Scholarship / An officer and doctor with impeccable leadership qualities. Chevening - leadership during conflict. [2]

LEADERSHIP AND INFLUENCE QUESTION

Over the past few years I have distinguished myself as an officer and a doctor with impeccable leadership qualities, winning the loyalty of my subordinates and the confidence of superiors . This led to my appointment as a commanding officer within the *****rian Armed Forces early this year, thus becoming the youngest serving commanding officer . My leadership capabilities were required again when I received a call from the director of medical service saying "I am sure you are aware of the Boko Haram attack on the UN aid convoy to Bama and its(UN) suspension of aid to the north east " to which I answered in the affirmative. He then continued " the presidency has directed that we(the military) should go in and handle the humanitarian crisis unfolding and we are nominating you to lead the team". The team of 57 members comprised of Doctors, nurses, pharmacists, nutritionist,regiment, intelligence and administrative personnel.

Whether it was during my days as a secondary school head prefect, or my tenure as a university student union president, I have utilized communication effectively for team building and motivation.

Therefore as the departure day drew closer I opted for a "sit down" with team members as against the usual "briefing " practiced within the military. This relaxed atmosphere provided me with insight into strengths, weaknesses and concerns of individual members. One of such concerns was the immediate nature of the deployment. Some preferred it at the end of the month when they had enough funds to leave for their families. I made them understand the reason for such short notice and got them to see how much of a privilege it was for each member to be chosen for this task. Knowing how vital responsiveness to group needs is,I ensured their allowances were paid before the deployment. Hitherto, allowances were paid afterwards.This I was able to achieve through my unfettered access to the chief of the ***** staff as his physician.

My team and I successfully set-up a hospital that caters for about 26,000 internally displaced persons(IDPs) living within the camps and people trapped within this conflict zone. We also commenced a feeding program for malnourished children. All these were accomplished before the deadline given by *** force headquarters despite meager resources and challenging work conditions.

During the first two weeks of our operation, the statistics showed poor antenatal service attendance by women in the IDP camp. This was obviously not a good sign as the north east even prior to this conflict had one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world. Being an indigene of Bama and fluent in three (3) local languages, I was able to identify the cultural impediments responsible for this low turnout. Thus I engaged the community by incorporating the traditional birth attendants(TBA) as assistants to our nurse midwives. This ensured deliveries were taken within the hospital. It also afforded the TBAs a learning platform.

Scholarship / If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. My strong Networking skills [3]

"If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together". African proverb.

Networking I believe should be aimed towards building relationships with individuals and organizations which share mutual interests and strive towards achieving a common goal. Even as a students union president I was able to achieve what I consider to date as one of my greatest accomplishment with proper networking. We organized health outreach programs in some communities and invited the respective parliament representatives of such communities to flag off these campaigns. This simple act provided me with a network of parliamentarians and politicians. Through this network I was able to push for what was later known as the "BOMSA scholarship" bill for medical students. The scholarship included tuition fees, text book allowances and monthly stipends. It in turn required the students to stay behind and work in rural areas upon completion of their medical training.This reduced the hardships faced by medical students many of whom were from underprivileged backgrounds while ensuring a steady flow of doctors to these rural areas in dire need of medical care.

After attending the "level 3 first aid" training at the republic of Serbia and "combat medicine" training organized by the French armed forces I decided to replicate similar trainings here in Nigeria. Both training programs provided me with the contacts of Nigerians who attended previous trainings. With this I was able to create a network of trained basic life support providers. Together we have provided basic life support training to over 300 individuals drawn from armed forces, civil service and non governmental organizations. We are currently the only organized group in the country with the manpower and resources to conduct these trainings. We are also working towards obtaining accreditation from the medical and dental council of Nigeria.

The digital age has ushered in a new epoch in networking and I have been able to exploit this at every opportunity. Most recently was during the visit of the assistant Secretary General of the UN , Toby Lanzer to the lake chad region.Mr Lanzer was not only impressed by the work I had put in but also with my knowledge of his professional career. Prior to his visit, I had sourced for this information on the internet and decided before hand on the relevant and appropriate topics to bring up. Even the fact that we supported rival football teams did not get in the way of the relationship I have established with him and his staff.

As a chevening scholar, I hope to use these skills I have demonstrated to establish and sustain networks with academicians, humanitarians and policy makers in the UK. While back in Nigeria I hope to use my networking and influencing skills to channel the enthusiasm of fellow young alumni towards advocacy in humanitarian crisis interventions. My network in the military and health sector will prove effective in creating a nexus between these two vital sectors and the chevening alumni community .