- President/Chief Executive Officer of Nurses Across Borders International, Peters Osawaru Omoragbon
By Anthony Nwachukwu
President/Chief Executive Officer of Nurses Across Borders International and President, Diaspora Nurses Association of Nigerian, Peters Osawaru Omoragbon, has called on fellow cleric, Mrs. Enunwaonye Chimdi Hossanna, to run for political office and use it to lift the profession.
The cleric and convener of health NGOs – United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Nigerian Nurses Charitable Association – United Kingdom, who is also a Fellow of the Open Society Institute, Budapest, made the appeal recently in Benin City, Edo State, during a send-off ceremony for Enunwaonye.
“The dearth of nurse-politicians has been the bane of nursing development in Nigeria, which is why other professionals within the health sector are deciding what nurses should or should not get,” he said. “So, dear colleague, I will reiterate that call again, consider running for public office.
“If the entire Edo State nurses/midwives are to replicate the love shown here today towards her campaign, Mrs. Enunwaonye would become the beautiful bride of every political party in the state. She can make a better commissioner of health for Edo State.”
According to Omoragbon, Enunwaonye has made immense contributions to the growth and development of the nursing profession in Nigeria, and “35 years of meritorious service in nation-building in complete health is the prayer and aspiration of any civil servant.
“Enunwaonye, whom we are celebrating today, has not only completed her call to duty but also made immense contributions to the growth and development of the nursing profession in Nigeria.”
While congratulating her on a no-blemish career and wishing her the best in her future endeavours, Omoragbon disclosed that to tap from her wealth of knowledge, “Nurses Across Borders International has offered Enunwaonye the position of national coordinator for South-South and South-East.”
He added that having “formally entered a collaboration to promote climate change and public health by building the capacities of healthcare professionals as first responders to the climate change crisis in Nigeria, the organisation will benefit from her wealth of experience and intelligence.”
Recalling their contact with Enunwaonye in Abuja during the kick-off of the “2020: The Year of the Nurse,” Omoragbon described her as “fiery and passionate when making her interventions at the summit.
“In fact, she was urged to run for public office in the coming political dispensation because the nursing profession in Nigeria deserves nothing less than a nurse that would go to the legislature and promote the cause of nursing and be a voice to us.
“Another occasion of our robust interaction was at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP 26) in Glasgow last year. Her intelligence was tested and proven and her compassionate nature as a nurse was shown to our younger delegates in the team, as she acted like Mother Theresa to all of us at our hotel. She is very empathetic.”
