From Cyriacus Nnaji, Lagos
The Executive President of Nurses Across the Borders, Pastor Peters Omoragbon, has urged Nigerian nurses in the diaspora to unite and become more visible in shaping national healthcare conversations.
Omoragbon made the call while reacting to this year’s NIDCOM Diaspora Week, which focused on healthcare professionals and ended with an audience with the President of Nigeria.
He described the theme as timely, but said the absence of nurses at key moments of the event was a missed opportunity.
“It is commendable that NIDCOM dedicated this year’s Diaspora Week to healthcare professionals. But as I watched the presentations, one question stood out: Where were our nurses?” Omoragbon asked.
He noted that the event was “overwhelmingly physician-led” and questioned the lack of nursing representation during the symbolic presentation of awards and plaques to the President.
“Even if the platform was not handed to us, did we forget to be innovative, strategic, and assertive enough to seize that opportunity and make our impact felt?” he said.
Omoragbon pointed to medical missions in the South-South coordinated by diaspora doctors, saying there was no visible participation of diaspora nurses. “We need to see pictures of Diaspora nurses and doctors working side by side in the field. If we are absent from these narratives, how do we measure our impact?” he queried.
He recalled that NIDCOM initially did not include nurses in its planning until a public call-out forced a review. Now that nurses have gained access to high-level platforms, he said the next step is to translate that access into real value for communities.
“The uncomfortable truth is that we are not united. And without unity, we cannot influence meaningful change in Nigeria’s healthcare space,” he stated.
Pastor Peters Omoragbon who is also Director, International Liaison, NNCA UK and President, Diaspora Nurses Association of Nigeria, recalled leading a unification movement for Nigerian nurses in 2008 and 2009 with Dr. Bola Olowu, which led to federal government participation at the first NANNNA scientific conference.
However, he lamented that the Nurses Technical Committee set up to sustain cohesion among diaspora nurses collapsed due to “non-cooperative attitudes.”
“We killed it with our disunity,” he said.
Omoragbon stressed that diaspora nurses have the expertise, resources, and global exposure to drive transformation, but must first put aside personal interests. “This is bigger than any individual. It is not about Pastor Peters. It is not about NNCA UK or NANNNA. It is about nursing and nurses. The wake-up call is sounding. Will we finally answer together?” he concluded.
