Our ancestors had a profound way of dealing with P.T.S.D. (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). It was believed, that after a war, when a man had returned home, well, before he could be accepted back into society, he had to live with a shaman for 3 months, so that he could do some spiritual cleansing.
It was said, that after war, the human spirit was off balance, therefore, a warrior was required to undergo some ritual, in order to restore the spirit back in harmony with nature and the community.
In other words, a horn was used to draw out stagnant and dsyfunctional blood to the surface. This is one of the rituals that was performed on the warriors, to cleanse them of any mental illness and trauma that they might experience later on in life after the war.
This process was carried out by Africans long ago before it was allegedly deemed a, "Chinese invention". It was originally called, "African suction cup", by the colonizers. This is one of the many practices that has been lost, stolen, and plagiarized, due to African slavery and colonization.
Nevertheless, The President, Defence and Police Officers Wives Association (DEPOWA), Mrs Vickie Irabor initiated Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Centre to the harrowing experiences of military personnel and their families in Nigeria.
At the ground-breaking and foundation laying ceremony of the PTSD Centre at the Muhammadu Buhari Cantonment at Giri in Abuja recently, she said many military families had silently endured traumatic experiences after their husbands returned from the front lines.
Sharing her experiences as wife of Chief of Defence Staff, Mrs Irabor recalled her experience of more than 20 years when her husband was deployed to Liberia and later Sierra Leone under the auspices of ECOMOG to intervene in their civil wars and stabilise the two countries.
According to her, some of the personnel who participated in the missions never returned alive while some returned wounded or traumatised.
“I was also confronted with stories from wives of personnel who had faced much worse and could not speak out about the challenges and the traumatic experiences.
“Uniting our voices as mothers and wives, we decided not to remain silent.
“In our review of research conducted, we have identified the extraordinary challenges being faced by officers and soldiers on the frontlines in securing our nation by fighting terrorism, banditry and other societal ills.
“Some of these challenges range from physical injuries, mental health issues, and sometimes, sadly paying the supreme price in the defence of our dear nation, Nigeria.
“While we have hospitals to take care of physical injuries, we have realized that there is a huge gap in mental health responses globally, including Nigeria.
“Especially in the treatment, management and rehabilitation of PTSD faced by families in the armed forces.
“In response to these issues, DEPOWA under my leadership, decided to pursue the implementation of a novel, first-of-its-kind legacy-based Armed Forces PTSD Centre,” she said.
The DEPOWA president, therefore, said the PTSD project was not only dear to her heart, but also all wives of military personnel across the country because of their experiences over the years.
Mrs Irabor said that the centre when completed, would help evaluate, counsel, and provide adequate support to personnel and by extension, their families, before reintegration from conflict zones.
She said the centre would also help to enhance national, regional and global stability, as well as boost the military’s capability to deal with all forms of insecurity.
According to her, establishing the facility will ensure the stability of military families post-conflict engagements and give encouragement to officers and soldiers that help is available should they need it after assignments.
She said the facility would also serve as a repository for future research on mental health challenges in the armed forces of Nigeria.
The ground-breaking and foundation laying was performed by the First Lady, Mrs Aisha Buhari and it will be funded by the Federal Government of Nigeria.
- #History #SpyeTVNews #NAN