National NANNM President Address on Suspension of Strike by JOHESU
FROM NANNM PRESIDENT
BRAVO! GALLANT SOLDIERS OF JOHESU.
To Allah (God) be the glory for making us conceiving a worthy mission, prosecuting an indelible marked step in taking a step forward in the struggle for emancipation of the down trodden and the oppressed. The JOHESU mission is to fight tyranny and high handedness, subjugation, injustice of the highest order, 21st century enslavement, a dangerous neo-imperialistic idea continuously meted out to the labourers in the health sector that work relentlessly to initiate and sustain quality service delivery in the multidisciplinary sector just like the slave in sugar cane plantation of the inglorious era of enslavement in world history.
I have the feelings that if we have not risen up to fight gallantly we would be the worst for it. Personally and officially, I am indebted to the entire members,those that were convinced that we shall be victorious and those that merely obeyed but wished us success and also those that don’t have any other option but to be on strike neither hoping for victory nor expecting any good outcome but didn’t fight against us, and even those that came to the battle field to go against us also deserved thanks. How? breathren, yes they assisted us to know that without them we can overcome, and also to take note of the weakness and threat within our operating system. We pray that when the result is accomplished all of us will be alive to reap not only increase in salary and emoluments but an improved condition of service, job satisfaction, freedom of professional practice, motivation to work for safety, quality, towards our humanitarian services to ensure safe, accessible, affordable and acceptable health care services that will reach the health care end users/consumers wherever they live.
I appreciate everybody going through the trials and tribulations, anxiety and apprehension that the leaders were able to take us through and safely delivered us at the coast of hope and glowing chances. Actualization of this shall come to fruition in our lives, amen.
We the leaders and you members have gone through a lot; cheating, embarrassment, discrimination and defamation of character and of course we witnessed sacrificing merit at the door of mediocrity. A situation where imbecility are covered with dark apron all because s/he is a graduate Nigerian version of medicine, elsewhere even clinical team leaders are chosen among people of equal intellectual capacity and professional skills not only by the certificate you claim to have. Oh! my country, Nigeria, what a paradox. Re-emmergence of the suffering of the Israelites in the kingdom of Pharaoh, am convince Moses of our time is not vested in one person and union but coming of the like minds. The government has been misguided by the members of their cabinet. They laid siege to the people at the centre of governance, an ambush wherein many government officials felt prey to helplessly. These people help the Nigerian medics to define their members fate and prospect and waylaid agencies of government. The government agencies are being used criminally to carry out the medics’ whims and caprices. An example is how they set out propaganda and successfully change the educational paradigm, thereby turning Bachelor degree holders in medicine into a peer/contemporary of PhD, using the least of years in the school and public service to rise to the pinnacle.
Oh, Nigerians, we have been dealt with through corrupt means to believe in fallacious pronouncements. In this country, to be a PhD holder in Nursing as an example of other health sciences in Nigeria, you must spend an average of 12 to 15 years for a period while the equivalent this is 8 years of medics. Yet the public are made to believe that they spent many years for their preparations, after this they still want to disparage others.
For these and many more that space may not permit, are opened for you to research, reflect and discover without fear of been alleged to be pre-emptive to your dismay, were the cause of our industrial action. No doubt this is arising from dispute of right as against theirs incessant dispute of mere interest. Comrade colleagues, yours is honour, great is your sacrifice, you suffered staying at home as dedicated officers who would have love to work uninteruptedly, but have to painfully watching the health consumers deprived of accessibility to our services, I don’t know if it pleases Allah (God) to forgive them but I know that they have questions to answer from the Creator for causing people to die or undergo disability, excruciating pain, and action tantamount to impoverishing Nigerians by lacking healthcare. It’s really a crime against humanity. The wealth of Our nation depends on the health if the people of our nation (Judith Shaiman, former ICN, president) which this group of Nigerian medical practitioners sieging as cabal in Nigeria governance has thrown into dust.
Our gratitude goes to all and sundry for your sacrifices, may Almighty God (Allah) make us to be beneficiaries of the actions.
