Nigerian Army personnel in 81 Division, on Saturday defiled early morning showers to engage in environmental sanitation in some major locations of Lagos metropolis.
Areas where dust bins were cleared, gutters packed of refuses and the streets swept included Tinubu Square and Idumota market; Olowu in Ipodo market at Ikeja and Sabo at Ikorodu.
Flagging off the exercise on behalf of Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt Gen Tukur Buratai at the Tinubu Square, the Chief of Army Standards and Evaluation, Maj Gen Adekunle Shodunke said the sanitation exercise was part of Corporate Social Responsibility and in commemoration with the Nigerian Army Day Celebration (NADCEL) 2019.
Gen Shodunke explained that “We are here for environmental sanitation and the exercise is in line with our programme for the Nigerian Army Day Celebration, which is an annual event that culminates in the final event on 6 July.
“We are here for environment sanitation and the exercise is in line with our programme for the Nigerian Army Day Celebration, which is an annual event that culminates in the final event on 6 July.
“We are part of the civil society and we see this exercise as part of our Corperate Social Responsibility to help clean the environment to make it better than we met it. Besides this, we shall also be having free medical outreach.
He called on the residents to take a cue from the Nigerian Army and make their dwelling places conducive for human habitation.
“We don’t want to force people to do what they are supposed to do but I feel people with conscience can live up to their responsibilities by knowing that disposing refuse indiscriminately is bad.”
On fulfilling its cardinal objectives, Gen Shodunke obeserved that “One of the pillars of COAS vision is to have effective civil-military relations. We are not in contention with any government agency hence we are collaborating with the government of Lagos State and its agencies. Therefore, whatever the Lagos state government is doing is in tendem with the vision of the Chief of Army Staff,” he added.
Responding to the clean-up exercise, one of the business men at Olowu street who floats “Peace & Love Fashion,” Mr Peace Onyejekwe, expressed joy and satisfaction with the quality of clean up carried out by men of the Nigerian Army at Olowu in Ipodo, Ikeja.
He said, “I was very happy when I saw men of the Nigerian Army this morning digging out refuses from the gutters despite the pungent odour. I must commend their efforts in this exercise and pray to God for their protection to do more. They really surprised me.
“For a very time, these gutters have remained littered with dirts. We hope that government agency would compliment their efforts through regular clean up of this nature,” Peace noted.
Also, Mrs Fumilayo Adetona, a trader at Olowu market prayed for the personnel of the Nigerian Army to have chosen their market for the clean up exercise, wishing that an exercise of this nature should be carried out regularly.
The sanitation exercise, as part of events lined up for NADCEL 2019, also took place in other states of the country with thousands of soldiers participating.