By Ben Ogbemudia
The President of the World Medical Association (WMA), Dr Osahon Enabulele, yesterday urged Nigerians not to vote for a tribal and religious bigot or money bag as president during the February 25, 2023 election.

Enabulele, who was the immediate president of the Commonwealth Medical Association (CMA) and former president of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), disclosed that brain drain among professionals could be curbed through the provision of better remuneration, adequate security, and more-alluring incentives.

The newly-inaugurated WMA president, who is a chief consultant family physician, said this yesterday at the Press Centre of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Benin City when he paid a condolence visit on the Chairman of NUJ, Edo State council, Festus Alenkhe, over the death of his 76-year-old mother, Mrs Rose Alenkhe.

He said, “I lead a non-political organisation. So, WMA does not have sympathy for any political party. Every election in Nigeria is an opportunity to get it right, but we have not been able to get it right. Nigerians should look beyond their immediate benefits, pecuniary or otherwise, and vote for a presidential candidate that can deliver his mandate of guaranteeing the prosperity and survival of the Nigerian state.

“Nigeria now needs a president that can truly lift this country out of the economic morass it has found itself. Let us go beyond stomach infrastructure or pecuniary gain/benefit, and look at the future, sanctity, security, and prosperity of the Nigerian state.

“Any presidential candidate that has the credentials, the capability, and the capacity to do that is the standard bearer we must line behind, irrespective of the tribe, religion, how wealthy or poor the candidate is.

“The electorate should selflessly commit themselves to the presidential candidate that can deliver on the collective ideals. They should look at the lead character, the integrity of the candidate, and most importantly, the health manifesto. Doubt the readiness to serve, a candidate without a health manifesto.

“The presidential candidate must commit himself to the welfare, well-being, and health of Nigerians. He must have a serious agenda on how to revive and prosper the Nigerian state, and make it the real giant of Africa.”

Enabulele also stated that leadership ideals were lacking in Nigeria.

He said, “Whenever I travelled abroad, I always felt like weeping for my country, Nigeria, and my country’s men and women. I have just returned from Geneva, Switzerland, and Japan. Japanese have made so much progress.

“These are ordinary Japanese, who have committed themselves to leadership ideals. Are we cursed as a people? I am sure that we are not cursed, but we have not got our leadership right. That is the reality.

“The challenge is for us (Nigerians) to be able to know that it is we that can bring about development in the country, and not some foreigners.

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“In Japan, they encourage even the son of a carpenter to seek elective office. That is what we call egalitarianism. You will create enabling platforms and look for people who merit the positions and throw them up and society grabs them, encourages them and get to the positions and perform.

“There is no magic about it. Little wonder we see skyscrapers in Japan’s cities. We can do it in Nigeria, and the challenge is for us to create centres of leadership excellence and promote leadership ideals, thereby having Nigeria of our dream.”

The WMA president also wants quick actions to be taken by the governments in Nigeria to halt the brain drain, particularly in the health sector.

“If violent assault of doctors, nurses and other health professionals in the workplace is not quickly addressed, more physicians, nurses and other health workers will bolt out of their profession or even leave Nigeria, because it creates a high level of dissatisfaction.

“We also have cases of physical and mental burnout of practitioners in Medicine. Not just because of violence, but the issue of human-resource shortage. It is all over the world, but it is worse in Africa. That is why it is surprising when some government officials claim that there are enough doctors, nurses, and other health professionals. You will begin to wonder if they had their facts and figures right.

“In Nigeria, more workers in the health sector are migrating abroad, because of much better remuneration, more-alluring incentives, motivation, security, more recognition, and state-of-the-art facilities to work with. The more they migrate, the fewer you have workers to do the job, and there will be increased workload and pressure, as well as increased physical and mental burnout. Medical doctors are slumping and dying.

“We have a responsibility to charge our governments to do much more to address the pull-and-push factors, particularly the factors that are pushing the physicians and other health professionals away from Nigeria and other countries of Africa, as well as the factors that are attracting them.

“There is a need for sanity in the health sector and for more health workers to be motivated to remain in Nigeria to provide healthcare services for residents. It is our collective responsibility to make Nigeria the giant of Africa.”

Enabulele also called for the support of all Nigerians, Africans, and other people across the globe, to succeed.

The WMA president also stated that the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) exposed the inadequate medical facilities and personnel in Nigeria and other African countries, which he insisted must be quickly addressed.

Enabulele pointed out that leadership was about walking the talk, and he maintained that he had walked the talk over the years while wishing Nigerians and other persons across the world good health all the time.