Bassey Inyang in Calabar
The Nigerian Navy in Ugep, Central Cross River State, has offered free eye cataract surgery as well as other medical services to members of the community.
Describing the gesture as medial rhapsody, the Navy said it was one of the activities lined up to mark its 60th Anniversary.
Aside from the surgery, a team of medical personnel mobilised by the navy, provided other free medical services; among them blood pressure checks, diabetes screening, malaria treatment, deworming, eye screening, distribution of insecticide treated mosquito nets and drugs, and a health talk.
Speaking at the opening session of the event which held in the conference room of Yakurr Local Government Secretariat, Flag Officer Commanding (FOC), Eastern Naval Command, Rear Admiral James Oluwole, said the Navy acknowledges and appreciates the role of the civilian populace in the society.
The FOC, who was represented by Commodore Tanko Pani, stated that the medical rhapsody was one of the ways the navy shows concerns for the civilian population in their areas of responsibility, saying they will always work to add value to the lives of the people they are trained to protect.
He appealed to the people of Ugep to avail themselves of the medical rhapsody.
In his remarks, the Commander of the Nigerian Navy Reference Hospital in Calabar, Surgeon Rear Admiral Abubakar Yusuf, said the navy conducts medical rhapsody as a means of promoting good health among selected communities.
Yusuf stated that the medical rhapsody was designed to also promote good relations between the Navy and the civilian populace they protect.
Yusuf, who stated that it was the first time free eye surgery would form part of the medical rhapsody, added that other health checks would be carried out on the people during the exercise.
The Paramount Ruler of Ugep, Obol Opon Offem Ubana, who declared the event open expressed gratitude to the Navy for choosing Ugep for their medial rhapsody.
Ubana said the gesture was a testimony that the Navy cared for members of the civilian population they are mandated to protect.
