About 500 people in the Etekwuru community in the Ohaji-Egbema council area of Imo received free medical care from the Nigerian Army on Tuesday.
Brig.-Gen. Sani Sulaiman, commander of the 34 Artillery Brigade of the Nigerian Army in Obinze, Owerri, declared that the events marking the start of the Army’s Exercise Golden Dawn II included the medical outreach in the neighborhood.
Sulaiman said the Army outreach was a component of the Nigerian Army’s corporate social responsibility aimed at easing the hardship of communities in their areas of operation. He was represented by the Brigade’s Acting Garrison Commander, Lt.-Col. Abimbola Abolade.
He commended President Muhammadu Buhari, Lt. Gen. Farouk Yahaya, and Maj. Gen. Umar Musa, the GOC 82 Division of the Nigerian Army, for their dedication to fostering better ties between the armed forces and civilians.
He reassured the neighborhood that the Army will always be dedicated to protecting the lives and property of law-abiding Nigerians.
“Gov. Hope Uzodimma launched off Exercise Golden Dawn II in Imo, and as part of our civic duty, we are here to launch the medical outreach. The Army Boss said.
The Nigerian Army, he continued, “remains committed to the security of lives and property of law-abiding Nigerians and we ask our fellow citizens to support the government’s efforts for a better society.”
A middle-aged woman who received free physiotherapy from the Brigade complimented the Brigade’s medical staff for the relief she felt. Her name is Mrs. Chinwendu Ndukwe.
“With little success, I have been purchasing medications from patent pharmaceutical sellers. But I feel much better now that I’ve had this physical treatment. I’m grateful to the Nigerian Army because I didn’t pay a cent for it, she remarked.
Another beneficiary, Mr. Fidelis Emmanuel, 72, added that the Army outreach was significant because it was something the community had not previously experienced.
Vital body checks, laboratory diagnostics, eye treatment, dental care, and physiotherapy were among the medical treatments provided, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
The Army provided medicinal prescriptions, general medical advice, HIV testing, as well as the distribution of treated mosquito nets amongst others. (NAN)