Professional colleagues and comrades I doff my hat for the leadership for knowing when to blow hot and cold without loosing focus and relevance at a critical time like this. Though some members were spectators, and always spectators are the world best players as they play, dribble and score many goals both feasible and non-feasible ones, I personally thank all of us, the federal, state and even the few ‘wobble’ ones at the third tier of government. At this level, fear, intent of sabotage, and also those that faced a lot of intimidation of some uncultured medical doctors pervaded the environment. This crop of people who again called themselves Medical Officer of Health or PHC Coordinators without practically to show for it, how do we expect primary health care to succeed, if fresh graduate are made head of department without required skill and what to show for it. Unfortunately there are some of their gullible agents who have fallen prey and remained in the doldrum till tomorrow. Theirs were, and is still haha!! why should JOHESU ask for same thing like doctors salary, without studying the substance if the matter. May whatever any of our members have suffered be turned into fortune, those are the pain of the the eventual gain that is imminent.
Brethren, we agree to suspend this industrial action not because of threat of being jailed, or being replaced, or undue pronouncement of new employment as no person can be employed today and rise to occupy the position earned over the years having gained expertise from cognate experience. We didn’t suspend based on sell-out or saboteurs, we feared not the promised jail term, incarceration or tormenting treatments but our actions are due to responsiveness to suffering of poor masses, and the need to be civil.
The first judgemental proceeding and pronouncement came through the motions exparte granted by the president of the NICN, according to my Lord Justice Adejumo on 17/05/18 and was legally hinged on suffering of the masses which did not scare the leaders, at least we were all witnesses that the action was received with calmness and without it meeting us as surprise. Then came the second pronouncement on 30/05/18 by justice Kado.
For the avoidance of doubt, JOHESU has not abandoned our just struggling, no surrender no retreat as we shall go into the next level of the mediation with more vigor and vitality.
The shame rather goes to those the Federal Republic of Nigeria entrusted with position of responsibility but betray it with impunity. Obviously they not only failed themselves but also the so called privileged class they belong to. Frantz Fanon said “out of relative obscurity, each generation must discover, it’s mission fullfil it or betray it”. We can individualy judge the situation, obviously they betray the mission.
The whole process is moved away from them, the partial umpires and we shall now meet at equal pedestal where a unbiased umpire will preside. I’m not saying we do not have issues to contend with, but better let it be outside the confines of people in government that are aiding and abetting injustice, fuelling crises to be able to justify their agenda to privatise the health sector, ultimately to their selfish end and to the peril of the masses. We expect to enjoy vital pillars of social dialogue and tripatism in negotiations which is trustworthiness and sincerity of purpose.
In addition, hurray.and bravo to all our sector leaders, at federal health institutions that joined with state leaders and local governments despite the “divide and rule” of what do you stand to gain, why are joining the strike, and various intimidation, harassment and humiliation been confronted lawful action in the bid to request and drive home our legitimate rights.
For those that were used to attempt sabotaging our struggle, we have gone and we are back, reappraise yourself and repent and pray to God and ask for forgiveness from your brothers and sisters that you abandoned in the struggle.
I believe that the import of battle of Armageddon in the Bible and the importance of battles of Bad, Uhud and treaty of Udabiyah in Islamic history and various others in contemporary society will come to focus and relevance on this situation. We have been called to fight injustice “Tujaidunah fisebilillah bi amwalikum wa anfusikum” fight in the course of defending yourself and in favour of justice with your soul and dedication, and your resources. And when the call was made in the biblical message calling on people to become fishers of men, the righteous ones hearken to the call, and became disciples.
Let me not end this message without giving ray of hope to our young and unemployed health care professionals who were teased to come forth and be employed in the wake of the crises, only to meet condition of loccum another step at cassualisation an offence against all known industrial and labour practice in ILO conventions . As part of JOHESU struggle is the request on the government to engage in recruiting new professionals to compensate for the drastic shortage of professional in our health institutions. Only medical practitioners can be said to have enjoined regular recruitment over the years. The question here is that if JOHESU had this as one of the request, why can’t government implement that as part of our request even before the strike action. We have no objection to objective recruitment and therefore our young professionals should be informed that we are also fighting for their interest. And any person that has been employed will be fought for to become regular and permanent employee.
My appreciation still goes back to our members, the well meaning Nigerians, the concerned members of governors forum, the members and leaders of the hallowed chambers of the Nigerian legislative arms of governance, the handlers of security officials that largely refused to be used against us and forge ahead to maintain neutrality, our people and citizens of Nigeria that believe in our course of action.
God bless you all.
Signed
Comrade Abdrafiu Alani Adeniji
National President
NANNM
