Nigeria has millions of nurses worldwide but we lack the spirit of the profession’s founder Florence Nightingale

By Ayo Akinfe

(1) Today is October 21. On this day in 1854 a certain British lady called Florence Nightingale with a staff of 38 was sent to the Crimean War to help look after troops injured during the fighting between Britain, France and Russia and alas, the profession of nursing was born. Nightingale selflessly introduced things like sick pans, dressing wounds, making beds, etc and ever since then, healthcare has been revolutionised

(2) In 1860, Florence Nightingale laid the foundation for professional nursing with the establishment of her nursing school at St Thomas' Hospital in London. It was the first secular nursing school in the world and is now part of King's College London. Today, Nigerian nurses are the sixth largest ethnic group within the British National Health Service (NHS). By the time you add Britons of Nigerian extraction, we are probably second behind the Indians

(3) I ask myself why the Nightingale spirit is thus not infectious across our community. Where are all these selfless nurses committed to the greater good of humanity, who have dedicated their lives to a cause? Some scholars of Nightingale believe that she remained chaste for her entire life, perhaps because she felt a religious calling to her career. That kind of spirit is what is needed if Nigeria is to lift 100m people out of poverty

(4) We naively think that we do not have to make unprecedented sacrifices if we want to turn the world’s largest black nation from the poverty capital of the planet into an economic giant. We are deluded in this as “business-as-usual” will only get you so far. There is also only so much the government can do. Ordinary Nigerians must be prepared to dedicate their lives to the betterment of Nigeria at tremendous personal cost if they want to lift the nation out of poverty

(5) Let me sound like a broken record and repeat this for all of you again. By 2050, Nigeria will become the third most populous nation on earth. If we do not want the country to collapse underneath our feet like a pack of cards, now is the time to start an unprecedented industrial revolution. We need something like the kind of massive industrial output witnessed in the US during World War Two. Most of this radical expansion was actually private sector driven. In contrast, Nigerians are waiting for the government to come up with ideas

(6) For those who think all this is utopian, I think I should remind you that historically, it has been individuals who have turned round the fortunes of nations. For instance, also on this day in 1805, at the Battle of Trafalgar, British Admiral Horatio Nelson defeated the combined French and Spanish fleet to establish Britain as the world’s leading maritime power. Admiral Nelson was shot and killed during the battle. He paid the ultimate price for the greater good. Look at how Britain went on to dominate global trade, colonise half of the world and generate billions as a result of his actions

(7) Also on that issue of seafaring, it was also on October 21 in 1520 that explorer Ferdinand Magellanand and his fleet reached Cape Virgenes and became the first Europeans to sail into the Pacific Ocean. He proved that the world was spherical and not flat, leading to an unprecedented growth in trade and commerce. When Magellanand and his crew set out, they had no idea if they would return or not. How many Nigerians are prepared to lay down their lives in this manner for the greater good?

(8) When I also look at the way the American troops captured the German city of Aachen on this day in 1944 during World War Two, I can see where Nigeria’s problems lie. Everyone wants a soft landing and economic growth at minimum inconvenience. No nation has ever been built that way. Do you know that the Battle of Aachen cost both the Americans and Germans dearly as the former suffered over 7,000 casualties, while the latter lost over 5,000 lives and had 5,600 taken prisoner. Aachen was the first German city to fall on the western front so the battle for it was bloody. Troops on both sides were prepared to fight to the death come what may. Failure was not considered an option

(9) Who knows, it may be Nigerian nurses who lead the way with our much-needed national orientation, so can they please mark today down as the start of a new beginning. Can every Nigerian nurse dedicate themselves to following in the selfless footsteps of Florence Nightingale and can every nursing organisation dedicate itself to holding seminars, workshops and symposia about her work

(10) It is not some genius in Aso Rock that is going to turn Nigeria around, it is foot soldiers like our nurses. When our ordinary folk are prepared think the unthinkable, to do things without deriving any personal benefit and are prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice for the greater good, Nigeria will enjoy unprecedented socio-economic development