Here’s a comprehensive report of the just concluded FYNI webinar.

The webinar video will be made available. You can always access it either here on the website, our social media pages, or our Youtube page.

Introduction

Welcome Address & Introduction of Guests

The webinar “Leadership and Politics in Nigerian Nursing: Engaging the Young Nurse,” is the first in the year 2022 held on the 28th of January 2022 and started at 6:00 pm WAT on the Zoom platform.

The guest speakers in attendance were Comrade Abdrafiu Alani Adeniji, the immediate past president NANNM, Nigeria; Nr. Sina Ayelabowo, the past national president, NANSNM; and Nr. Comrade Michael E. Nnachi, the incumbent president NANNM, Nigeria.

The webinar was moderated by Nr. Emmanuel Adesuyi. He gave the welcome address and gave citations for the guest speakers.

Prof. Mrs. Adejumo also gave a brief welcome speech. One of the panelists, Mrs. Okedare gave a short rundown of the previous webinar.

The goodwill message was given by Comrade Adeniji, who mentioned the mother of modern-day nursing, Florence Nightingale as the first nurse to lobby the government.

“The future belongs to those who believe in the future of his/her dreams,” he said, quoting Eleanor Rosevelt.

He went on to say that all dreams in professional development are locked in and can only progress by remaining focused, committed, and politically active.

The International Council of Nurses (ICN) encourages all nurses to engage in politics and policy formulation in their home countries, bringing nurses’ visibility, their voices, and influence to the policy formulation table.

The ICN stated that if nurses, their voices, and influences are not visible at the policy formulation table in any country, they are most likely to be consumed at the table.

He went on to mention notable nurse politicians who have actively participated in secular politics and nurses who fought for the advancement of nursing.

Comrade Adeniji concluded by reminding us that the health industry is a highly competitive one; and if nurses do not want to be consumed, we must be ready to be more politically active, making our presence felt and our voices heard at the policy formulation table.

The Panel Discussion

The Panel discussion was moderated by Nr. Ruth Ololade. She started by asking the guest speakers to give a motivational speech to the audience:

Questions And Answers

Questions were entertained from 66 participants and were carefully discussed by the guest speakers.

Here are some of the questions and answers:

What is the difference between leadership and politics?
Nr. Comrade Nnachi: Leadership is about leading the people while politics is about sharing resources. He went on to say that nurses should not play politics, but engage in professional leadership activities.

How is NANNM contributing to the leadership capacity of young nurses?
Nr. Comrade Nnachi: NANNM is concerned with the development of individuals, and encourages nurses to develop themselves and listen to instructions given by people who have been in their shoes.

Is there an age limit for nurses’ involvement in leadership roles?
Nr. Sina Ayelabowo: “Whoever is in nursing school is already an adult, and there is no age limit for leadership involvement. However, the climate may not be favorable or conducive for young nurses as some roles are not in the nursing profession.”

He went on to posit that Nursing generally is regarded as a female profession, and as such, more women are needed in leadership roles or political affairs and he made reference to countries with women in chambers where nursing is thriving.

How does a nurse manage professional activities and government office duties?

Comrade Adeniji: “The essence of governance is to pull and distribute resources.” He encouraged nurses to find a strong voice that represents nurses and the profession at all levels of governance.

“Start from your area and level and be known, get involved with policy formulation, and then work on implementation after policy formulation,” He advises.

What is NANNM doing to ensure the newly approved entry point of graduate nurses with BNSc is implemented across various hospitals?

Nr. Comrade Nnachi: The law has been approved by the National Council of Health, and it is not up for negotiation but compliance. He went on to say that the circular will be sent out soon to all establishments.

What is the legal backing of the Association of General Nurses in Private Practice?

Comrade Adeniji: Private nurses are bonafide members of NANNM. And the roles in nursing are not limited to public practice. There is an interaction with AGNPP and NANNM at both state and national levels.

How can young nurses be supported in building careers in politics?

Nr. Ayelabowo: “This can be achieved through mentorship. Nurses should join forums for expressions of concerns, challenges, and achievements. Younger nurses should not be afraid to go out and do exploits.”

What do you think about nurses writing IELTS to migrate to other countries, given we are native speakers of English?

Nr. Comrade Nnachi: Just like Nursing schools have requirements before admission, countries have criteria to satisfy before letting you into their country, and IELTS is one of the requirements that must be met.

The secretary of FYNI, Nr. Fadodun Damilola rounded up the webinar by reiterating the need for nurses to engage in leadership roles and policy formulation and also announced that FYNI would be kickstarting the mentorship program for nurses [to keep in touch, kindly follow us on our social media pages].

Participants were encouraged to visit the website [and follow the organization’s social media pages] as announcements would be made on the website [and on the social media pages] and broadcasted accordingly [on our Whatsapp platforms].

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