By Milton Tella – The diplomatic door at the Nigeria High Commission London has remained firmly open to Nigerians as the association representing the over 10,000 nurses and midwives in the UK took their turn on the Ambassadorial green carpet.
It was one big family re-union at the Abuja House, London, on Saturday, November 13, 2021 when the High Commissioner of Nigeria to the Court of St James’s, His Excellency, Ambassador Sarafa Tunji Isola hosted an expanded leadership of the Nigerian Nurses Charitable Association UK (NNCA UK) to a luncheon at his official residence in Kensington, London.
The delegation was led by the association’s President, Princess Wendy Olayiwola-Odutola (MBE), supported by the Director for International Liaison, Pastor Peters Omoragbon, Ms Felicia Kwaku (OBE), Director for Education and Training, Mr. Jide Bankole, Director for Membership and Recruitment, Ms Yemisi Adegbile, Ag. General Secretary, Mrs Elizabeth Ekanem, Director Midwifery Practice, and the following Nursing and Midwifery Leaders: Dr Lola Oni (OBE), FRCN, Director and Senior Consultant Brent, Cllr Sade Adoh, Specialist Practitioner Hamshire CCG Cllr at Buckinghamshire Unitary Council, Prince Ade Odunlade, Chief Operating Officer Derbyshire, Ms Ifeoluwa Akinyemi, Quality and Safety Lead for Education Workforce and Development BHR, Ms Olakitan Oriakhi Head of Education, Professional Development and Workforce and Ms Adebola Aroboto-FGM/Perineal Speciaist Midwife, St Georges.
Princess Wendy, the President introduced the team and gave a brief history of the Association, its formation since 1998, the aims and objectives of the association and the current estimated membership strength of 10,000 Nigerian nurses with the exception of nurses and midwives that are British-Nigerians trained in the UK.
Ms Felicia Kwaku laid the bedrock of the importance of building the capacity of members through continuing education programs, and the support given by the association to curb the spread of covid-19 pandemic with series of webinars organized for both members in the UK and Nigerian nurses/midwives back home.
Another new development was the Nightingale Training Fund, awarded to the association for the training of Nigerian trained nurses/midwives in helping their adaptation and resilience whilst practicing here in the UK whilst as well as providing pastoral care.
Pastor Peters Omoragbon, the Director for International Liaison, gave an account of the interaction between the NNCA-UK and the Nigerian government that began in 2006 when the Obasanjo led govt introduced the Nigerian Diaspora Day, which brought about Nigerian professionals from the Diaspora visiting home yearly. It was this yearly meeting that brought Nigerian nurses from other parts of the world together to sign an MOU with the Federal Ministry of Health to set up the Nurses Technical Committee with the aim of creating the enabling environment for engaging the Nigerian nurses abroad and at home. This relationship translated to NNCA UK participating in the Diaspora Professional Health Initiative, a group made up of all health professionals in the Diaspora set up to support the Federal Ministry Of Health in providing the needed expertise in healthcare delivery in Nigeria.
NNCA UK in 2020, in commemoration of the 200 years anniversary of Florence Nightingale was able to mobilise Nigerian Nurses in 21 countries for the Nigeria 2020 Global Nigerian Nurses/Midwives Forum that would have taken place in Lagos July 2020.
The event that was kick-started in January of 2020 in Abuja witnessed the attendance of Senate Chairman on Ecology, Senator Mohammed Hassan -Gusau, the Chairman of NIDCOM, Hon Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the Minister of State FMOH, Senator Mammora Olorunibe with a capacity building for over 500 nurses/midwives.
To conclude the presentations, Prince Ade Odunlade, thanked His Excellency, Ambassador Isola for hosting the group and presented requests for support and partnerships to His Excellency, amongst which were that the High Commission uses his position to create the link between the Association with potential funders and sponsors, thereby promoting the existence of NNCA-UK amongst the Nigerian community in the UK.
In his response, the High Commissioner exhorted the group to engage in changing the negative narrative about Nigeria both at home and abroad and to promote all the potentials and opportunities in Nigeria. He played the video recording of the acceptance speech of Dr Soludo after winning the Anambra State governorship election recently, which was quite emotional. To this end he shared the vision he has for Nigerians in the UK, and that is to set up a true Nigerian Community with a ‘Nigeria House’, a multi-purpose building that Nigerians can come into any time and feel at home to organize events and to fraternize as citizens of one united nation. It is to achieve this that he has commenced a silent mobilization of all the Nigerian groups in the UK through consultation and meetings of this nature.
He intimated the nurses about the revolution that has taken place within the last six months of his assumption of office at the Nigeria High Commission. For example, now Nigerians do not need to come back to the Embassy to collect their passports after capturing their biometrics as the embassy now relies on Royal Mails for next day deliveries, which has helped to decongest the embassy.
In concluding, the leadership of NNCA UK was informed that, the Nigeria High Commission was ready to partner with the group in promoting the Nigerian Project and ready to support the activities of the association both here in the UK and also at home by helping in providing the links with potential organizations and individuals that will support their initiatives back home.
At the end, the wife of the Ambassador, Her Excellency, Mrs Bolanle Isola gave the vote of thanks not before she had intimated the nurses with her vision for Nigerians. That is to help take away young boys and girls from the street and gangsterism.
The luncheon ended with group photographs.
Kindly follow us on twitter:@AfricanVoice2
Nigerian Nurses Charitable Association UK (NNCA UK)
