Dangers of Worthless Followership

Hello friends, I gladly welcome you all to this season of self search.

In this season, God is asking us a critical question:
'Isn't Israel a valued servant, born into a family with place and position? How did he end up a piece of meat fought over by snarling & roaring lions?... (Jeremiah 2:14-15).

The unfortunate cause of Israel's tragedy reflected in the question above was:

1)  Worthless followership makes a person one worthless (Jeremiah 2:5). In view of this, I want to ask you a simple but sincere question:

Look Before You Leap: A Relationship Case Study (Part 2)

Jack was so amazed at Jane’s wisdom because in two weeks of implementing her recommendations, he realized a level of profit his business had not seen in five months.  Coincidentally within this time, Mike told Jane to stop seeing Jack because of:

• the strange feeling for caution he has suddenly developed about the whole drama;
• some passive messages Jack has consistently communicated to her lately and;
• the attitudes and contradictions that had began to manifest about Jack.

Summarily Mike had come to the conclusion that Jack had a hidden agenda and was playing with Jane’s feeling without her realizing it. Unfortunately Jane was innocently engrossed in her philosophy of helping a ‘brother in need’, hence, perceived Mike as being jealous. This whole argument resulted in Jane avoiding Mike, her fiancé.

Mike tried to rebuild the line of communication to no avail and decided to follow up the issue prayerfully (that is asking God to open Jane’s eyes to the reality on ground before it becomes too late).  Two weeks later, Jane started seeing through all the lies Jack was telling. Some of which were:

•   He lived with two children (the purported daughters of his aunty living in London) but Jane discovered interacting with them that they were his daughters. And he had them under oath never to tell her about it;
• The business problem was a calculated scheme designed to drag her into a sympathy marriage;
• He wrecked a ‘marriage relationship’ with a young lady already living with him. Who he presented as his employee two weeks after meeting with Jane;
• His boast that he can do anything to woo any woman he was interested in.
• His mother advised him to impregnate Jane since she is playing hard to get.

Look Before You Leap: A Relationship Case Study (Part 1)

Jane and Mike were in a marriage relationship, which they dedicated to God right from the onset. They earnestly wanted to fulfill God’s purpose for their lives, so took time to seek God’s face and get the conviction to go on with this relationship.

While discussing the details of their marriage solemnization (with their family members, the church, etc), the relationship was put to the first test. The story goes thus:

“Jane was a health personnel and a devout Christian. This credential gave her the privilege of being often used as a seminar and workshop resource person within her formation.  On this particular occasion, she was invited to handle a marriage seminar in a branch of her fellowship (she objected to this invitation initially considering that she wasn’t married yet. The leadership of the fellowship prevailed on her so she accepted it).

On the day of the seminar, she gave a good account of herself and her audience acknowledged that her paper presentation was educative.  After the presentation a young man in his mid forties, Jack, sought to know how she could know so much about marriage seeing that she was not married yet. She smiled and told Jack that she was guided by her manual.

Jack insisted that it was not all about the manual but that He sensed that God was with her and that differentiated her from most of the sisters he knew.  Jane felt embarrassed by this comment; he observed it and apologized while asking if he could see her again. Jane told him the branch of the fellowship she belonged to and walked away wondering what Jack had up his sleeves.

Defining The Relationship (Part 2)

How Then Do I Start

The truth is that getting started (defining the relationship) often creates some level of nervousness (leaves butterflies in your stomach). It always leaves your heart racing between issue, your palms sweating, and your knees shaking; all these are understandable because you want to get “this done with” as quickly and effortlessly as possible.  There is however no guarantee that this discussion will be as easy as you had planned it on the drawing board.

The truth is that it wasn’t easy for Joel. Daniela had visited Joel one week after taking him to see her mum, they discussed as usual sharing their experiences, things they have learnt within the period of time they had not seen. While all these discussions were going on, Joel was struggling in his mind how to start off this discussion. Eventually he summoned courage and dropped the bomb: ‘Daniela, you know I have been wondering how this relationship really started and where it is taking us to’.

Silence prevailed over the room, Joel and Daniela got drawn in the sea of deep thought. After a while, Daniela broke the silence and said ‘I am really happy you raised this question’. This is because I have been having sleepless nights too especially because many people have been asking me what I was doing with you. 

Defining The Relationship (Part 1)

Defining the Relationship (DTR) is adding credibility to the word of Dr. Myles Munroe: “When purpose is not known, abuse is inevitable”.

