Yesterday, i watched the very articulate and fiery President of Nigeria Association of Resident Doctors [NARD] on Channels Television and i was really touched from that clip.
I am an emotional wreck, and so emotions take a part of me when i am confronted with some scenarios sometimes particularly when i am faced with consequences and implications of actions seemingly perceived as small and innocuous.
As I watched that clip, I could see the burden and frustration that the President of Nigeria Association of Resident Doctors [NARD] had borne up till that point, now melting, i could imagine the restiveness of his members coming out unfulfilled promises that dates back to seven years or more.
As they say uneasy lies the head that wears the crown, of course there is no small leadership.
This President must be conscious of the present challenges of many of his colleagues, who are still in the health sector, few holding on to the last thread of hope, fewer others to patriotism and many of his members already far gone in the process of JAPA, while many more are just bidding their time.
No doubts today our country’s health sector is badly hit from all sides, the sector is in the throes of asyphixiation, gasping for breath because our Nigerian trained medical personnel are leaving in droves for a number of reasons, many of which the NARD has captured in what has become a perennial cycle of failed discussions, agreements not fulfilled and the ultimate recourse to industrial strikes.
As a result of these scenarios, on the part of the Doctors and medical personnel, there is so much of disappointment and dissatisfaction with the system, the reason why many of our Doctors give everything to want to JAPA!
So I can feel the frustration of Dr. Suleiman and the executive of NARD which has culminated in the decision to proceed on what they call TOTAL and COMPREHENSIVE INDUSTRIAL STRIKE [TICS] slated to start on August 10 206, less than five days to go.
From history, when a body goes on TICS, its like a hit on the jugular. The system and indeed would have paid gravely if that had materialised.
Many Nigerians are already aware of the implications of this, it means a total shut down of our public hospitals, we know that NARD is the major fulcrum for our public hospitals by reason of their numbers.
So August 10, 2026 would have been the beginning of another dark pall falling on our public hospitals, of course with the withdrawal of their critical services, we will be counting many helpless countrymen from far flung and remote Primary Health Centres to General Hospitals on forced discharges either to go and die at home, for those who are lucky to make it home that is, or many thrown into the waiting mouths of opportunistic sharks masquerading as ready alternatives in the name of private clinics for those who have properties to sell before accessing their services, and to those who cannot, they will be left with no options than to patronise neighbourhood quacks whose hack based practices will have innocent Nigerians to milk until the unfortunate happens.
This would have become the lot of our countrymen in the main, and obviously the corrolary would have been another huge splash of negative backlash of the President Bola Tinubu administration, who I believe has not been insensitive to the health of Nigerians, by some of the initiatives that we have seen , for instance the intervention in dialysis costs for renal care patients, of course NARD had also alluded to things that the President Bola Tinubu administration had done for health workers.
Regardless of all of these, the nation was faced with another looming disaster in the health sector that would have left that critical sector prostrate for a while, until, when and if they are called back to the negotiations table in good time, we would have been counting many innocent Nigerians in the morgues or in their graves.
But the nation was saved all of this grim situation when the fast approaching imminent doomsday was saved by one clear minded, clear headed and conscionable man, who used his personal reputation to collaterise a whole nation yet again.
In a fit of uncommon patriotic intervention, that simple act may have been the saving grace for my nephew or someone’s daughter on NYSC or somebody’s relatives in some unknown General hospital somewhere in Nigeria.
That patriotic intervention came from one citizen named Rt.Hon.Femi Gbajabiamila.
This citizen saved many unknown countrymen and women, whether you are Hausas from Kastina, or Ibos from Umuleri or from Okerenkoko in Delta or indeed Yoruba, from Surulere of the catastrophic implications of another round of national strike by our beleagured resident doctors who are in their numbers spread accross Nigeria.
Even on a good day, we know Doctors are in short supply, and now to think the few will down tools, would literally have been the descent of doomsday.
