The Nigerian Army, Department of Transformation and Innovation has organised a sensitisation training on the personnel of 8 Division Headquarters on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in Sokoto state.
Declaring the sensitisation open, the Chief of Army Staff Lietenant General, Faruk Yahaya, said the myriads of security threats in the country have necesitated the deployment of troops alongside other security agencies in various theatres to contain the threats.
According to him, these operations have exerted significant pressure on troops with the resultant effect of high casualty rates, injuries, damage to equipment and accumulated stress as well as other mental health-related disorders such as PTSD.
“It is in recognition of this fact and in Consonance with my Command Philosophy of prioritizing the Nigerian soldier, that I authorized the organization of a maiden PTSD Seminar by the Army Headquarters Department of Transformation and Innovation.
” Subsequently, the Department embarked on sensitization visits and awareness campaigns to formations and units in various operational theatres.
“these visits have raised significant awareness in the management of (PTSD) amongst troops.
” this is premised on our bid in realizing my vision for the Nigerian Army which is a Professional Nigerian Army Ready to Accomplish Assigned Missions within a Joint Environment in Defence of Nigeria,” General Yahaya noted.
He added that recently, the Division experienced a sad incident where a soldier deployed at Forward Operations Base Rabbah killed his colleagues and shot himself.
” while the outcome of the Board of Inquiry is been awaited, it is necessary to reiterated that you closely monitor the actions of your colleagues especially during the conduct of operations.
“this sad event would have been avoided if you have reported the syndrome. You are enjoined to report any observed anomaly in the behavior of your comrades in order to forestall future,” he added.
General Yahaya who was represented by General Officer Commanding 8 Division, Major General Godwin Mutkut, commended the efforts of the Department of Army Transformation and Innovation for organizing this important sensitization that would provide a unique opportunity to understanding issues related to PTSD that would guide management of the syndrome.
In his welcome remarks, the Chief of Transformation and Innovation Nigerian Army Headquarters, Major General Zakari Abubakar, said the sensitization was meant to educate personnel on the issue that lead to trauma, common traumatic experiences in the battle field, causative factors and symptoms of PTSD.
He noted that the emerging security threats have led to the involvement of the Nigerian Army in wide-ranging military operations within the last decade.
“these operations have exposed troops to long periods of duty leading to accumulated stress, traumatic experiences and other conditions prime for PTSD to manifest.
” Consequently, the growing cases of battle stress amongst troops if unattended could lead to PTSD and thus affect the moral and physical components of fighting power,” he said.
He also added that the purpose of this lecture was to afford the Team an opportunity to interact with Officers and Soldiers of the Division in order to ascertain their level of awareness of the disorder and also impact requisite knowledge on the symptoms to look out to assist colleagues affected by (PTSD).
He expressed appreciation to the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Farouk Yahaya, for his support and timely interventions to the Nigerian Army in general.
General Abubakar urged the participants to use the opportunity freely interact, discuss, share ideas and rub minds particularly towards achieving the objectives of the lecture.
