The 81 Division, Nigerian Army on Saturday conducted free medical outreach at Ajah Ilaje Community, Lagos State, to commemorate the annual Nigerian Army Day Celebration (NADCEL) marked on July 6.
The Divison’s General Officer Commanding (GOC) Maj.-Gen. Lawrence Fejokwu, said the outreach was part of activities lined up to celebrate the NADCEL in line with the Chief Of Army Staff (COAS) Lt.-Gen. Farouk Yahaya’s directives.
Fejokwu said that NADCEL was a day set aside for the Army to thank God for life and for all the good things they were able to achieve in the course of their operations.
“We are marking the NADCEL with series of activities lined up to culminate in the final celebration which will be on Tuesday and this is one of them.
“We also use this opportunity to come down to the communities so that when they see us on the road, they will not be scared.
“We are friendly as you can see and we will like to mix up with people at every level just like we have decided to come and spend the whole of today with you,” he said.
The GOC said that a mobile hospital was set up so that members of the community could be checked for blood pressure, diabetes, malaria among other ailments.
“We put up a mobile laboratory so that those cases that can be treated right away will be treated here while those that need referrals will be referred to general hospitals,” he said.
Fejokwu said that the medical outreach was also an opportunity for the Army build confidence and solicit information from the community to enable security agencies deal with security threats promptly.
He said that Ajah was a community with a large water body, thereby making it a possible gateway for security threats.
“So, we try to partner with communities along the waterways so that if they see anything, they will report and we will keep an eye on it.
“All this is done with the aim of ensuring that we have a safe 81 Division area of responsibility,” he said.
Four-year-old Miss Sophiat Olowolayemo, a beneficiary of the outreach, thanked the Nigerian Army for the gesture.
Olowolayemo said she was tested for malaria and given antimalarial and deworming drugs.
Also, Mr Benjamin Antigha, an 86- year-old man appreciated the efforts of the Nigerian Army for enabling them to check their health status and how to go about preserving it.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that apartment giving out drugs and other medical consumables, the Army also gave out about 40 bags of rice and other items to the community as part of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
