Anyone familiar with this country called Nigeria knows one fact for sure. It is never short of news that makes one’s hair stand on its edges. If “elected senators” are not taking “those who elected them” to court for whatever reasons, then some billions of naira are being discovered buried in “air-conditioned graves” by some unknown ghost Nigerians and stuff like that.

The latest news causing some concern is that of the so-called Nigerian Army’s medical outreach to schools in the South East Region of the country. While the Army and some government officials describe it as a “medical outreach”, some segments of the society have gone on to give it different names with “killer vaccine” as one of the leading ones.

It is still difficult to comprehend how “an outreach” turned to something else because one would have expected that the people you are reaching out to must have been somehow pre-informed of your program. No matter how sincere your intentions are, if the main people concerned know nothing about it, you have already “planned to fail”. And that is not just in this case but in every other one.

This case also brings about the long asked question “What is the real role of the Nigerian Army”? The way it is going about its business presently, some of us are already afraid that our military is degenerating into what I usually refer to as “Village Champions”. Many people are beginning to lose faith in the Army’s capabilities for very simple reasons – when you get used to engaging in issues other than your professional calling, you are bound to fail in a real professional examination.

In the case at hand, schools in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo – and part of the South-South – Delta State got thrown into a state of confusion as rumours of a killer vaccine made the rounds.

How did a “medical outreach” turn into a “dangerous rumour”? Let us not forget that the area of the country concerned in this case is one in which we are trying to encourage an increase in the number of male students due to their attachment to” business mentality”.

The heads of our military setup surely have a real task on their hands in order to bring back the respect the populace used to have for them. I can remember I used to enjoy passing through the Abalti Barracks in Lagos as a young pupil because of the way the military treat me and my colleagues whenever they saw us.

They even manage to produce some of their portions of allocated meals for us to enjoy with them. We were always very happy to go and watch the Military Games in the Barracks to see Military Sportsmen like Inua Rigogo – that tall lanky beauty of a goal-keeper in the games and so on.

And that makes me to wonder; “when did this sudden strange relationship between the people and the Nigerian Army begin and what and who is behind it”?

If this type of relationship continues this way, what would happen if Nigeria suddenly finds itself in a war against a foreign aggressor? Will the Army fight such a war successfully without the support of the civilian populace?

Even in the most advanced nations of this world, the Army in times of war still relies to a good extent on the co-operation and support of its civilian populace.

I remember that my parents used to tell me that “A word is enough for the wise”.

Ok, am coming....