Purpose is the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists. That is the motive, justification or objective of its existence.  It can also be said to be a person's sense of resolve or determination (that is your resolution or conviction for doing something). So to define the relationship (DTR) is to:

•        have a reason for getting into the relationship,
•       have a motive for getting into it,
•        have a justification or objective why you should be in it,
•       etc

When To Define The Relationship

Joel was a staff of a well known Church in Nigeria. He was a very good student and was willing to learn something new from anyone willing to volunteer their knowledge. Soon, he realized that Daniela (a sister in the same church was coming close to him), he didn’t have any issue with that because Daniela was a Polytechnic student that needed someone to confide in especially after the death of her younger sister.

5 Signs To Show You Are Not Communicating Effectively In A Relationship

Often time, people think "communication problems" or "bad communication" as it is known in the local palace in a relationship solely manifests when one person just stops talking in a relationship. However, this is not the case at all. There are many other signs that show a lack or the breakdown of effective communication in relationships. If you will ever desire to have an amiable relationship, then it is important that you pay attention to these five signs so that they don’t become major crisis brewers in your beautiful relationships.

Communicating is said to be effective when in a two way information sharing process, a party sends a message that is easily understood by the other party and the desired feedback is achieved/accomplished. This means that for communication to take place there must be:  
      1.  a sender of the message; 
      2.  a message to be sent; 
      3.  a medium for sending the message and; 
   4. an interference (unfortunately many do not pay attention to this; to their detriment)

This write up hopes to highlight some of these interferences that obviously indicate that you are not communicating effectively in your relationship (whether it be with friends, your spouse, your siblings, your children, in the office etc). These principles are same irrespective of the type of relationship. So you may want to pay attention to these relationship time bombs:

NMA And Her Egocentric Demands: The Height Of Gross Lawlessness, Impunity And Blackmail (3)

   22. NMA demands that Government must urgently set up a health trust fund that will enhance the upgrading of hospitals.NMA is being sentimental here, the problems of our hospital is not funding but mismanagement and accountability. Even if the Government sets 100 trust funds with billions of naira much will not come out of it, because the hospitals are managed contrary to Government laws and principles. Hospital/health administrators should be the ones to head and manage the hospitals. Our hospitals have been poorly managed under the leadership of Allopathic Physicians. When there is good management and accountability Government set goals/objectives can be actualized. 

   23. APPOINTMENT INTO THE OFFICE OF THE CMD/MD: NMA is always doctoring and adding to organic laws. In her 23rd demand, NMA stated “the position of the Chief Medical Director/Medical Director must continue to be occupied by a medical doctor as contained in the act establishing the tertiary hospitals. This position remains sacrosanct and untouchable.” I can beat my chest and say that the leadership of NMA have never seen nor read the content of University Teaching Hospitals (reconstruction of boards) cap U15, LFN 2004 commonly called decree 10 of 1985.There is no where it stated what NMA quoted above. In fact the term medical doctor was never used in that document or Act. Section 5 of the act provides; 

           a)    There shall be for each hospital a Chief Medical Director who shall be appointed by the president on

                such terms and conditions as may be specified in his letter of appointment or as may be determined

                from time to time by the Federal Government.

           b)      The Chief Medical Director shall

                           i.      Be a person who is medically qualified and registered as such for a period of not less than 12 years, and has had considerable administrative experience in matters of health and holds a post graduate medical qualification obtained not less than 5 years prior to the appointment as chief medical director and 

                         ii.      Be charged with the responsibility for the execution of the polices and matters affecting the day to day management of the affairs of the hospital.

NMA And Her Egocentric Demands: The Height Of Gross Lawlessness, Impunity And Blackmail (2)

   10. NMA, with the huge sum they are paid, still wants adjustment in their specialist allowance to be paid to all doctors on CONMESS 3 and above, and must be paid its equivalent that is not less than 50% higher than what is paid to other Health Workers. How can NMA be the one to decide what other Health Workers get? NMA should go and read the Parable of one Talent Payment. 

   11. NMA is calling for Government to pay her members 100,000 naira every month as just hazard allowance. How can NMA be demanding for such, despite all she is already receiving? She is being too selfish/greedy in her demands. Even other workers with worse occupational hazards are not receiving such.

