The First Lady, Aisha, has narrated what it has been like being the wife of President Muhammadu Buhari from the time she married him at the age of 19.

“It is a reality that soldiers and military families have to live with challenge, despite its negative consequences.

“Being a soldier’s wife or a retired soldier’s wife and a wellness expert, I understand the challenges associated with PTSD and its impact on military families and the nation.

“My husband served the Nigerian Army for 27 years before he was overthrown in a coup d’état. He fought civil war for 30 months without rehabilitation; he ruled Nigeria for 20 months and was detained for 40 months without disclosing the nature of his offence.

“One year after he came out from detention, we were married, I clocked 19 years in his house as his wife, legitimately. I suffered the consequences of PTSD, because having gone through all these, and at the age of 19, to handle somebody, who was a former Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of Nigeria’s Armed Forces, to tell him that he is wrong is the first mistake you will make.”

“I want to thank DEPOWA for this foresighted vision of establishing a Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Centre for our soldiers. Indeed, PTSD is a mental health condition triggered by terrifying events.

Aisha spoke yesterday, October 4, as a special guest of honour at the ground-breaking ceremony for the Armed Forces Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Centre (AFPTSDC), initiated by the Mrs. Lucky Irabor-led Defence and Police Officers’ Wives Association (DEPOWA).

Aisha said that she suffered the consequences of PSTD at an early stage in her marriage to the president.

“So, at the age of 19, I had to figure out how to tell somebody of his calibre that he was wrong or right and that was the beginning of my offence in his house, and contesting elections in 2003 and failed, 2007, failed and 2011, the same thing – all without rehabilitation – I became a physiotherapist.

“Finally, the whole nation rose against the misuse of power and bad governance. He only succeeded when it became a movement and here we are today. He ruled Nigeria before and he is ruling Nigeria now and this is the last time and final.

“Failing election for three times was a big blow to every contestant but those that have contested for just yesterday, a simple primary election, they are still living in a traumatic condition, I tried to console them, I tried to talk to them, some of them have switched off their phones up till today, just because of a primary election.

“You can imagine myself at 19 years, handling somebody that went to war, suffered coup d’état, then lost several elections, and, finally, getting to the Villa in the 2015. Also, for a woman to tell them that this is wrong or right in Nigeria and Africa is a problem.”

She commended the sacrifices made by members of the armed forces and their contributions to nation building, saying: “In that case, I want to use this opportunity to appreciate members of the Armed Forces of Nigeria for their sacrifices and contributions to nation building.

“The fallen Heroes remain evergreen in our minds and many with us are wounded physically and mentally. I want to appreciate their wives and families; I want to let them know that the whole nation is with them.”

Aisha said that the PTSD centre was important to members of the armed forces and beyond, stressing that soldiers were the primary victims.

“This centre is timely, as PTSD is a problem that really deserved solution of this nature, and providing facilities for treatment and rehabilitation of patients is key.

“Therefore, fund raising is not the solution, the solution is the federal government that sent them to war front to take responsibility in taking care of the mental health of returnees from war front. PTSD cuts across all ages.”

The president’s wife, then, halted the scheduled fund raising for the project and pledged that the presidency and the armed forces would take it over.

“I thank DEPOWA for this initiative and the military establishment for supporting them. I call on them to ensure that this centre provides quality and sustained care for soldiers that suffer from PTSD.

“It is the responsibility of the whole armed forces to extract from their budget and build this centre. Mrs Irabor, it is no longer your project; it is my project and the project of Mr. President, we are going to work round the clock to make sure that it is completed and commissioned before we leave office.”

President of DEPOWA, Mrs. Vickie Irabor, said the centre was born out of compassion for families of soldiers and research conducted by the association.

“We have identified the extraordinary challenges being faced by officers and soldiers on the frontlines in securing our nation by fighting terrorism, banditry, and other societal ills. Some of these challenges range from physical injuries, mental health issues, and sometimes, sadly, paying the supreme price in the defence of our dear nation Nigeria.

“While we have hospitals to take care of physical injuries, we have realised that there is a huge gap in mental health responses globally, including Nigeria, especially, in the treatment, management, and rehabilitation of PTSD, faced by families in the armed forces.

“In response to these issues, DEPOWA, under my leadership, decided to pursue the implementation of a novel, first-of-its-kind, Legacy-based Armed Forces PTSD Centre. When completed, the centre will help evaluate, counsel, and provide adequate support to personnel and, by extension, their families before reintegration from conflict zones.

“It will also help to enhance national, regional, and global stability, as well as help, boost military capability to continue to deal with all forms of insecurity. I believe that establishing this facility will be a step in ensuring the stability of military families post-conflict engagements and encouragement to officers and soldiers that help is available should they need it after assignments. The facility will also serve as a repository for future research on mental health challenges in the Armed Forces of Nigeria.”

The event was attended by former President of Malawi, Dr Joyce Banda; Vice President of Liberia, Dr Jewel Howard-Taylor; Member, UK House of Lords, Baroness Sandy Verma; Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum; Minister of Defence, Maj-Gen Bashir Magashi (rtd); Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Lucky Irabor; and the service chiefs.

Source: THISDAY.

“Presenting Obi as a (Presidential) candidate (of the Labour Party (LP) is what any rational human being should not even think about.

