I would like to use your medium to air my view on an issue that has been giving me sleepless nights of late. I recently went to Abuja for a job interview, and I stayed at the house of a family friend who is serving in the army, precisely at the 7 Guards Battalion, which is part of the Brigade that safeguards the Presidential Villa, and Abuja at large. It was a pleasant stay, indeed, as the barracks is very nicely maintained, and clean. I also got to see a lot of military traditions, which have made me suddenly interested in joining the army. But that’s not the main reason I’m writing this.
During my stay at the barracks, I noticed something quite disturbing; which is the way electricity is supplied to the barracks in short amounts of time; only thrice a day. I know one would be made to wonder if that’s not enough, but honestly, it is not. Everything boils down to a total of five hours a day. You can see people, serving personnel as well, scrambling to make use of the little opportunity the rationing affords them. Quite frankly, I found it unfair and demeaning, especially as this is where service personnel live and work. Don’t forget that this is the area that houses many military formations in Abuja, including the one that takes care of the well-being of the president himself, the Guards Brigade (which I learnt also suffers from poor electricity supply).
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Residents of the barracks, including serving personnel, will need ample power to store their foodstuffs in refrigerators and for their dependents to run small businesses. They also need it to get children ready for school, and many, many other reasons. They need it to power water heaters, cookers for food; televisions for entertainment, and much more. This is not to mention getting uniforms ready for any one of the many parades required. At night, the barracks is dark, and looks miserable, which is not befitting of its status. This letter is my passionate appeal to the concerned authorities on the need to look into, and make haste to help out and rectify.
Yet, another crucial issue related to the 7 Guards Battalion barracks, is the pedestrian bridge that has been under construction for a couple of years now, just outside its main gate. While I was in Abuja, a couple of nasty accidents occurred as people were crossing from one end of the road to the other. One particular crash took two lives in one fell swoop! That’s when I began to hear some more stories of people, including dependents of soldiers, who lost their lives while trying to cross the highway to the other side. I personally find it unbelievable that such an important location lacks such a basic utility as a pedestrian bridge.
I also heard reliably that it’s common for people crossing the road to be hit by vehicles plying it. Some of it is also caused by motorbikes going against traffic, mostly at night. Maybe, the barracks authorities need to devise a way to stop that, and I would also like to appeal that something is done about that particular problem, as I witnessed firsthand when a woman on a bike fell down with twin babies. The most-affected baby survived.
We really need to give priority to humanizing service personnel with a steady supply of one of life’s basics. And it’s not like surrounding areas don’t have electricity; they do. It is with great respect and humility that I request that something is done. While I thank you very much in advance, I hope this touches someone’s heart and inspires action that will alleviate all the plights I’ve written about.
Allen Ochigbo wrote in from Makurdi, Benue State
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