Segun Akanni, Toronto, Canada 
The Nigerian Army on Saturday defied the early morning downpour and deployed his officers and men in Mushin, a Lagos mainland industrial hub and a congested residential area with inadequate sanitation and low-quality housing, for a clean-up exercise.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the General Officer Commanding, 81 Division, Maj.-Gen. Peter Dauke, and the 9 Brigade Commander, Brig.-Gen. Elias Attu, led the soldiers in a massive sanitation exercise in the streets of Mushin.
The soldiers were seen clearing the refuse dumps and the drains blocked by bottles of water, nylons, and waste.
According to Dauke, the environmental sanitation is part of the activities lined up to commemorate the 2017 Nigerian Army Day Celebrations.
He expressed the hope that the exercise would further boost the Army-Public relations.
“Sanitation is one of the activities lined up for this years’ Army Day celebration which will be followed by a medical outreach.
“Sanitation is the civic responsibility of everyone and we feel part of our corporate social responsibilities is to interface with the public and the government in this vicinity.
“This is why we are contributing our quota by interfacing with other security agencies to keep this vicinity clean,” he told newsmen.
The GOC appealed to residents of Mushin to maintain a clean and healthy environment, saying “cleanliness is next to Godliness”.
“Everyone should ensure that they do everything possible to make their environment clean.”
“Our environment must be clean for us to live healthily,” he said.
Traders and food sellers as well as residents, who came out for the exercise, expressed gratitude to the Army for their intervention.
They noted that the soldiers defied the rain to carry out the exercise.
(NAN)
