The Nigeria Medical Association(NMA), Kogi State Chapter has called on doctors to be security conscious of their environment and shun all routine behavior as criminal element use such to easily identify and get their targets.
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The Department of State Services ably represented by officer C.U Hahanatu, made this call during the association’s annual general meeting and scientific conference themed “The deteriorating security situation in Nigeria: implications for healthcare delivery” a lecture to educate doctors more on security awareness.
To further expand the scope of the program, other lectures were delivered on “current management of low back pain” by Dr Sunday Oluwasegun, consultant orthopedic surgeon and” vaccine derived poliomyelitis, what we need to know” by Dr Abimbola Adesanya, consultant public health.
The NMA chairman of Kogi State, Dr Omakoji Simeon Oyiguh, earlier in his opening remark decried the poor welfare of medical practitioners resulting to brain drain and poor service delivery, in his words “it is not political correct for federal government to employ doctors and again lack the capacity to institute the process for their payment”.
He expressed concern on the current security situation.
In an interview with journalists, he stated that in recent times more doctors are being kidnapped.
“It is becoming a very serious problem, even in the workplace, the hospital, whether private or public, where the kidnappers now are tracking you not just to your house but they track the doctors to their work place.
“As doctors we should also begin to show concern for insecurity not only for security agencies or for those who are been kidnapped.
“It should become a holistic issue where we all need to begin to show interest while reacting to issues of security and lingering strike of National Association of Resident Doctor (NARD),” he said.
During the AGM, the former NMA national chairman, Prof Michael Ogirima expressed sadness over the current situation calling on the federal government to act fast.
“As a medical doctor in this country, am not happy to see my colleagues going on strike. It has happened before and it is happening again, and I hope we will find a lasting solution.”
The occasion was attended by the commissioner for finance Honorable Asiru Idris represented by Honorable commissioner for rural development Daniel Ejigbo, the Ejeh Dekina Dr Usman Obaje, chairman committee on health Kogi State house of assembly, Dr Usman Tenimu, medical professionals from Federal Medical Center, Specialist hospital Lokoja and other doctors and stakeholders in Kogi state.
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