Maybe at this point, I should insulate my write up by admitting to a few facts, first, Yes, I have known Rt. Hon Femi Gbajabiamila for a while, and that dates back to 2003, but we became closer in 2011-2015, when i was in the House of Representatives.
He was our leader, as the head of the opposition, then the minority leader, and i was one of his most fiery foot soldiers against the rampaging onslaught of the PDP, led particularly by one of Nigeria’s finest parliamentarians, from the ruling party then in person of Hon Leo Okuwe Ogor.
Hon. Ogor from Delta State, was a very smart opposition figure, but i was one of the few that our leader, in person of the then Hon Femi Gbajabiamila recruited and mandated to tackle him, and tackle him real hard i and a few others did.
Hon. Okwue Ogor was a third term member, i was a first timer, and as we say in Yorubaland, “Omo kekere na ma nran lati se Ogun Ogboju” i.e its the young person that is mandated to test the “charm for defiance”!
And I did test that “defiance charm”many times!
A few times when the leader wants Hon Leo Ogor tackled, he would just look back and catch my gaze, then he would give a nod, i knew the meaning of that nod.
Other times, the then Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila would ask that i come over or he would leave his seat and come over like a proper coach would to his striker, whisper a few words and tell me to launch a “point of order” to arrest the motion by Hon Leo, and i would do justice.
So I know Rt.Hon Femi Gbajabiamila, and we were that close, but over the last eight years the relationship had kind of thinned out, i have only seen him thrice at public functions over the last seven years and we barely had time beyond a hand shake.
I had to say this so that the emotions that has moved me to write this is not misconstrued in any kind of way. I stand by my write up expressing the way I feel most sincerely.
So the intervention of His Excellency Rt.Hon Femi Gbajabiamila in this NARD imminent strike matter got me so emotional on the account of a few things that the President of Nigeria Association of Resident Doctors, Dr Suleiman said and how he said it.
I am not sure just reading it will be appreciated as much or enough until anyone who cares to gets to watch the video, i could read not only the President of NARD’s relief the way he talked after their meeting but more importantly the implications of the truce on Nigerians.
When a man has earned his flowers, i think it should be given to him EFFUSIVELY.
In this case I believe Rt Hon Femi Gbajabiamila has glowingly, without any argument.
For a number of reasons, sometimes strange and untoward, in Nigeria, good actions are never acknowledged and rarely celebrated.
When people who do right are never considered fit enough for their due recognitions, of course, its vintage Nigerians to make a swan song of matters that are still at the realms of allegations, so long as they are negative.
But we go mute and slide on proven positive acts and actions such as the timeous intervention of Rt Hon Femi Gbajabiamila in this matter that would have have pervasive grave consequences on innocent lives.
It will be appropriate to mention a few deductions from the President of NARD after the truce and cease fire that was secured by Rt. Hon.Femi Gbajabiamila’s intervention.
First, After meeting with Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on August 4, 2026, Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) President Dr. Muhammad Suleiman declared, “Today, I can tell you, our matters are solved.”
Secondly, He commended Gbajabiamila’s history of successful interventions dating back to his time as Speaker of the House of Representatives, speaking to earned reputation.
Thirdly, the President of the medical association also emphasised the place of the track record of Rt Hon Femi Gbajabiamila, according to him: “This is not the first time the Chief of Staff has intervened in matters relating to resident doctors in this country.
“About six or seven years ago, when he became Speaker, it was the first opportunity he had to intervene, and he has always intervened. Whenever he came into our issues, our matters were solved.
Fourthly, Rt Hon Femi Gbajabiamila showed a deeper understanding of the issues, even beyond what the association demanded, as a former super parliamentarian, here is is the icing on the cake as offered by the Chief of Staff to the President ” he said Gbajabiamila promised to drive legislative reform on the matter.
“The Chief of Staff has taken it upon himself to introduce legislation so that the National Assembly can come in with something that will make assault on health workers against the law!
