By Our Reporter
The Edo born iconic medic and former President of the World Medical Association, Dr Osahon Enabulele, is not relenting from his accustomed activism on issues of equal opportunities for all, on socioeconomic development and access; especially access to medical care, welfare of personnel, access to education, social philanthropy and other development indices enshrined in the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 that Nigeria assented to. With just five years to go, Nigeria is still lagging much behind in meeting acceptable targets of these SDG goals.
Dr Osahon Enabulele made his thoughts known, when he visited the Management team of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (Bronze FM ), with members of the Dr Osahon Enabulele Foundation, with whom he had gone there to introduce the Foundation to the national broadcast station.
Dr Enabulele disclosed that he had to set up the interventionist Foundation to mobilise Nigerians to address the issues hampering our progress and advancement as a nation. He lamented that in his daily interactions with Nigerians, he has observed a worrisome level of despondency amongst Nigerians on the question of what to do to deliver on development.
The egalitarian doctor believes that it is self defeatist for Nigerians to react to their realities through their evident inertia to organize for the good of Nigeria, or by fleeing the country in droves. He insists that we have enough potentials here at home to produce world class leadership and other excellencies. Saying: ” I didn’t have to go and live abroad to become the President of the World Medical Association (WMA)”. ” I became WMA President from my little office space in Ugbowo, Egor Local Government Area, here in Edo State”.
He cannot understand why till date the Nigeria government still cannot guarantee citizens’
access to quality health care, on the basis of need;
even when the Nigerian State had committed to equal opportunities to health care for all, by signing into law the National Health Act of 2014, a process and outcome which he was very actively involved to seeing through. He regrets that “Rwanda, a small African country has attained over 95% health coverage for its citizens, while Nigeria is still hovering between 5 and 7% coverage, with five years to the 2030 deadline, despite the launch of the National Health Insurance Scheme over 18years ago.”
Dr Enabulele also highlighted the need for reorientation of our approach to the leadership question and citizens’ expectations in Nigeria. He explained that everything must not always be government dependent. Nigerians must organise around alternative leadership paradigms to drive change processes that deliver on developments. To that extent, the Dr Osahon Enabulele Foundation is organising a Colloquium on the 29th of January, at the Akin Deko main auditorium, Uniben, where resourceful Nigerians will be assembled from all sectors to brainstorm the way Nigerians can unlock our potentials for securing a better future for us all. The Foundation also intends to extend mentorship to our schools to entrench in the young: leadership qualities, Civic responsibilities and patriotism from early days.
Similarly, he frowned at citizens over bloated expectations from Nigerian leaders, which invariably put undue pressure on those in public offices and resulting in many corruption cases.
The World renowned doctor then called on the national broadcast station to partner with the Foundation and use its reach to propagate the social revolution and faith in Nigeria’s potential.
The national radio station, speaking through its General Manager and Deputy Director, Dr Mrs Abimbola, assured the Founder of the Dr Osahon Enabulele Foundation of the readiness of the station to collaborate with it. She emphasized the saliency of the themes chosen by the Foundation and their relevance to national development. She was particularly pleased with the schools’ programme, which she said will enable the Foundation to “catch them young.”
Dr Mrs Aimbola, who also doubles as the Deputy National President of the NUJ, then assured that the radio station will invite Dr Osahon Enabulele to talk further about the Foundation before the January 29 Colloquium. She also assured that the Colloquium and Launch will be fully covered by the Station.