The Headquarters 31 Artillery Brigade Minna, on Thursday, conducted medical outreach for residents of Pogo Community in Paikoro Local Government Area of Niger State.
The outreach is part of activities marking the 2023 Nigerian Army Day Celebration (NADCEL).
The Brigade Commander, Brig.-Gen. Hamidu Bobbo, said the gesture was part of the military tradition of offering humanitarian services to civilians to foster cordial relationship and cooperation.
Bobo said the Nigerian army was not only engaged in military operations but also other activities such as the medical outreach to support the civil populace.
“We intend to say thank you to the community for the support they have been given us during our operations and we came with our professionals, our experts to conduct certain minor basic tests.
“We have mix of some basic drugs to tell the committee thank you, keep on supporting us, we are your army. The Nigerian army is for the public and we intend to put in our best in whatever capacity we found ourselves.
“It is part of what we call civil-military relationship and there is no society where the military lives on its own or the civilians on their own.
“So our intention here is to tell the populace that we are for them,” he said.
The commander added that the team comprised is of a medical consultant and doctor who would examine patients and administer free drugs.
He said that referral would be made to the Medical Center at the barracks as well as to general hospital for cases requiring further examination.
One of the beneficiaries, Mr Tukura Zakari, appreciated the Nigerian army for the gesture, saying that he had his blood pressure checked and provided with free drugs.
According to him, the intervention of the army has helped him to save a lot of money, which would have been spent if he had gone to hospital.
“We appreciate them for what they have done to us and we pray that God continues to enrich them and continues to move them forward,” he said.
