Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is part of the price some combatants pay as a result of conflict. It disorientates the humanity endowed by creation and leads to dastardly consequences. In Nigeria there is need to pay more attention to this worrisome malady. It is easy to dismiss certain developments in military locations as pure murder which must be met with maximum penalty as demanded by rules of engagement. Beyond that, there is a need to closely monitor troops fresh from conflict zones especially now that they are engaged in unconventional warfare in different parts of the federation.

On March 5, 2023 Chinonso Nwobodo, a Lance Corporal, shot dead Lt. Sam Oladapo, Commander Force Operating Base, Rabah Local Government Area, Sokoto State. Not done, he equally killed two other colleagues, Sgt. Maj. Iliyasu Inusa and Pte. Attahiru Mohammed who tried to challenge him. The General Officer Commanding 8th Division, Nigeria Army, Maj. Gen. Godwin Mutkut has sent his condolences to families of the deceased officer and men. He doubles as the Commander, Joint Task Force, North-West, better known as ‘Operation Hadarin Daji’.

A similar scene had played out in Bama on July 29, 2020 when Azunna Maduabuchi, a private, killed Lt. Babakaka Ngorgi, Adjutant of 292 Bat- talion, 21 Special Armoured Brigade. A Court Martial set up by the 7th Division and headed by Brig. Gen. Arikpo Ekubi sentenced the killer to death by firing squad. Also in the same year, a Mobile Police officer, Rowland Tafida, was killed by a soldier who used an anti-aircraft gun on the Mobile Police Training Camp, Makara in the Gwoza area of Borno State.

Eye witness accounts said there was an altercation between the soldier and another policeman over a lady. Tafida was unlucky to have died for what did not involve him. On November 22, 2021, there was bloodletting in the same Borno State when a soldier attached to the 25 Task Force Brigade, Damboa went on a shooting spree, killing a fellow soldier, a female humanitarian aid worker and injuring the co-pilot of a United Nations helicopter. Notably, these gruesome acts happened in the North- East and North-West, respectively where troops have been battling terrorists of all shades. What began from Maiduguri in 2008 has now taken over many other locations across the Savannah. PTSD has been with us for a long time, it is unfortunate that the government did not realise this early enough and has not done much to manage it.

A thorough assessment would have shown that some of those who presided over the affairs of the nation in the past were affected. Former First Lady, Mrs Aisha Buhari, went public to confirm that her husband, former President Muhammadu Buhari suffered PTSD. He was a subaltern when the Civil War began in 1967 and survived the conflict wearing the rank of a Major. Generals Murtala Mohammed and Olusegun Obasanjo were GOCs with the latter playing a prominent role during the formal surrender by Biafra in 1970.

General Ibrahim Babangida, Sani Abacha and Abdusalam Abubakar commanded battal- ions on the Federal side. One of the Nigerian GOCs, Benjamin Adekunle appeared to have suffered a nervous breakdown in the course of battle. He organised the ambush of his principal officers, Godwin Alabi- Isama and Alani Akinrinade in Asa with intent to assassinate them. The same Adekunle, nick- named ‘Black Scorpion’, had taken in Biafran children and refugees, offering them shelter, food and education.

When the brain was fatigued, he announced that he did not want to see any living thing in Biafra, taunting them with what he called Operation OAU (Owerri, Aba and Umuahia). In Biafra, another GOC, Joe Achuzia was better known for shooting his own troops. It got so bad that a Brigade Commander, Lambert Iheanacho felt Achuzia deserved maximum punishment especially after murdering soldiers who retrieved the body of their commanding officer, Theodore Atumaka in Owerri. We are concerned that PTSD, although very well known to the government, has received little attention in the country.

There should be facilities to take care of soldiers fresh from battle or still involved in theatres of war. While medication is appropriate, psychotherapy is key. In the United States, there is the American Addiction Centre (AAC) which takes care of veterans and other combatants. It will be erroneous to believe that Nigeria is not as widely involved as the Americans in conflict. This is because here, the country despite insurgency is also contributing to peace efforts across the globe.

The Federal Government should as a matter of urgency set up a standard PTSD centre that will take care of battle tested and fatigued soldiers and veterans. Hypervigilance, increased negative thoughts and playing back events mentally are signs that normalcy is threatened. The military should be proactive as well.

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