A don, Professor Olabisi Adejumo, has commended Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo Olu, for appointing a nurse, Dr. (Mrs.) Kemi Ogunyemi, as his special adviser on health.
Adejumo, a Professor of Nursing Science at the University of Ibadan, said it was a bold and confident move to appoint a professional with a proven record of being an astute, great leader with excellent skills and knowledge to help improve the healthcare system.
She declared that the appointment was remarkable and smart, being a nurse and the first in Lagos State and Nigeria as a whole, aside from being a two-term commissioner at the Lagos State Health Service Commission from 2015 to 2023.
According to her, “In appointing Dr Ogunyemi as his special adviser on health, Mr Babajide SanwoOlu has proven that non-medical health professionals have the ability, knowledge, initiative, and creativity to help solve challenges in the health sector.
“The governor has again shown that nurses with the right qualifications will continue to be a part of his administration.
“Nurses across the globe are 100% in agreement with this appointment. Six months on, Dr Kemi Ogunyemi has and continues to show that her appointment was an excellent one. She continues to make us proud. She has positively increased the image of nursing and won many awards for her leadership skills.”
Dr Kemi Ogunyemi trained as a nurse at the University College Hospital, Ibadan. She holds a Bachelor of Science with honours in health services management from the University of Manchester, UK; a masters in nursing; a masters in healthcare administration; and a doctorate in healthcare administration from the University of Phoenix, Arizona, US.
As a nurse passionate about cancer care, leadership, and management in the health sector, she has worked hard to promote the nursing profession through training and mentoring. She was awarded a transformational leadership award at Emory University Hospital in the US in 2012.
Dr Kemi Ogunyemi has held several leadership positions in the UK and US, where she holds nursing licences.
She returned to Nigeria in 2014 and worked as the Director of Nursing at the Cardiac Renal Centre in Gbagada. In the private sector, Dr Ogunyemi was a nurse consultant and director at the Marcelle Ruth Cancer Centre in Victoria Island, Lagos.
A strong advocate for women’s inclusion in governance, Dr Ogunyemi served two terms as chairperson of the Women in Management, Business, and Governance (WImBIz). She was also the deputy director of the medical directorate of the APC presidential campaign committee in 2012–2013.