The human side of Buratai

At the heels of the news of Nigerian Army abandoning wounded soldiers fighting the insurgency in the North East, I saw the picture of a Nigerian soldier in need of urgent medical help avoid losing his sight after a significant accident with his weapon somewhere in the northeast. It was such a gory sight. The […]

At the heels of the news of Nigerian Army abandoning wounded soldiers fighting the insurgency in the North East, I saw the picture of a Nigerian soldier in need of urgent medical help avoid losing his sight after a significant accident with his weapon somewhere in the northeast. It was such a gory sight. The report stated that he needed a Cornea Implant to save his sight. The report indicated that this incident happened in Buni Yadi, Yobe State, from where he was transferred to 7 Div. Military Hospital Maiduguri, from there to 44 Army Reference Hospital, Kaduna and finally to the Indian Thelish Hospital, Kaduna.

I found that report somewhat curious because I was in the know of the case. The individual that posted the picture apparently did out of ignorance, because the wounded soldier in question has been given the needed medical attention at private eye facility in Kaduna.

For the records, to say that the soldier was abandoned is quite uncharitable and the height of mischief. I dare to say that nothing of such happened. Even the mere sequence of events would suggest that the soldier was never abandoned. This incident occurred in Yobe state; he was moved to the 7 Div. Reference Hospital in Maiduguri, Borno State. After examination, the soldier was again transferred to the 44 Army Reference Hospital in Kaduna for further care.

It was on the strength of the medical advice of the medical director of the hospital that the soldier was moved to a private facility for specialist care. Now tell me, if the Nigerian Army were not interested in his case or abandoned as the writer posited, would he end up in a private medical facility? Your guess is as good as mine. I think we must be careful not to wipe up unnecessary sentiments especially on the social media space. I am quite convinced that the writer didn’t do enough research on this case. If not, he won’t mislead the public.

As someone who is conversant with military operations, I think I can tell a significant difference between the Army of then and now under the leadership of Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai. You could question everything about the Chief of Army Staff, but you cannot doubt his commitment to the welfare of his soldiers been an infantry general himself. Are we not witness to situations where he regularly organizes get-together events for wounded soldiers during festive periods like Sallah, Easter, and Christmas to motivate the soldiers who were fighting the insurgency, and also an expression of love to the wounded soldiers and their families? Are we even aware that only in January 2018, the Nigerian Army proposed the establishment of a Military tertiary hospital in Sokoto State to handle complex military medical cases? These are many more are the hallmark of the Nigerian Army under Lt. Gen. Buratai.

I dare say that the welfare records in the present administration are quite enviable. I will give some examples of care for wounded soldiers. Seven injured soldiers referred to the 68 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital (NARH), Yaba, from the Northeast, were flown abroad for advance treatment this year. Also injured soldiers from the 44 Army Reference Hospital, Kaduna were also slated for advanced medical treatment. In my opinion, this has just been the norm under Gen. Buratai. For him, it comes naturally. One could say government procedures are always slow, but again in the words of the Acting Medical Director of 68 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital, Yaba Lagos, it doesn’t take up to a week for the army chief to approve medical cases that reach his table.

For cases that can be handled in Nigeria, attention is given, for cases that are complicated, the wounded are evacuated.  Like I mentioned earlier, the Army Chief regularly pays an unscheduled visit to Nigerian Army personnel wounded in action from the northeast on hospital admission, and he has always made it a point of duty to visit troops recuperating in the hospital whenever he visits any military location. This is a fact that can be verified.

And just another demonstration of the commitment of Gen. Buratai to the welfare of his troops in the northeast, only some days ago, he graciously approved special promotion for 3,729 military personnel fighting insurgency in the northeast. In 2017, he approved the exclusive promotion of 6,199 soldiers fighting the insurgency in the northeast. Even though I know that sometimes some mischief makers are always out to defamed, castigated, persecuted and even insult his person, I still admire him because, yet his spirit remains unbroken and resolute, waxing stronger against enemies of his fatherland.

The passion of Gen. Buratai for not only the professional development of the troops but also providing for their welfare within the available resources is motivating to say the least. The Army has been reinvigorated since he assumed leadership. Little wonder why he is dubbed the soldiers general. As a general, he sure knows how to keep the morale of his soldiers high. And one of them is never to abandon them in times of need. And not when it is a medical case. For the Army Chief, it is a case of a General and his soldiers. Let no man put asunder.

Coker, a medical practitioner, wrote this piece from Abuja