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Boko Haram: APF offers 100 IDPs free medical services in Lagos
By OKOSUN DENNIS
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from Gwoza, Borno state benefited from a free medical service offered by African Partnership Flight on Friday in Lagos.
The victims numbering about 100 including men, women and children throng Sam Ethnan Airforce Base Ikeja Lagos, venue of the event, were mainly people displaced by Boko Haram insurgents at Gwoza in Borno State.
National Daily gathered that the free medical treatment was part of activities by the force ending the African Partnership Flight (APF) programme which started from August 14 to August 18, 2017.
The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadiq Abubakar said the APF was designed to build strong partnership to foster regional stability and security.
Represented by the Air Officer Commanding, (AOC) Logistics Command, Air Vice Marshal Ibrahim Yahaya, reiterated that the exercise was also to foster security through formal alliances, partnership and exchange of ideas among African air forces.
“I strongly believe that the specific objectives of this five-day event which culminated in a free medical outreach to about 100 IDPs have been largely achieved.
“I hope you will utilise the knowledge acquired to enhance the present effort at providing appropriate medical care in and outside the theatre of operation in the sub-region particularly to counter insurgency operation in Lake Chad region and North Eastern Nigeria.
“I applaud the United State Air Forces Europe Command for selecting Nigeria to co-host this event and to our sister African countries for coming here to share their experiences,” he said.
The Minister of Defence, Brig Gen Mansur Dan-Ali, (retd) who was Special Guest of Honour, said that the motivation of the programme was aimed at capacity building and mutual cooperation.
The Defence Minister was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Ambassador Danjuma Sheni.
He explained that the success in overcoming various security challenges confronting African countries depended on joint operation with neighbouring and allied countries.
“This is more so as the enemy in today’s wars appear to be largely the same, terrorism, and its range of operation cuts across boundaries of nations.
“Immediate examples are the Boko Haram and Al-shabbab insurgencies in the North East Nigeria and East Africa respectively.
“As sister and allied nations, we must therefore begin to evolve ways of thinking and training together, developing common doctrines and harnessing human and material resources to achieve set objective,” he reiterated.
According the Defence Minister, training programme like this was one of the ways to enhance interoperability.
“I am pleased that some participants from the Lake Chad basin countries which constitute the multinational joint task force that was created to confront the challenges of Boko Haram insurgents took part in this programme.
“I believe your participation will augur well for the success of our operation against the Boko Haram insurgents,” he said.
The United States team leader and the Commanding Officer, California National Guard, Major General David Baldwin expressed satisfaction with the training programme while the same time commended officers and men of the NAF for their brilliance during the five-day programme.
One of the displaced persons who benefited from the medical outreach, Mr Abdulazeez Aliyu, expressed happiness for the gesture and prayed that the force would continue to succeed in its constitutional roles.
IDPs were rendered free medical checkups and consultations, laboratory investigations, malaria and blood sugar tests, provision of drugs, eye examination as well as issuance of free eye glasses including the distribution of treated mosquito nets to the IDPs.
African countries like Chad, Niger and Benin Republic participated in the US-backed APF – a multilateral military-to-military engagement designed to boost African cooperation in aviation.