The Nigerian Orthopaedic Association has promised to engage in constructive dialogue with the government and other stakeholders in the medical field.
The pledge was made by its newly-elected National President, Professor Sydney Ibeanusi, at a dinner and award ceremony to mark the closing session of the 46th Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference in Abuja on Friday.
He said he would use his influence as the Director of Public Private Partnership and Diaspora engagement, Federal Ministry of Health, and as a visiting consultant to the National Hospital Abuja, to drive home the association’s agenda.
Ibeanusi also pledged to promote research during his tenure as president and that his knowledge and spirit in the medical field would be used to achieve some of the association’s agendas.
He said, “If you understand the history of our association, it is something we pride ourselves on, what I will be doing differently is to build on what my predecessor has done.
“A lot of men brought out their time, their skill, their knowledge and commitment to this great association and built it to the point where we are today and that is one of the rebirths of society across the globe.
“Nigeria Orthopaedic Association is rebirthing in the United States of America, in the UK and Europe and other parts of the world, all our surgeons are being sought after.
“So what I will be doing differently is to add to what they have done like I did mention in my acceptance speech, I have been in academia and I reached the apex of my academic career to the level of a professor.
“I have been in the private service; I have been in the philanthropic service where I offered and treated over 100,000 Nigerians free of charge through the Doctors Without Borders programme and now I’m in the public service as a director in the Federal Ministry of Health.
“I have been the director of trauma and emergency and disasters response in the same Federal Ministry of Health; with all these background, knowledge and the spirit which I’m bringing to bear will support me,” he said.
Ibeanusi promised that he would continue to engage the government in constructive, decisive action, but not confrontational
The professor said would give more quality care to Nigerians who deserved orthopaedic and trauma services and recalled that the association recently carried out free knee surgeries on 10 lucky Nigerians as pre-AGM activities, adding that ordinarily, such surgeries would have cost each one of them N6m.
Ibeanusi said that the association is happy with what he is doing and would continue to carry out philanthropic work and reach out to many Nigerians.
He, however, called for government support to enable the association to carry out some of the tasks.
According to him, Nigerians don’t need to travel abroad to do anything related to trauma, joint replacement, spine or back problem treatment and some of these treatments are currently done in the country.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria, the dinner ushered in a new set of executives that will be piloting the affairs of the association for another two years, while some prominent Nigerians were given awards for their support to the association.
(NAN)
