At least 18 nurses from Nigeria have been charged in Texas US, with allegations of fake qualifications, as reported by THE PUNCH. This became public knowledge after a statement was published on the website of the Texas nursing board confirming it.
According
to the statement, 23 Nurses are suspected of having taken part in a grand
fraudulent nursing diploma/transcript scheme, which is projected to involve
even more people. The investigation leading to this revelation is tagged
“operation nightingale” and was launched on 25th January 2023. It is
a coordinated effort between law enforcement agents and the US health
department.
Texas
Nursing board further explained that the 23 nurses published had been involved
in one or more fraudulent schemes, resulting in them acquiring fake credentials
that they used to sit for the nursing board exam. This, according to them, violates
Tex. Occ. Code §301.452(b) or that
violates other laws. As such, the offenders will be charged as needed.
However, it is essential to note that no one
has genuinely committed any crime unless proven guilty. This is why even in the
US, the accused persons, in this case, will continue working as nurses pending
when formal charges are made and they are found guilty. This is also why I will
be in no haste to publish names like most other blogs and media outlets have
done.
18 Nigerian Nurses in the US accused of Forgery; Matters Arising.
I understand the bane of having click-worthy
titles for your blog. Still, away from blogging or trending, many more persons who
are not even in the business of blogging or influencing are constantly sharing
news, half of which is to disturbing one’s mental health. It is vital for me to address some
of the issues following this news and similar events because, for some reason,
we celebrate terrible news so much in this part of the world.
Even as a blogger with eyes on the news, I
found this current news on Nurses with fake credentials in a random WhatsApp
group, which I find a little weird. Someone with neither medical nor any such
ties with the United States government just shared it with a caption, “see what
Nigerians are going abroad to do." This person didn’t share anything when Dora Akunyili’s daughter was promoted to the chief medical director at a US
hospital. Sometimes, I wonder if we genuinely like bad news (especially about
other people) and pretend to be surprised ─ or sad ─ when we hear them.
Key Takeaways From the Issue at Hand.
First, the Nigerian nurses in the misconduct
have not been found guilty. Until they are found guilty, can we take it easy
with the name-calling and subtle cancellation of an entire people?
Secondly, that very few people were accused of a crime
overseas should not form your honest opinion about a country with over 200
million people. We have many Nigerians who have achieved a lot on a global
scale. We also have many others working legitimately for larger economies in
Europe, America and Asia. The hard work and dedication that people in the latter
class have shown should in every way overturn the shortcomings of the minute
few who took the part of dishonesty.
Lastly, there are good and bad people
everywhere in the world. A person’s country of origin does not in any way justify
seeing such a person in a bad light, even without interaction. It is
common to judge people from afar, but even as you do silently, try to give
everyone the benefit of the doubt before making final decisions. You may end up
being pleasantly surprised.
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