Nursing and Politics in Nigeria

NURSING AND POLITICS
I will like to start my write up with this popular saying that “you cannot change the system if you are in the system” but I will also tell all my readers that this is not so for politics because in politics, ‘”you have to be in the system to influence the system either directly or indirectly”.
On this note, I introduce myself as Orolugbagbe Joel, a lover of all activities aimed at making Nursing a better profession worldwide.
Many will say because Nursing is a noble profession then Nurses are not to practice politics whereas our other contemporaries are into politics using their political position to better their profession. 
There are so many questions we as Nurses need to ask ourselves such as:
Why am I in Nursing?
What have I done to make Nursing better?
How can I make Nursing better?
Or probably satisfied with the present position of Nursing in the health sector?
And what has been my impact in Nursing since I joined the profession?
Why is Nursing in its present state?
POLITICS POLITICS POLITICS!!!!!!!!!!!
I will say politics is the act of making policies. 
Therefore I will also say, how many Nurses do we have among the policy makers in this country and all over the world?
Personally I am tired of the old tales, can't we have new tales so that we can make a new Nursing??
Let me go to our universities, the last student union president that was suspended from OAU was a medical students, the present president elect of Unilorin is a medical student and a part 5 medical student to be precise. Then where are Nurses? have you ever heard in history where any nurse becomes the student union president of a university? No!! But why?? 
Then we complain that other health professionals are progressing and we are not. The reason is because we are not part of the decision makers. 
An adage says “ when you give a mad man hoe to hoe, he will surely hoe towards himself”. We need to be politically inclined and fully involved in Politics even if not because of anything but because of our dear profession.
The benefit of participating in politics as a Nurse is more than the harm but we only tend to major on the minor which is the harm and minor on the major which is the benefit that our profession can get.
On this note I I will like to drop my pen but before I do that I will like to challenge everyone reading my article today that “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR NURSING AND WHAT WILL YOU DO TO BETTER NURSING?

I remain my humble self
Nurse Orolugbagbe Joel O.
S2 President SLPG OAUTHCSON

Article inspired by 
Fajimolu Deborah Olabisi (Bhybeesparks) 
Vice president SLPG S2 WGH 

I reference
Prince Alege Olusegun Edmund
Founder Nurse Advocate Nigeria 

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