Opinion

Doctors’ Strike: How Justifiable?

Published

10 years ago

January 25, 2016

A few days ago,
members of the Rivers State chapter of Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), embarked on a three-day warning strike following the abduction of two of their members.
Although the association did not proceed with an indefinite strike as earlier threatened because the kidnapped doctors were released, it has become a trend that whenever doctors are kidnapped, their colleagues threaten to down tools in protest. This has drawn reactions from members of the public some of who bared their minds to our Deouty Editor (Feature), Calista Ezeaku. Our photographer, Ken Nwiueh Donatus captured their images.

Madam Apolonia Onouobodo- Civil Servant
My opinion is that for the fact that doctors are being kidnapped, should not make doctors to go on strike for the whole public to begin to die. I think I should have suggested that they should take their protest to government house and the House of Assembly. The Governor and the law makers will then help them to see how those people can be brought out from wherever they are being held. Embarking on strike cannot solve the problem. It was not the members of the public or the patients that sent the kidnappers. Everybody in the state is facing the same problem. So their own case should be handled the way other cases are handled so that sick persons in the hospitals will not perish because of two people that were kidnapped by criminals.
Anyway it is a sympathetic situation. It is not good that doctors are being kidnapped but there is nothing we can do. We cannot help the situation because that is what our state has been turned into. So, I think it is good that the doctors assist the public, resumed work while they continue seeking ways of how their colleagues will be protected.
They should go to the Governor and the police and discuss with them on how doctors in the state should be protected. If it means signing an agreement, they should do so. They should state what they want, if it is keeping armed men in their homes, in their offices so that this thing does not occur again, better. They should demand for more protection in their homes and work places. That is my own advice.

Pastor Opusunju Godspower
It is not fair for doctors to go on strike but they had to do that because of the circumstance they found themselves. It is not fair actually for the kidnappers to be kidnapping them. They are rendering humanitarian services. They provide health care for everybody. So it is not good for them to go on strike but they had to do so because of the circumstances they found themselves. They are not happy because two of their members were kidnapped and many other doctors have been kidnapped in the past. I don’t know why they should be kidnapping them because it is not fair. The other day I heard there were so many patients in the hospital which could not receive treatment because the doctors were not there and the patients were crying. It is not fair. I think the people involved in this kidnapping should think about it because their actions can affect their sisters, mothers and other people close to them.
The doctors are for the society, it is not good for them to be kidnapped. So, partially I am in support of the strike because they cannot be keeping quite like that. This thing must stop. Strike may not be the solution it may make government hear them more and even those people that are kidnapping can hear them also.
The police and other security operatives in the state should also buckle up. They should ensure that they provide adequate security for the doctors and other persons in the state. The doctors need to be protected because of the services they are rendering to the nation. So the security operatives should try and reduce the rate of kidnapping in the state, particularly the kidnapping of doctors so that there will be peace and the hospital will be moving ahead.

Nwali Florence – Civil Servant
Well it is not all that right for doctors to abandon their jobs but what the kidnappers did was not good. May be other doctors are afraid because they don’t know whose turn it will be next. So those in authority should look into the incessant kidnapping of doctors. Doctors are there for everybody including the kidnappers. When they are sick and are at the point of death it is doctors that they will call to cater for them. Is it not so? So it is not good for them to kidnap doctor. It is equally not good for doctors to abandon all the patients in the hospital who need their attention and go on strike. So I will urge the doctors to be considerate of the innocent, poor patients who cannot afford to go to private hospitals, and avoid strike actions. And as they do that, the police and other bodies incharge of security should tighten security around the doctors and within the hospitals so that the doctors will be safe and happy to do their jobs.

Mr Sunny Nnaleh – Businessman
The doctors strike is a welcome idea because kidnapping is getting too much in Rivers State. By this move I believe the authorities will listen and the culprits will think about their criminal acts and may decide to stop it. Kidnapping will stop if government begins to take proper care of the youths. I believe the reason why there is high rate of kidnapping and other crime is because there is lack of employment in the country for the youths. I know the doctors would not be on strike for ever but their action should serve as a wake up call for those in authority and those in charge of security in the state to do something drastic about the constant kidnapping in the state.
Having said that, I will also appeal to the doctors not to always consider strike as a way of driving homes their demands. They should not forget that the lives of so many people in the state are in their hands.