   12. NMA insists on immediate release of circulars on rural posting, teaching and other allowance which must include House Officers. Since 2009 NMA and her members have been collecting teaching allowance even though that teaching allowances as approved by the Government was for very Senior Medical Doctors (Consultants and very Senior Registrars)that are involved in teaching of doctors in training, especially the junior and senior interns. House officers are the junior interns while Resident doctors are senior interns doing a student fellowship to become a specialist .Now NMA is agitating that the interns who are still doctors in training should be paid teaching allowance. House officers and resident doctors by government circulars are not entitled to this payment; it is because of them that Government is paying the teaching allowance. How can the doctor in training be asking for teaching allowance when he is a trainee, and who is he teaching? Since the approval in 2009 and full implementation in 2010, House Officers and Resident Doctors who are NMA members, have been fraudulently collecting huge monthly teaching allowances which they are not entitled. There is no government circular or template that approved such payment. It was in this year 2014, that the Government through the Call Budget Circular from the Ministry of Finance opposed and stopped the payment of teaching allowance to interns. For five years members of NMA who were not entitled to teaching allowance have been defrauding the Government. He who comes to equity must come with clean hands.

13. NMA calls for immediate withdrawal of CBN circular authorizing the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigerian (MLSCN) to approve licenses for the importation of in vitro diagnostics (IVDS). It is so petty that NMA is going on strike because the Federal Government (which means well for Nigerians), has taken the bull by the horn to making sure that fake/ substandard diagnostic consumables are removed from the system, by effectively empowering MLSCN-the Agency who has the statutory function to do this job. Sections 4b, and 4e of MLSCN act 11 2003 provides- the function of the board are:

(a) Regulate the Practice of Medical Laboratory Science in Nigerian.

(b) Regulate the production, importation, sales, and stocking of diagnostic reagents and chemicals.

NMA And Her Egocentric Demands: The Height Of Gross Lawlessness, Impunity And Blackmail (1)

In an open letter written to the secretary to the Federal Government of Nigeria, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, on the 10th of June and sent to him on the 11th of June 2014, the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) under the leadership of Dr. Kayode Obembe as President and Dr. Adewumi Alayaki as secretary had written 24 demands that must be urgently met. They have given the Government a 14-day ultimatum, failure of which NMA would call her members out on an indefinite strike nationwide. NMA is made up of ASSOPON- Association of Pathologist of Nigeria, MDCAN - Medical and Dental Consultants of Nigeria, ARD-Association of Resident Doctors and smaller sister Associations, who are doctors in public and private practice.

For many years, Allopathic Medical Doctors in Nigeria have always hoodwinked the Government and the general public, through falsehood and blackmail. They have coerced the Government to take unfavorable decisions which have always been detrimental to the health sector and the Nigerian populace. They have continually done this as a result of the structural injustice that has been perpetuated by many members of NMA in high places in Government. They undermine the laws setting up the hospital system, the Public Service Rules and above all the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

At this juncture let us have a critical look at those demands.

1.  APPOINTMENT OF THE POST OF THE DEPUTY CMAC IN HOSPITALS. In line with the University Hospitals (reconstruction of boards) cap U15, LFN 2004 commonly called decree 10 of 1985 which governs Hospital practice in Nigerian, there is the office of the CMAC but it never provided for the office of the DCMAC. In section 4, it provides thus; “there shall be for each Hospital, a Chairman of the Medical Advisory Committee who shall be appointed by the Board and responsible to the Chief Medical Director for all the Clinical and Training activities of the Hospital”. Section 2i provides that; the CMAC is a member of the board. There is no place in the organic law setting up the hospital that created the office of the DCMAC and there is no place it says that only Allopathic Medical Doctors should be appointed as such. Yet NMA is insisting that the Government must appoint four DCMAC in every Teaching Hospital and three in every Federal Medical Centre. All along, Boards of Hospitals as a result of threats from NMA have been allowing this illegal office to be used to undermine statutory approved Scheme of Service of other professional groups. The Public Service Rule in section 1-general in 160101 provides; ‘A Parastatal is a government-owned organization, established by statutes to render specified service(s) to the public. It is structured and operates according to the instrument establishing it and also comes under the policy directives of government. In line with 160201 (a) statutory boards/council shall set operational and administrative policies in accordance with government policy directives and supervise the implementation of such policies. A situation where Allopathic Medical Doctors in Nigeria wants the Government to continue to create post and responsibilities not backed by statutes undermines the principles of good governance. It is gross violation of the law setting the Government owned institution. Moreover, it is trite law that you cannot add to a statute. That will be ultra verse.