by
The National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), Federal Health Institution Sector, Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Calabar, has commended the Director General of the Caterpillar Movement, Chief Joe Obi Bisong for his display of professionalism in service, mentorship, and immense contribution to the nursing profession in particular and humanity in general. Speaking at the NANNM(FNPH, Calabar) Send-Off Party in honour of 38 retirees on Wednesday, April 21, 2021, NANNM Chairman, FNPH, Calabar, Mr Monday Patrick Anake described Chief Joe Obi Bisong as a qualified, certified and experienced nurse whose drive for empathy is worth emulating.
In his speech, Chief Bisong who served as Chairman of the occasion poured encomium on the Medical Director, Dr Bassey Edet whom he described as “A man who combines competence and excellence” as he delved into what inspired him into the nursing profession: “The watch worn by nurses that time was not a common thing; they hung it on the chest protruding downward with two clear biros of which one must be red and one could be either black or blue. The immacularity of the uniform was another thing, sparkling uniform. But, the major drive for me was empathy. I enjoy putting myself in the shoes of the other person. These factors drew my admiration to the nursing profession.”
Short of his expectations, Chief Bisong lamented the twist of hope that befell him as he said: “From my first day in the school of nursing my expectations were very different from what I came to meet. I thought I was going into an institution where there was going to be freedom, where there was going to be a lot of things. But, when I got there the very first thing they told me with emphasis was “this is nursing. The actions ordinary you could have carried out and become a stepping stone for the growth of the profession were said to be an affront to the profession. Questions for clarification were said to be disrespectful. This became the issue.”
In a congratulatory message to the retirees Chief Bisong said: “In an event such as this where people have put in 35 years of meritorious service, it’s no mean feat and all we need to say to them is congratulations”. He lamented the poor preparation of workers towards retirement as he said: “It is a dangerous situation when you work for 35 years and retire without a house of your own and your children are still in school. Pension is supposed to be the money you use to buy drug supplements, eat good food and enjoy yourself. Having made this fundamental mistake and you begin to train your children with pension is not a very good development. We don’t use pension to build houses. When you begin to wait for monthly pension just to buy one or two bags of cement, that also is not a very good situation. If you are hit by health challenge in the course of such you discover that you would be buried in an uncompleted building.”
The event drew the presence of representatives of national executive of NANNM, serving and retired nurses, and families and friends of retirees.
