Dominic Adewole 
Solidarity move
It seemed like a dream in Asaba when men of the 63 Brigade in Delta State, led by Brigadier-General David Saraso, trooped out in battalions to sweep the marketplace for ‘bloody’ civilians. Buyers and sellers, visitors to the Big Heart state and bystanders were humbled by the show of humility by men in military uniform, displayed on the fateful day in the service of their fatherland. At first, bystanders were confused. ‘Were they here to make arrest?’, ‘Has anybody offended any of their men?’ ‘Is there any security breach?’, and so on, were the questions agitating the minds of market men and women, as they arrived the scene in their trucks and vans, jumping down gallantly and started to sweep. But little do they know that they were out for ‘military exercise’.
Pundits view on clean-up
Although, pundits were of the view that the street-show expressed the commitment of the military men towards the implementation of their corporate- social-responsibility to the citizenry, onlookers were still not convinced of their presence in large numbers until they brought out brooms, bent down and started to sweep. The singular act shocked buyers and sellers at the most popular Ogbeogonogo Market in Asaba, the state capital, to bone-marrow. A mechanic, who simply identified himself as Chinedu recalled how he was subjected to frog-jump along Asaba-Onitsha Expressway last year. He said: “This is what my eyes have not seen and my ears have not heard since i was born 46 years ago.” He said his experience about soldiers has been a nasty one, which include, subjecting offenders to punishments of various degrees. “He said many motorists have been compelled by soldiers to serve frog-jump on highways, many have been asked to kneel down on hot asphalt roads under scorching sun, even as he said, others have been ordered by soldiers to start rolling inside erosion waters, to serve as deterrent to others.”
Military’s involvement
But Brigadier-General Saraso, who allayed the fears of the onlookers said the exercise was for clean up in the area by officers and men of the Nigerian Army as part of their Army Day celebration.
Early morning movement
As early as 7a.m the military men moved swiftly as they cleared the roads and pavement along the market. They came with shovels, brooms, rakes, wheelbarrows and a truck to offload wastes, including traffic officers to ease their movement and a military band to stimulate the proceedings. The Brigade Commander General David Saraso, explained the objective of the exercise further. He maintained that it was to showcase the Army as “an instrument of national integration and development.” He said: “We are out here to observe this day as part of our community service by way of our corporate social responsibility to our immediate environment. And we chose to come here to contribute our own little quota in keeping this environment safe and clean.”
Residents speak
A resident, Isaac Nkechor, commended the men and women of the Army for their humility, saying the people are happy about the sanitation exercise. He said, “A whole army people are sweeping the main road! What of us? So we can do it better. They brought themselves down to sweeping the main road that the people they referred to as ‘bloody civilians’ messed up. My prayer is that God will promote them and bless them.” A trade, Mary Aku, lauded the cleanup activity at the market. “They should keep it up and keep the flag flying. Who could have believed that these fearful men could belittle themselves?”
A human right activist, John Sidoko, who hailed the military exercise lambated political office holders who sit in the comfort of their homes ans looting the public treasury, instead of assuming the the true state of servant leaders. “The fact speaks for itself. I think politicians should learn from this example. To be a servant leader, you must humble yourself. Our legislators, those in the Senate, House of Representatives and Houses of Assembly, should key into this. They should learn to set aside some days to feel the pains of the common men. “It is not enough to be receiving fat salaries and embark on jamboree trips at the expense of the people. One of the ways to feel the impulse of the masses is to engage in what they do routinely. “What stops a Governor from setting aside a day in every three months for wives of political appointees to come and sweep the market, not with their housemaid or paid servants. “A Senator should clear grass in his constituency, and not embarking on oversight functions in a convoy and intimidating his constituents with siren.” He said the gesture by men of the Nigerian Army has positively changed the worldview of many citizens about them. He argued that before now, citizens, especially the downtrodden sees soldiers as ‘kill and go’ men. As men who have the license to kill at will. “But, with this friendly disposition and Community Development Service (CDS), we, not the soldiers, are humbled because, our unfriendly worldview about them has changed from henceforth. “We now know that besides their primary assignment which is to defend, to safe life and property, they can be friendly.”
