Encomium have been showered on Professor Dominic Osayande Osaghae, the former President of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), for his peace building efforts in the association.
His yeoman efforts in the making of a united and vibrant NMA was recognised on the occasion of his 70 year birthday celebration which was marked with a public lecture and a book launch at the Doctors’ House in Ugbowo, Benin City on Thursday morning.
In his opening remarks, the Chairman of the occasion, Dr. Osahon Enabulele, President of the World Medical Association (WMA), said that lack of appropriate documentation is the bane of the Nigerian society. He asserted that Nigeria cannot advance if we cannot play our roles well as Nigerians. He stressed that Nigerians should see themselves as positive instruments in national development.
While showering praises on the celebrant for the peace building role he has played over the years in the affairs of the NMA which he devoted a major part of his life serving in different capacities, he described him as a colossus whose positive deeds will remain ingrained in the memories of the country’s medical practitioners in the years to come.
President of the NMA, Dr. Rowland Uche Ojinmah, who was the Chief Host of the day, charged medical practitioners to imbibe the culture of working together harmoniously. He decried the pull him down syndrome which is prevalent in the life style of Nigerians.
According to Dr. Ojinmah, peace is the building block of any commendable achievement. He gave kudos to Professor Osaghae for his peace initiative which played a role in the sustenance of the dreams of medical practitioners to ensure that the NMA stand tall in the formulation of ideals that stand the test of time.
“The ills of the society is our failure as individuals. Let us learn how to comply with simple rules/laws as it goes a long way in shaping our lives,” the NMA President submitted.
Professor Eugene Okpere, a former Chief Medical Director(CMD) of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital(UBTH) disclosed that Professor Osaghae’s humility is legendary and that he is able to achieve great things solely as a result of this attribute.
In his presentation, the Keynote Speaker, Dr. Wilson Imongan, a former Commissioner for Health in Edo State, recalled Professor Osaghae’s peace moves on two occasions in 1990 and 2000 when he had to step down his ambition of becoming the Chairman of the NMA in Bendel State and President of the association respectively even when the contest was in his favour.
The book reviewer, Professor Kingsley Akhigbe, stated that Professor Osaghae’s effort at chronicling the events that shape the history of the NMA is worthy of commendation. He stressed that the two books, Reinventing the NMA and Footprints on the Sands of Time, The Foundation and Growth of the Edo NMA, are must items in the library of all medical doctors just as he recommended that they should be circulated round the 36 states of the federation and the FCT.
He opined that the books “serve as beacons of history and lay a foundation for future leaders of the NMA.”
Discussion about this post