Miss Jassica Charlse – Applicant
Personally, I don’t think it is in the interest of anybody for doctors to go on strike. So, whatever it takes to secure the release of the abducted doctors should be done. Doctors should be given adequate security so that they can carry out their duties effectively. Don’t forget that these people work round the clock. They go on midnight calls and all that and if there is no security they can’t go and attend to patient whenever they are needed and this could have disastrous effect on the society.
Moreover, NMA is an association which like every other association, is bound to protect the interest of her members. So you cannot expect them to fold their hands and watch their members being kidnapped everyday. They have to protest.
But again, many people – Lawyers, radio presenters, journalists, corpers, lecturers, businessmen, politicians, and others are also being kidnapped and if every of their associations should down tools, what will happen to our state? So I think the doctors should have a rethink, consider other ways of pushing their demands while the security agencies should wake up to the responsibility of protecting lives and properties in Rivers State and the nation at large.
Miss Irene Barinee – Nurse
I don’t think it is a good thing given the doctors to go on strike because that makes patients and other health workers to suffer. I remember the last time the resident doctors went on strike how we suffered to cater for the numerous pateints and of course many of them died. In as much as I condemn the incessant kidnapping of doctors, I don’t believe strike is a way out of the situation.
They can persuade the state government and the police to do something about the safety of doctors and other health workers because not only doctors are at risk.
I know many doctors use the period of strike to divert patients to their private clinics which is not fair. They cannot tell me that as they embark on strike they will not be going to their private clinics so what is the essence of the whole strike action? Is it just to punish poor patients who cannot afford the exhorbitant bills at private clinics? That is not fair. So, I pray that the doctors should be considerate. The patients need them.
I also want to appeal to the state government to get to the root cause of this crime in the state and take all necessary steps to curb it. We cannot continue to live in fears like this.

Opinion

Agony In Ivory Tower

Published

1 hour ago

March 9, 2026

The Tide

Quote: A university that tolerates missing scripts, result manipulation and ‘sorting’ is not merely failing students—it is quietly destroying the moral foundation of education itself.”

The sad cases of missing scripts, compulsory Sorting, inputting of wrong results and other obnoxious practices in some public universities, leave much to be desired. One cannot imagine how a student will be compelled to suffer consequences of the flagrant negligence of a Head of Department, a lecturer, Department staff or an ICT staff.Many academic and non academic staff in several public universities seem to be performing far below standard, thus unproductive to the university system. The unacceptable cases of sorting, missing scripts, missing results, inputting of wrong grades to students, should not be mentioned in a university, not even in any academic community. This is because people who are employed to work in various positions should have cognate work experience and unquestionable competence. They should not be seen as certificate welding illiterates but people who have been proven to be worthy in learning and character, diligent and competent to carry out assigned responsibilities with minimal or no supervision.

The university as a citadel of learning should boast of men of integrity, people who are repositories of applied knowledge and competence to drive the much desired holistic development in a nation that functions on quality teaching and learning. A situation where a student having gone through the crucibles of learning and written a prescribed semester examination or class-based evaluation test, is told that his or her script is missing or that he or she did not participate in that academic exercise, or must sort to pass, is an unpardonable error and a height of callousness. In fact some lecturers and staff of Departments are using the seeming systemic defect (which is their architecture) as an opportunity to extort students. Sometimes it is discovered much to students chagrin that the supposed missing script was later discovered when a ransom was paid.

Since a lecturer, or Head of Department has in their disposal both Yam and the knife and determines who takes what (if they wish to give without strings), students have no alternative but to submit to their importunate demands in order to graduate at record time.Such practices should be unheard of in an institution that should be a vanguard of moral and ethical values and conduct. What people learn in school constitute their behavioural patterns in the society. Where the school as an agency of socialisation cannot drive positive change first in its immediate environment, then the objective of education as a bedrock for the development of society, is inevitably compromised and counter-productive. The German Reformer, Dr. Martins Luther was quoted as saying, “I advise parents not to put their wards or children in any school where the Bible is not being used as a rule of life because such institutions will unnecessarily be corrupt”.

Gleaning from Luther’s sentiment one can deduce that the lack of respect and regard for values as well as the absence of the fear of God is the greatest undoing of most public schools. Another major challenge is that lack of Information, Communication and Technology literacy or compliance on the part of some lecturers and heads of department, may have informed the decision to give students’ scripts to secretaries to compile and input students results thereby making the secretaries the determinants of students’ fate. It is not saying a new thing that some of the secretaries in the process of compiling results have inputted wrong results, omitted names or down graded some students or given unmerited grades to others.Society today is ICT-driven and ICT-literacy enhances efficiency, speed and a reasonable degree of accuracy if the person behind the computer is level headed, articulate, competent, alive to responsibilities and is aware that negligence on his or her part is not only tantamount to a disservice to the university but to the students who may not graduate at record time because of his or her (computer operator’s) gross ineptitude or carelessness.

