Happy International Nurses’ Week

Happy International Nurses’ Week! This greeting went around throughout last week, but is it really ‘happy’ in Nigeria?

Considering the working conditions of Nigerian Nurses, I’m going to say it was not a ‘happy’ one. Moreover, it was mostly Nigerian Student Nurses and Nurses in the diaspora that came out, posting pictures of themselves in scrubs and being excited about the Nurses’ Week. It is quite disheartening that long-term nurses were not excited about a week just for them. But, who could blame them?

In Nigeria, conditions seem against Nurses, the government, the hospital they work in, the patients they painstakingly care for, and the organization that is supposed to have their backs, the NMCN(Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria) and NANNM(National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives).

Nigerian Nurses are battling bad working conditions, and bad representation in society thanks to quacks ‘auxiliary nurses’. In addition to this, what a Nurse does is limited to the Hospital policies, and sometimes, they are required to do unstimulating tasks that provide little job satisfaction. The Nurses’ abilities are not being used effectively and efficiently, leading to the loss of skills learned in school.

Earlier this year, NMCN proposed a law that said that Nurses have to work in Nigeria for two years and receive permission from the owner of the hospital where they work. Considering the mass migration of Nigerian Nurses, this is not too bad of a law.

But, this is Nigeria. A country where Nurses are underpaid and overworked with obsolete equipment. A country where Registered Nurses are still competing with Quacks. That country where the organization could have dealt with preexisting conditions that have plagued the Nursing Profession for decades and instead chose to avoid them and clip the wings of passionate young Nurses.

Many private hospitals in Nigeria employ the services of quacks, some even post their ‘freedom from training’ on social media with the names of the Doctor or Nurse who trained them. Has the NMCN or NANNM done anything about this? No!

Meanwhile, the complaints from Nurses about poor working conditions have steadily fallen on deaf ears of the NMCN. After seeing Nurses suffer while caring for humanity without being appreciated or treated right. New generations of Nurses intend to japa, leaving the country that does not appreciate them.

What should the NMCN do instead?

They should fight for the working conditions in Nigeria instead of stopping those seeking greener pastures. If they had the power to put such a law in place, then they have the power to fight for what Nurses deserve.

Luckily, some Nurses have taken NMCN to court to prevent the permanence of the law. Hopefully, they come out victorious. So, is the NMCN for us or against us? With varying opinions on this subject, that is for you to contemplate. It is difficult to resist the urge to compare NMCN to the Doctors’ Association, and Nigerian Medical Association(NMA), who are loud and loyal to Doctor’s rights and even desires. Unfortunately, Nurses like us can’t relate.

Do you think the International Nurses Week should be celebrated in Nigeria?
I believe the only time Nigerian Nurses might want to celebrate their profession is when the conditions are better when the considerable number of quacks has reduced. We needed this yesterday!

By May 6 next year, I hope things are better and Nigerian Nurses can happily celebrate Nurses’ Week in Nigeria.