NMANEC MEETING: CALIPHATE CITY 2021 – NMA PRESIDENT PAYS ROYAL HOMAGE TO THE SULTAN OF SOKOTO.
Sultan of Sokoto alls for a national dialogue to discuss health care delivery in Nigeria.* The President of the Nigerian Medical Association, *Prof (Dr) Innocent A O Ujah FNMA, FNAmed, mni* on Wednesday, 1st of December, 2021 paid royal homage to His Eminence, The Sultan of Sokoto, *Alhaji (Dr) Sa’ad Abubakar III CFR, mni* at his Palace in the Seat of the Caliphate.
During the royal visit, the NMA President expressed his delight and that of members of his entourage for the honour them by the Sultan by welcoming them to his Palace. The NMA President also commended the Sultan for being a man of peace which has led to the relative peace enjoyed in Sokoto State despite the insecurity experienced by other states in the North West zone of the country.
Also, the NMA President noted with delight the unparallel and substantial contributions of the Sultan to the health and well-being of Nigerians especially in the areas of polio immunisation and the subsequent removal of Nigeria from the list of endemic countries. His Eminence’s roles in collaborations with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Control of malaria and championing the establishment of a University of Health Sciences in Sokoto State were also noted and appreciated. The NMA President also used the opportunity provided by the auspicious occasion to bring some issues of national concern to the attention of his Eminence and also solicited his support towards tackling them. Some of the issues adversely affecting health care delivery in the country raised were; – Brain drain – Insecurity – Drug and substance abuse – Poor health care financing – Lack of a health Bank – Inadequate health insurance to mention but a few. In his response, the Sultan thanked the leadership of NMA for the visit and said he was honoured to host the NMA President and his delegation in his Palace and indeed ,the seat of the Caliphate. He further congratulated the association on the election of *Dr Osahon Enabulele* as the President-elect of the World Medical Association (WMA) and also said he was one of the first to call and congratulate Dr Enabulele on his historic emergence. He also congratulated a Past Secretary General of the association, *Dr KJ Okoro* on his recent induction as a member of the Nigerian Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS). He further thanked the association for choosing Sokoto as the host of the NEC meeting and admonished the association and her affiliates not to always consider strikes as the first options in trade disputes as the people worst hit during such actions were the down trodden and the less privileged. The Sultan further offered to work with NMA and also lead in the advocacy towards addressing the myriad of issues facing the healthcare delivery system as earlier highlighted by the NMA President. The Sultan, who just celebrated his 15th year on the throne, further reiterated his commitment towards contributing his quota towards enhancing health care delivery in the country and as a member of the Course 28 set of the Nigerian Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, he promised to alwsys uphold the ideals of the motto of the institute which is *’ Towards a better society’*. Members of NMA in the President’s entourage included members of the National Officers Committee(NOC), Past President of the association, NEC members, Medical Elders, the Chairman of the Sokoto State branch, and members of the LOC. The Royal homage also featured exchange of souvenirs and inspection of the architectural model of the proposed University of Health Sciences in the state. *Dr Aniekeme Uwah JP* National Publicity Secretary Nigerian Medical Association 05122021 nationalnma.org
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