The ICT era makes the carrying of hard copy of results obsolete as lecturers through the Heads of Department can log on to the central server of the Exams and Records (if any) or ICT unit and input students’ results directly. By so doing the incessant cases where result on spread sheet is different from the one published online, more often than not, caused by abject negligence, will be avoided. The process will also end the intermediary services of some staff in the universities’ Information, Communication and Technology Department which has become a money spinner-a lucrative source of income to many of them. In fact some ICT staff reserved the power to award grades to students depending on students’ degree of compliance to terms and conditions. They can dubiously make or unmake a student. The university community should be considered too lofty to have careless, negligent, immoral and academic or professionally deficient people as academic or non-academic staff.

The Governing Councils and Senates of universities should be proactive in addressing the menace of missing Script, inputting of wrong results and sorting. This is necessary to end the slogan “Education is scam” so the system can produce quality students who are truly found worthy in learning and in character by operators who exemplify diligence, moral and ethical values. The much-needed reform must begin within the institutions themselves, because the future of any society is shaped in its classrooms.

By: Igbiki Benibo

Opinion

Strength of Emotional Equality

Published

1 hour ago

March 9, 2026

The Tide

Quote: “Love thrives not when one gives more, but when both give fully — not in competition, not in performance, but in partnership.”

In every healthy relationship, there exists an invisible balance. It is not measured in grand gestures, expensive gifts, or public displays of affection. It is measured in something quieter and far more significant: emotional equality. When couples stand on equal emotional grounds, love becomes less of a negotiation and more of a partnership. Emotional equality does not mean both individuals express love in identical ways. It does not require matching personalities or mirroring temperaments. Rather, it speaks to balance — a shared willingness to invest, to communicate, to be vulnerable, and to grow. It is the difference between two people walking side by side and one person constantly trying to catch up.

In many relationships, imbalance begins subtly. One partner initiates most conversations. One apologizes more frequently. One carries the emotional labor — remembering important dates, managing conflicts, sensing tension, and attempting reconciliation. Over time, this uneven distribution of emotional effort breeds exhaustion. The partner who gives more begins to feel unseen. The one who gives less may grow comfortable in emotional passivity. Love, in such a space, starts to tilt — slowly at first, then significantly. Resentment can creep in quietly, disguising itself as patience. Silence may replace honest dialogue. What once felt effortless begins to feel heavy.

When couples stand on equal emotional grounds, responsibility is shared. Both people are accountable for the health of the relationship. If conflict arises, neither hides behind silence nor dominates through control. Instead, they engage. They listen. They speak honestly without weaponizing words. Equality creates safety — and safety strengthens intimacy. It allows both individuals to express needs without fear of ridicule or rejection. One of the most overlooked aspects of emotional equality is vulnerability. True connection requires courage. It demands that both partners risk being misunderstood. But when vulnerability is one-sided, it becomes exposure rather than intimacy. If one person consistently opens up while the other remains guarded, trust cannot fully deepen.

Equality ensures that emotional risks are mutual. Where one shares fears, the other shares too. Where one admits weakness, the other responds with openness rather than judgment. In such a space, authenticity flourishes. Another crucial element is validation. In emotionally balanced relationships, both partners feel heard. Their concerns are not dismissed as “overreactions.” Their feelings are not minimized or compared. When couples operate on equal emotional ground, they acknowledge each other’s experiences as legitimate. They may not always agree, but they always respect. Validation does not mean surrendering one’s viewpoint; it means recognizing that another’s emotional reality matters.

Equality also protects individuality. Contrary to popular belief, healthy love does not erase personal identity — it enhances it. When both partners are emotionally secure, they do not feel threatened by each other’s independence. Personal ambitions are encouraged, not resented. Friendships are respected, not restricted. Growth is celebrated, not feared. Standing on equal emotional grounds means neither person shrinks to accommodate the other. Instead, both expand, knowing the relationship is strong enough to hold their evolution. Power dynamics often expose emotional inequality. When one partner controls communication — appearing and disappearing unpredictably, withholding affection, or using silence as leverage — imbalance emerges.

Emotional dominance weakens intimacy. It creates anxiety instead of assurance. But when couples share emotional power, there is consistency. There is clarity. There is no need to decode affection because it is offered freely and intentionally. It is important to understand that equality does not imply perfection. Couples will still disagree. They will face stress, miscommunication, and moments of frustration. However, when emotional footing is equal, conflict does not threaten the foundation. Instead, it becomes an opportunity for understanding. Both partners approach challenges as teammates rather than opponents. They choose resolution over ego and repair over pride.

