Immediate Past President of the World Medical Association (WMA), Dr. Osahon Enabulele, has asked members of the medical profession to close ranks to advance the cause of the medical profession and humanity.
He was speaking on the occasion of a Reception and Award ceremony held in his honour by the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN), UBTH chapter, on account of his successful display of excellence, visionary leadership and global health transformation during his tenure as the President of the WMA.
Welcoming him to the gathering, Professor Adobamen, the Chairman of MDCAN UBTH Chapter, said, “I consider it a great privilege to be able to host you after your very successful tenure as President of the WMA. I believe honour should be given to whom honour is due. We certainly appreciate you and this is our own little way of showing that appreciation. There is no better time to do this than now.”
Responding, Dr. Enabulele thanked the leadership of MDCAN, UBTH Chapter, for the honour done to him, saying that the honour will trigger him to do much more for the Association, the medical profession, the health system, and humanity in general.
On the award conferred on him, Dr. Enabulele averred that “from my ideological standpoint we are made to understand that it is not right for one to do things because one is expecting rewards. What you need to do is to keep working for society, and projecting the cause of our common humanity, and when rewards come, you appreciate them. You receive the rewards, but with a commitment to do much more.
“They gave you that award and recognition because of what they saw you doing. It is on account of this that I feel extremely delighted today that the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN), UBTH Chapter, found it necessary to reward me for all they thought that I have been doing, not only at the level of the World Medical Association, but even before then, in terms of advancing the medical profession and the cause of our common humanity.
“I want to say that this really is something that will continue to warm my heart. It is something that will remain ingrained in my consciousness forever.”
Going further, he stressed: “the medical profession as we see it today is under siege, and will take the efforts of each and everyone of us to rescue the profession. Everywhere I go, I talk about this. Let me let you know that it is not only in Nigeria that we have this challenge.
“Indeed in many countries that I have travelled to, this challenge also is there. There are approaches towards solving it. In all of these, we need our collective efforts. I want to encourage the leadership at all levels to draw everyone together to understand and appreciate the current times and the need to be part of the efforts to rescue our noble medical profession, because really, it is under siege.”