Former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, on Friday, appealed to the medical practitioners in the country to always consider the conditions of their patients before going on strike.
Obasanjo made this appeal at the opening ceremony of the National Association of Government General Medical and Dental Practitioners (NAGGMD), held at the Doctor’s House, Lukosi, Abeokuta.
The former president, who was the Father of the Day on the occasion, passionately urged the practitioners to take patients’ conditions more paramount in their quest for better welfare.
According to Obasanjo, “a major issue that I always want to talk about whenever I am in your midst, which I told you when you came visiting is the issue of going on strike anytime you want to show your displeasure particularly, government doctors.
“My position is that since the care for your patient is a major ethical issue of your profession, abandoning them to go on strike is even more unethical. You should fashion another way to show your displeasure and not doing so at the expense of your patients.”
The former president, while reacting to the theme of the conference, which was “The Importance of Supply Chain Management in Health Care System Straightening,” called for the resuscitation of the old central medical store system to boost availability of drugs in the country.
“We used to have something like that in the past during the Western region. I don’t know whether we still have it. If we don’t, maybe this is time to return it or have something near it, which will bring efficiency and affordability to our drug chain system,” he added.
The Secretary to the State Governor (SSG), Tokunbo Talabi, who represented the Ogun State governor, Dapo Abiodun, corroborated Obasanjo’s call for caution to the country’s medical practitioners over strike.
“I want you to look into what Baba Obasanjo has said on this issue of strike. You can get an alternative for taxi drivers if they decide to go on strike, yes, we have okada riders but, this is not so for doctors. God made you so special to save lives and you should live up to the expectation. We can devise other ways to save these lives; it is very important,” Talabi said.
In his welcome address, the Ogun State chairman of NAGGMD, Dr. Olufemi Odusote, said that the theme for the 2019 National Executive Council (NEC) meeting, “The Importance of Supply Chain Management in Health Care System Straightening,” became imperative in view of the health challenges, which included manpower, brain drain, and general welfare of members and security challenges that have made doctors vulnerable.
THE SUN
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