Guild of Medical Directors demands national holiday in honour of Dr Stella Ameyo Adadevoh

The Guild of Medical Directors of Nigeria has called on the Federal Government to immortalise the late Dr. Stella Ameyo Adadevoh by declaring August 19 a national holiday every year in her honour.

Dr Adadevoh, who worked with the First Consultant Hospital in the Obalende area of Lagos, died on August 19, 2014, in her attempt to prevent the spread of Ebola Virus Disease in the country.

On Tuesday, the Public Relations Officer of the Abuja chapter of the guild, Biodun Ogungbo, released a statement urging the government to honour the late doctor.

The statement titled, Remembering Stella Adadevoh, reads: “It is said that there is no greater love than to lay down your life for your friend.

“The most tragic part of her passing is that she couldn’t be given a proper burial, and with all the respect that her sacrifice demands.

“The very bug that cut her down is so virulent, so unforgiving, that even that honour was deprived of her.

“She had put her life on the line for 170 million of her fellow citizens, many of whom do not even understand the concept of what it means to be a citizen.

“The very least that Nigeria can do in appreciation, is to honour her.

“The Guild of Medical Directors of Nigeria and other medical associations honoured Adadevoh in their small capacities in the past. We gave awards and plaques and foodstuff to the hospital. It’s not enough.

“Nigeria should declare August 19 each year a national holiday and in her name.

“That way, some Nigerian children in six decades (time) can ask their parents, ‘Who is Stella Ameyo Adadevoh?’ And the parent can reply, ‘That woman saved my life, and the lives of all of us’.

“It is the least we can do. It is the least we should do. She should never and will never be forgotten.”