I reckon that a Bill for Protection of Health Workers Act may just be in the offing, that’s a more constitutional cover that will give more comfort to the doctors.
This acknowledgement of the intervention of the Chief of Staff must be appreciated and glowingly celebrated because this is not even in the primary and core duty as Chief of Staff in a formal sense.
We have had many industrial actions from different organised bodies in this country.
Many nearly brought the nation to her knees, did we not have Chief of Staff to the Presidents back then? All through the years that we experienced such industrial actions and the attendant crippling consequences on the nation?
Could it be that previous holders of this vintage and vantage position either lacked or could not take the initiative at those moments or were simply unable to deploy “soft power” inherent in that important position to save our nation from the dire consequences of such strikes or indeed maybe they lacked the confidence and reputation to broker a truce with such bodies when occasions called for them?
But we saw yesterday, we saw Rt Hon Femi Gbajabiamila proved to be different.
By this act, He has not only saved the administration some ruckus, and by extension the President who is the boss another national headache but more importantly, brought relief to innocent Nigerians from another major life threatening pain and pressure point.
I believe Rt.Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila deserves a national commendation for this, particularly if we pay attention to the reputation that the President of NARD alluded to from the days when he was the Speaker, House of Representatives.
On another account, Nigerians will recall that the then Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila intervened during the attack on innocent Nigerians in Ghana 🇬🇭 and that intervention calmed the storm then.
I have no doubts that these capabilities must have informed the consistent vote of confidence that President Bola Tinubu passes on his Chief of Staff.
Even recently, when the wild allegations of one self styled Prince Adeniyi was rife, the President said “leave me with my Chief of Staff” now the President’s confidence in the Chief of Staff does not seem to be uninformed.
I have deliberately couched this post with this title because in the nearly four years of the President Bola Tinubu administration, Nigerians have been regaled with “Gbaja this Gbaja that”.
Interestingly the President had always stood by his Chief of Staff, again and again, the President’s celebrated ability to head hunt rightly may have just been proved and confirmed by Rt Hon Femi Gbajabiamila’s intervention in what was an imminent log jam on the Doctors matter until last night, thereby bringing succour not only to the Doctors, but deep sigh of relief to Government and Nigerians.
I am sure it came to this because the line officials that should have dealt with the matter could not broker the deal until Rt Hon Femi Gbajabiamila did as we saw last night saving the nation another testy moment.
In the Sixtys, one of our senior evergreen musicians [ i can’t remember his name right away] had the lyrics “like a this, like a that” , and from this lyrics, the people of Surulere 1, the constituency of then Hon Femi Gbajabiamila, then creatively crafted “Gbaja this Gbaja that” during one of his campaigns back then, to attest to the reality, when you mention this project, and ask who brought this project, they will say its Gbaja, who brought that intervention, they will say its Gbaja, so they creatively made a soothing campaign lyrics out of that, and it became “Gbaja this..Gbaja that”, adapted from that venerated musician’s lyrics of “like a this, like a that”
Today, I on behalf of many innocent Nigerians who have been saved another gruesome moment in the health sector thank Rt Hon Femi Gbajabiamila for this very patriotic intervention, “like this..like that”.
The truth is that only God could have been able to tell what may have happened from August 10 2026, if the Chief of Staff, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila had not done the needful.
May I also use this medium to thank the very cerebral President of NARD, Dr Suleiman for his resilience and long suffering leadership, thank you for been very reasonable.
Both you and your executive have yet again taken a good place in our history of management of industrial relations with Government.
I hope this marks the beginning of a long reassuring partnership journey between both Government and Labour [ regardless of which labour body ] to put the wellbeing of Nigerians first as ably exemplified by Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila with this very critical, nick of time intervention and the reasonable leadership and members of Nigeria Association of Resident Doctors. [NARD]
When a man has earned his flowers, it should be given to him without restraints.
Congressman Bimbo Daramola
Nigeria 🇳🇬 & Nigerians First Irredentist.
#bimboEkiti #nitoriojoolawa