“Presenting Obi as a candidate; a man who failed in Anambra. Nothing to show for in Anambra and that is the best Igbos can present. I feel sorry for Igbos.”

These were the words of the former Niger Delta militant leader, Asari Dokubo while reacting to members of Peter Obi Movement that threatened him.

He said: “anybody who talks you abuse them…you can’t abuse me. You can’t do me anything. If you come I go pursue you. Me na Tinubu I dey o. Na Tinubu go win this election o. Obi self no go carry third. I be coward? I dey here.

“Obi is going nowhere. This your Obi movement is a joke.”

According to Dokubo, Peter Obi should be in jail for investing the funds of the Anambra State government while he was a Governor.

He queried Obi’s movement on claim of staging two million-man match in a fifteen thousand capacity Jos stadium.

“In fifteen thousand capacity stadium and you held a 2 million-man match? You people should stop lying.”

The Federal Government has dealt a mighty blow on the embattled Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) by giving official recognition to splinter groups; the Congress of University Academics (CONUA) and the National Association of Medical and Dental Academics (NAMDA).

The new university-based academic unions were presented with certificates of registration yesterday, October 4, at the Conference Room of the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, who announced this in his office in Abuja, said the two unions would operate along with ASUU, whose members have been on strike, abandoning classrooms in the last more than seven months.

Reacting to the development, the National Coordinator of the Congress of University Academics, CONUA, Dr. Niyi Sunmonu, described the registration of the body as historic.

Sunmonu in a statement said: “The registration of the Congress of University Academics, CONUA, as a trade union in the Nigerian university system is monumentally historic.

“The hurdles we have faced to get here, since 2018 when we submitted our application for registration, have been seemingly insurmountable. The registration is, therefore, the validation of the power of the human will. It asserts the value of courage, initiative, focus, tenacity, patience, forbearance and persistent positive thinking.

“We are immensely grateful to the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, and his team of diligent staff for insisting on merit, due process and thoroughness all through the processing of our application for the registration of CONUA. “The very strict and dispassionate review of our application brought out the best in the membership of the union.

“We regard the registration of CONUA as a sacred trust and pledge to reciprocate by devoting ourselves unceasingly to the advancement of university education in this country. We will make the details of our programmes available to the public in due course.
“For now, we are giving the assurance that we will work to ensure that the nation is not traumatised again by academic unions’ dislocations in the country’s public universities.

“We are also deeply grateful to the numerous personalities and well-wishers whose good counsel and concrete actions have facilitated the success we have witnessed today. We believe in the saying that to whom much is given, much is expected. We will, therefore, constantly strive to make them all proud of CONUA.

“We appreciate the entire membership of the union for believing in the righteousness of the CONUA cause and for believing in the leadership of the union, and thereby remaining salutarily steadfast, even when disconcerting and demoralising situations arose.

“In this journey, the invaluable role of the media cannot be discounted. We are truly grateful to the media and look forward to furthering mutually beneficial interactions as we strive for the development of this nation. Above all, we are absolutely grateful to Almighty God for granting us this grace.”

It will be recalled that public universities in the country have been shut down since February,14, as ASUU proceeded on a one-month warning strike, which later snowballed into an indefinite strike.

In 2016, the Obafemi Awolowo University, OAU, Ile-Ife chapter of ASUU was enmeshed in a crisis and as usual, leaders and members of the union took the matter to the national leadership for resolution.
However, instead of the crisis being resolved, some of the members felt the national leadership took sides with the leaders of the local chapter that they had grouse with.
The issues dragged till 2018 and when the aggrieved members waited endlessly for a solution that did not come, they formed CONUA.
Since it was formed, it struggled to get registered until that was done yesterday.
The body now has members in 12 universities across the country, including OAU, Federal University, Lokoja, Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo State, Federal University, and Oye-Ekiti in Ekiti State, among others.
The incessant face-off between ASUU and the government no doubt hastened the registration of CONUA.

The Federal Government has given assurance that the second Niger Bridge will be ready for use by Christmas this year.

Ag Controller of Works in Anambra, Mr Seyi Martins, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Awka today, October 3, said that the first phase of the Bridge, measuring 1.6km, has reached 95 per cent completion.

The Controller said that contrary to the news making the round that the project would be ready by 2024, it would be ready for use for travelers during Christmas, saying that President Muhammadu Buhari administration is determined to ensure that travelers enjoyed stress free motoring over the River Niger.

He assured that motorists that they would not be subjected to gridlock experienced on the existing bridge during Christmas this year.

“The first phase of the project, which was the bridge itself, is substantially completed.

“The bridge project is 95 per cent complete and it is expected to be ready by December 2022.

“The steel guard rails are complete, the roads are set for vehicle traffic; the toll plaza area is almost completed, and what is left is the installation of toll booth canopies.”

The Controller said that the bridge could be accessed from the interchange at Obosi on the Onitsha-Owerri road and that a road was being constructed to connect traffic on the Asaba-Benin expressway to it pending the completion of the second phase.

“The second phase of the project is yet to commence, but the government has deemed it fit that upon completion of the first phase it will be open to traffic.

“At the Onitsha end, there is an interchange at Obosi along the Onitsha – Owerri highway where you can access the bridge.

“On the Asaba end, there is a link road we are constructing to enable travelers to access the bridge from Benin-Onitsha road.”