for the occasion”, he added.
He explained that the activities would provide the usual platform to further strengthen the long standing Civil Military Relations between 82 Division of the Nigerian Army and its host communities.
and then