Yahaya Bello tasks army chief on insecurity

Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi has urged the Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, to step up action to end the menace of insecurity in different parts of the country.

Bello made the call at the ground breaking for the Nigerian Army Officers Wives Association (NAOWA) Wellness Centre on Monday in Abuja.

Bello also urged the Nigerian army to deal decisively with criminals, who had taken up arms against the state and had subjected the nation to unnecessary spending

The governor also called on government to make available, adequate resources for the armed forces to take care of their personnel to serve the country better.

“There are a lot of conflicts that are going on today and I know that Nigerian armed forces are not weak armed forces. The Nigerian armed forces are strong, capable and able.

“Please end this thing now, help to resolve this problem and deal decisively with the criminals who take arms against the state.

“Let our men in uniform be safe and secure, finish the job and return to their wives and children.

“I want to sincerely appreciate the good works that you have started so far and we will continue to support you and give you all the necessary encouragement,” he said.

Bello, while commending NAOWA for the initiative to establish the wellness centre, pledged to support the project ‘handsomely’.

According to him, the centre is a well thought out programme that will take care of the welfare and wellbeing of the personnel as well as civilians.

He said that mental and physical health largely affected youths and women, adding that those that suffered the consequences of war and conflicts were mostly youths and women.

“Those that will die may have died but those that will suffer it are those that are living,” he said..

Also, the Chairman, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) retired Brig.-Gen. Buba Marwa said that NDLEA would partner NOAWA to ensure speedy completion of the project as well as provide counselling services at the centre.

Marwa said that the impact of drug abuse on women was huge, adding that the centre would support the fight against drug abuse in the country.

Dr Nneka Unaogu, a Mental Health Specialist, said that mental health could include anxiety related and stress disorder which she said could be handled through adequate counselling.

Unaogu said that humans with brains sometimes developed mental health issues, adding that proper management was key.

It was reported that the groundbreaking also attracted donations in hundreds of millions of naira by state governments, corporate organisations and individuals.

The multimillion naira wellness centre project is expected to be completed in six months.