By Abbas Nazil
The Nigerian Army has constructed and handed over an industrial water borehole to the people of Ohodo community in Igbo-Etiti Local Government Area of Enugu State to address their long-standing water scarcity challenges.
The borehole was officially inaugurated by the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Olufemi Oluyede, who was represented at the ceremony by Maj.-Gen. Oluyemi Olatoye, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 82 Division.
According to the COAS, the project is one of the Special Intervention Civil-Military-Cooperation Projects of the Nigerian Army aimed at giving back to society and acknowledging the contributions of retired senior army officers to the nation.
The project, he stated, was implemented to honour Maj.-Gen. Patrick Eze (retired), a former Commandant of the Nigerian Army Ordnance School, whose dedication and service to the country span over three decades.
The COAS explained that the special intervention initiative supports the communities of senior officers who reached the rank of Major General, with the intention of showing appreciation to their people for supporting their journey of service.
He revealed that more than 200 similar projects have been executed across the country in consultation with host communities, contributing to the federal and state governments’ efforts to develop rural areas.
These projects are designed to provide essential infrastructure, improve quality of life, ease local hardships, and address pressing community needs.
The borehole includes a 30 KVA soundproof generator, electricity connection, solar-powered security lighting, solar-powered digital surveillance cameras, overhead storage tanks, and multiple water dispensers.
The Chief of Civil-Military Affairs, Maj.-Gen. Gold Chibuisi, emphasized that the borehole was constructed to deliver safe drinking and domestic water to the people of Ohodo.
He described Maj.-Gen. Eze as a highly professional and disciplined officer, who played a key role in achieving several milestones during his military career.
Maj.-Gen. Eze (retired) expressed gratitude to the COAS for approving and funding the project and stated that the initiative has brought a lasting solution to his community’s decades-old struggle for potable water.
He recounted that during the dry season, community members were forced to buy 1,000 liters of water at N50,000, which placed a heavy financial burden on households.
The traditional ruler of Ohodo, Igwe Hycient Eze, thanked the Nigerian Army for the high-impact intervention and pledged that the community would provide full protection and maintenance for the facility.
He noted that the army’s support has greatly reduced the suffering of the people, who previously relied on expensive and often unsafe water sources.
A community member, Mr. Nicholas Agbo, lauded the army’s gesture and described them as the only true messiah the people had known in their time of need.
The highlight of the inauguration event was the symbolic handover of the facility’s keys by the COAS’s representative to the traditional ruler, marking the official transfer of the project to the community.
Additionally, widows in the community received gift items from Mrs. Regina Eze, wife of the retired general, as part of the humanitarian aspect of the occasion.
The project has been hailed by many as a model of civil-military cooperation and a beacon of hope for rural development in Nigeria.
