There is this particular lady Air force operative that coordinates one of the activities to attract citizen-led support for the marking of the Nigerian military Remembrance Day who actually convinced me to always donate some money to buy the military commemorative badge each time she displays it somewhere in the Central Business District of the Federal capital.
Well, I could see in her that due to her professional discipline, she may be unwilling to let me know her situation of housing as a serving military operative. The above two scenarios came flashing back into my subconsciousness yesterday’s evening when I read a story of the presentation made by the chief of Army staff Lieutenant General Tukur Yusuf Buratai during his duty tour of military housing facilities in the North East of Nigeria and this speech has the central theme that touched on the increasing issue of housing deficits being witnessed by the Armed forces of Nigeria.
These are the clear wordings of the constitution and the aspect that addresses the issue of housing deficit and the necessity for bridging the housing needs of the military can be found in subsection 2 of section 217. Buratai said the insurgency also affected road infrastructure which, he said, also needed to be repaired for smooth counter-insurgency operations as well as return of the Internally Displaced People’s and refugees in the zone.
“In Africa, we recall that Algeria and Kenya have been dealing with the menace of terrorists for quite some time. While the Algerians are just getting off the throes of terrorism, Kenyans are still contending with the deleterious threats of Al Shabaab. Nigerians must realize that the country is not alone in the fight against global terrorism.
But as a leader who feels the pinch of what his foot soldiers go through, he has exposed these challenges so the relevant government authority can holistically look at it and effect remedial measures to provide qualitative housing assets to our combatants who are making the supreme sacrifices for us all.
The article on housing the US Army says too that in addition to the living quarters, most bases feature many amenities and recreational facilities accessible only to military personnel and their families at greatly reduced prices. Some examples include gyms, pools, bowling alleys, movie theaters, riding stables, libraries, camping grounds and golf courses.