Towards Boosting the Healthcare System of Military Personnel

Towards Boosting the Healthcare System of Military Personnel

By MUKHTAR Ya’u Madobi

Recently, the Chief of Defence Staff, CDS , General Christopher Musa, broke the news that the federal government has allocated special funds for the treatment of Nigerian soldiers wounded in battle fields.

Military personnel are famously known for their sacrifice in abandoning their friends, families and all forms of comfort that life has to offer in order to defend the integrity of the country and ensure that the citizens sleep with their two eyes closed.

In the cause of exercising this constitutional mandate, a lot of them paid the supreme price while a host of others were badly wounded beyond recuperation to their normal self.

Thus, it is in this writer’s opinion that one of the best ways to appreciate these relentless efforts by the military is to provide them with a standard and efficient healthcare system capable of ensuring their well-being and that of their families as such will undoubtedly boost their morale and capacity to secure the nation.

The primary mandate of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, AFN, is to safeguard the citizens lives as well as their properties from any internal or external threats. In order to ensure the proper discharge of this function, the concept of health and wellbeing of the military personnel can never be downplayed.

However, proper health conditions have been impeding their capacity to attain full potential towards achieving overall success in their various missions. For example, many troops serving on the battle front lines across various theaters of wars suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD.

In September 2022, a retired Nigerian Army officer, Brig-Gen. Gbenga Okulate, raised alarm on the need for military authorities and commanders to pay attention to the mental health of soldiers fighting insurgency in the North East, warning that some of them suffer combat related mental disorders in silence.

Recalled that the North East has been the epicenter of terrorist activities since Boko Haram fighters launched an attack against Nigerian state in 2009 with the BAY states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe receiving much of the brunt.

Okulate, who is a specialist on mental and psychological health, noted that the most common mental disorders among soldiers are drug abuse, depression and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), adding that most of the victims do not know about and continue to suffer in silence while still deployed to battle.

He further explained that the victims suffer recurrent thoughts including flash images of combat action, experience nightmares, emotional numbness, bipolar disorders and have even resulted in broken homes as wives of the soldiers complain about change in their behaviour leading to domestic violence and eventually, divorce.

He said: “There have been noted cases of soldiers relying on drugs for agility, competence, boldness during battle. There are also rumours that army commanders give soldiers drugs before they face the enemy.”

Recently, security experts in the country have raised concerns about the declining level of mental health services provided for military and paramilitary agencies engaged in the task of securing lives and properties in the country.

Mr. Chris Ngwodo, who is the Director General Office for the Strategic Preparedness and Resilience (OSPRE), National Early Warning Centre of Nigeria, spoke at a consultative roundtable on mental healthcare for armed forces, security services and law enforcement personnel.

He stressed that there was an urgent need for the security agencies to pool resources in addressing the gap in provision of mental health services.

Over the last decade, Nigeria has faced a myriad of escalating security challenges ranging from insurgency and banditry to violent crime, communal conflicts, and terrorism, which have led to the men and women of Nigeria’s military, security services and law enforcement institutions being tasked like never before in the line of duty.

It is obvious that combating these existential threats often carries the risk of sustaining life-changing injuries, becoming polytraumatized, and developing mental health conditions. This is evident when looking at how some soldiers have been developing some kind of unusual and abnormal attitudes towards their colleagues.

For example, it can be recalled in November 2022 how a soldier went berserk and opened fire on his colleagues, killing one of them and a humanitarian worker in Damboa Local Government Area of Borno. In addition, a co-pilot of a UN helicopter also sustained injuries during the incident.

Also, in March 2023, another soldier fighting Boko Haram insurgents in Ngoshe, Gwoza LGA of Borno state opened fire on his colleague and killed him. The deceased soldier was identified as Private Diko.

Similarly, in August this year, a female soldier identified as Lance Corporal Nkiru shot a senior colleague- a captain at a checkpoint in Yola, Adamawa State, in Northeast Nigeria.

Prior to that, it is still fresh in our minds how in May 2014, the GOC, 7 Division, Maimalari Barracks in Maiduguri, Maj-Gen. Ahmed Mohammed, narrowly escaped death, when soldiers opened fire on his vehicle, when he came to address them.

It is gratifying that the federal government is now upscaling efforts towards improving the healthcare and living conditions of military personnel.

Because, President Bola Tinubu has recently approved N18bn as Group Life Assurance benefits and other entitlements for families of fallen service men and women of the Nigerian Armed Forces.

This development was made known during the launch of the Emblem Appeal Fund for the 2024 Armed Forces Remembrance Day at the Council Chamber of the State House, Abuja.

According to Tinubu, this development was in appreciation of the sacrifices of the men and women of the armed forces and to underscore the government’s commitment to their welfare.

Also, last week while on a tourt to the 231 Battalion and 331 Artillery Regiment in Abogo Largema Military Cantonment, Biu in Borno state, the Chief of Army Staff, COAS, Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja directed that all personnel and their families in the cantonments be enrolled in the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) under the Cantonment Medical Reception Station (MRS) to enable them access free medical care, adding that capitation depends on the number of enrollees.

This development is avowed to CDS Musa commitment to ensuring that troops of the Nigerian Armed Forces get adequate welfare and best treatment for its wounded soldiers, even if it requires being flown abroad. He made this known when he visited wounded soldiers receiving treatment at 44 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital, Kaduna, in August 2023.

“We are ready to ensure at all costs that they get the best treatment…Even if it will take us taking them abroad for treatment for other surgeries that cannot be done here, we will do that,” he added.

The armed forces serve as the first line of defence against security threats to the nation, thus, improving their well-being, mental and psychological health is a stepping stone towards ensuring national security.

*MUKHTAR is the author of a book on “National Security Strategy” and is a staff writer with the Emergency Digest.*