NARD begins warning strike, demands immediate rescue of kidnapped member

• Says insecurity fuelling brain drain, tasks FG
• Popoola is alive, association confirms

Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has embarked on a seven-day warning strike over the abduction of their colleague, Dr. Ganiyat Popoola, a Registrar in the Department of Ophthalmology, National Eye Centre, Kaduna State.
 
The medical practitioner was kidnapped along with her husband and nephew by bandits who raided the staff quarters of the hospital, on December 27, 2023.
 

While her husband has been released since March, the doctor and her nephew were still in captivity at the time of filing this report.
 
NARD President, Dr Dele Abdullahi, said the warning strike, which was decided on during an emergency meeting of the National Executive Council (NEC), would begin by midnight of Monday, August 26.
 
“The strike is not to punish anyone, but an outcry. The association has been on a protest for the last two weeks to get a desired response. The security agencies are not pulling their weight. We strongly feel that much can be done; hence, we start with this warning strike to press home our demand.
 
“Hopefully, by Sunday next week, we will be resuming, based on the activities of the security agencies on whether to call it off or to proceed on an indefinite strike. The demand is simple; the unconditional and straight release of Popoola and the need for the government to hasten this process,” he told The Guardian.
 
President, NARD, Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Ebute Metta, Lagos, Dr Onyinye Lazson, confirmed to The Guardian that resident doctors would not be in the hospital, adding: “We have other cadres of doctors that will be running the hospitals.”

ALSO, NARD, University College Hospital (UCH) chapter, yesterday, called on the Federal Government to do all within its power to rescue the victim.
 
The President, Dr John Oladapo, told The Guardian in Ibadan that the branch was joining the seven-day warning strike to press home the demand.
 
He said: “We are joining the strike to press home the release of our colleague, Dr Ganiyat Popoola, who was trained here and hails from Iseyin in Oyo State. We trust in the capacity of the government to rescue her. The abduction draws attention to one of the issues leading to brain drain in the health sector. She must be released immediately.”
 
Members of the association had earlier protested in all tertiary hospitals across the nation to demand Popoola’s release.

MEANWHILE, President of NARD, Dr Dele Abdullahi, has confirmed that Popoola is still alive but has no good news about her health.
 
He urged the Federal Government to intervene and save her life from her abductors, as members of NARD at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH), yesterday, joined the strike.
 
All the sections of UITH were affected by the strike, forcing consultants, nurses and other health workers to do more shifts to bridge the gap created by the strike.
 
There was no panic discharge of patients and none was turned back at the outpatients’ section of the hospital.
 
The spokesperson of UITH, who is also the Head of Corporate Affairs Unit (CAU), Mrs E.O. Ajiboye, said the management would ensure that the strike would not affect the smooth running of the hospital.

However, Abdullahi told The Guardian, yesterday: “Our negotiator is trying his best for us. A few hours ago, we heard her voice on the tape, pleading for her release. The tone of the voice suggests that her health condition is not good. The government should take over this negotiation and let our colleague regain her freedom. It is about eight months now. We are not happy with this development.”
 
On when the strike would likely be suspended, he said, “if she regains her freedom now, we will react promptly by suspending the strike. We have no pleasure in going on strike. We are trained to save lives. We are aware of the Hippocratic Oath we took.”