Time often reveals whether emotional equality truly exists. In the early stages of love, intensity can disguise imbalance. Enthusiasm feels mutual. Effort appears equal. But as routine settles in and novelty fades, the structure of the relationship becomes clearer. Who still initiates? Who still invests? Who still shows up consistently? Sustainable love requires sustained balance. It is built not merely on attraction, but on deliberate reciprocity. Standing on equal emotional grounds requires intentionality. It demands honest conversations about needs and expectations. It requires both partners to examine their habits — whether they withdraw during tension, avoid accountability, or rely on the other to carry the emotional weight. Emotional maturity is not about avoiding conflict; it is about handling it responsibly and returning, again and again, to shared ground.

Perhaps the greatest benefit of emotional equality is peace. There is no constant anxiety about where one stands. No guessing games about commitment. No fear that affection may suddenly disappear. Instead, there is stability. There is reassurance. There is mutual effort. In a world where relationships often blur the lines between attention and commitment, equality offers clarity. It reminds us that love should not feel like competition or performance. It should feel like partnership. When couples stand on equal emotional grounds, they build something resilient. They build trust that does not fracture easily. They build respect that does not depend on mood. They build a connection rooted not only in passion but in balance. And in that balance, love finds its strength — not in who gives more, but in how both give fully.

By: Sylvia ThankGod-Amadi

Opinion

NDDC: Time To Illuminate Homes

Published

1 week ago

March 2, 2026

The Tide

Quote:“Twenty-five years on, the Niger Delta cannot celebrate illuminated streets while families sit in darkness. Development must begin inside the home — where children study, businesses grow, and lives are built — before it glows on the roadside.”

The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) was established in 2000 with a clear and urgent mandate: to facilitate the rapid, even, and sustainable development of Nigeria’s oil-producing Niger Delta region. The creation of the Commission followed decades of agitation over environmental degradation, infrastructural neglect, and socio-economic marginalization in the region. Its core mandate included the development of roads, bridges, electricity, water supply, health facilities, education, housing, environmental remediation, and economic empowerment initiatives. At inception, expectations were high that the Commission would transform the Niger Delta into a model of regional development. Over the years, the NDDC has indeed implemented numerous projects across the nine Niger Delta states. Roads have been constructed and rehabilitated in several communities, easing transportation challenges.

Schools have been renovated, and new classroom blocks have been provided in underserved areas. Health centres have been built or upgraded, improving access to primary healthcare services. The Commission has also awarded scholarships to students, including foreign postgraduate scholarships, empowering thousands of youths academically.Skills acquisition and youth empowerment programmes have helped many young people gain vocational competencies.Through various interventions, the NDDC has contributed to job creation and local economic stimulation.Solar-powered street lighting projects have been widely implemented in urban and semi-urban communities. These streetlights have improved visibility at night and contributed to enhanced security in some areas. Markets, highways, and public spaces illuminated by solar lights have experienced extended business hours.

For these efforts, the Commission deserves acknowledgment and commendation. However, development must always align with foundational mandates and pressing grassroots realities. A growing concern among residents is that while streets are illuminated, many homes remain in darkness. Rural electrification and household power access remain inconsistent and inadequate across large parts of the region. In riverine and remote communities, families still rely on generators, kerosene lamps, or complete darkness after sunset. The irony of brightly lit streets juxtaposed with powerless homes cannot be ignored. Electricity at the household level directly impacts education, health, and small-scale enterprise. Students cannot effectively study at night without reliable indoor lighting.Families cannot preserve food or power essential appliances without stable electricity.

Micro and small businesses struggle to grow without dependable energy access. While street lighting enhances public aesthetics and security, it does not substitute for domestic electrification. The proverb “charity begins at home” is especially relevant in this context. True community development must first empower households before beautifying public spaces. The Commission’s original mandate emphasizes integrated and sustainable development, not isolated infrastructural gestures. Balanced development requires that energy interventions prioritize homes alongside streets. Solar technology presents a unique opportunity for decentralized household electrification in off-grid communities. Extending solar solutions to individual homes would have a transformative social impact. Home-based solar systems could power lights, fans, small appliances, and communication devices.

Such interventions would reduce poverty, improve living standards, and stimulate grassroots productivity. By broadening its energy focus, the Commission would better reflect the spirit of its founding legislation. This is not a call to abandon street lighting projects, which have their merits. Rather, it is an appeal for balance, inclusivity, and alignment with core developmental objectives. Strategic planning should ensure that rural electrification and household access form a central pillar of ongoing interventions. Community engagement and needs assessments can help determine priority areas for household solar deployment. Twenty-five years after its establishment, the NDDC stands at a reflective moment in its institutional journey. The people of the Niger Delta say: thank you for the efforts so far—but not very much—because true appreciation will come when development begins at home and radiates outward, not merely when streets shine while houses remain in darkness.

By: King Onunwor