By: Ibrahim Williams
Another breeze of discord has blown and unveiled a new contour in the rear-view of the medico-presidential chicken. News has it that a novel war of bickering has occurred between the ever-demanding resident doctors, and our very responsible, sensible, and admirable government.
A few days ago, the epileptic romance between this duo took a Titanic cruise to the iceberg — again. The resident doctors, fed up with the enjoyable heat in the hospitals, decided to catch some fresh air on the street while singing the lyrics of a breakup song which highlighted the government’s pregnant promises to make working in hospitals a bit less conducive.
It seemed, nonetheless, as though the doctors have been so busy sleeping in the wards that they didn’t get to know about the much more important things the government has been up to lately — like, say, approving N27 billion for the renovation of the House of Assembly.
Among their claims, they accused the government of neglecting them at the forefront of the battle; a claim which appears rather cynical. I mean, this is just a bunch of men and women who all they’ve done so far is leave their families and loved ones, put their lives at risk to take charge of saving victims of the virus. But then, compared to the selfless and patriotic inaction of the government who sit comfortably at home to make sure everyone in the country is safe and fine, who does the more tedious part of the job?
A particularly irregular point these doctors made was that they had asked for personal protective equipment severally and that the government was yet to respond in kind. One would somewhat assume that these guys are only being petty about their requests, as it sounds ridiculous to let people die just because you don’t have PPE? Is it not obvious that what the government is trying to tell them is simply to think! out! of the box!
By thinking out of the box, they could, for instance, remain in the world-class medical structures that the government has provided, use the washing machines to wash the PPEs when dirty; or they could borrow from other health workers who are off duty; or at the best, invest in their own safety by buying these PPEs themselves!
When one has a government as proactive and responsible as is in Nigeria, it is only complementary to assist in whatever way necessary. After all, a wise man once said, “Do not ask what your government can do for you, rather ask, ‘What can I do for my government?’”
At this juncture, I would want to assume that the government is doing everything humanly possible to salvage the situation. As a matter of fact, I have a positive premonition that a fifteen-man committee has been set up to look into the matter. And their response will be available in about six or eight weeks from now. While they are at that, it is my honest hope that citizens behave civilly by contracting the virus as the government will keep the hospitals running with its experienced cleaners, nurses, and gate-men who are committed to dutifully fulfilling their works without too many complaints. Unlike some people.
Feature image by: Laura Brennan/The McGill Daily
