Governor Bassey Otu has said that since great nations are built on a foundation of sacrifices, Nigerians from all walks of life should endeavour to toe same path for the country to be great.
The governor made the remarks in Calabar while playing host to the national executive committee of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), led by its National President, Dr. Uche Ojinmah.
He said, “It is true that great nations are built on the foundation of sacrifices. Let me say this, sacrifices are essential for the progress of Nigeria. We must all make sacrifices for the country to be great too.”
The governor charged medical professionals to make more sacrifices for the betterment of Nigeria, reiterating “for a nation to achieve greatness, sacrifices must be made.”
Lamenting brain drain in the health sector with the relocation of medical personnel to neighboring countries, he noted that the competition for medical professionals globally was fierce, with Nigeria facing a shortage.
Governor Otu, who acknowledged the importance of health, lauded those who had chosen to contribute to the development of Nigeria and expressed his confidence in the potential of the “Renewed Hope Agenda” of the Federal Government to transform Nigeria in the long run.
According to him, President Bola Tinubu was making difficult decisions so as to turn things around in Nigeria’s favour and noted that “today’s sacrifices will lead to positive outcomes tomorrow.”
In his remarks, the NMA National President, who said his team was in Calabar for the annual conference and delegates meeting of the association, called for the recruitment of more medical doctors into the State’s health sector and the implementation of a new salary scale for medical doctors to avoid brain drain.
He commended Cross River governor’s urban renewal programme, and the aesthetics in Calabar and its environs, which,he said, had restored hope.
“Some people do not understand that aesthetics is part of good health. It is better to live in a clean and comfortable environment and be poor than to live in a slum and be rich because what can kill you may be in the air,” he stated.
