Afrobeat artist Iyanya, has come under heavy criticism for wanting to reward a nurse whom her colleagues called out for refusing to join the nationwide strike.
It would be recalled that nurses under the aegis of the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) embarked on the seven-day warning strike to press home their long-standing demands, including an upward review of shift allowance, adjustment of uniform allowance, a separate salary structure for nurses, an increase in core duty allowance, mass recruitment of nurses, and the establishment of a nursing department in the Federal Ministry of Health, among others.
However, a video went viral this morning of a nurse who her colleagues called out for refusing to join the nationwide strike.
Reacting to the viral video, Iyanya via the microblogging platform, X commented on her gesture, asking if anyone knew her personally so he could reward her.
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He said: “Can someone find her for me, I want to give her 500k. She is not a health care worker for the money but for human lives. Some one find her for me.”
This gesture did not sit well with some social media users who called out the singer for ‘rewarding bad behaviour.’
One user asked: “Why do some Nigerians love rewarding bad behaviour.”
In response, Iyanya replied: “What’s your definition of bad behaviour? A nurse decided not to go on strike so she can save lives. Being at work is bad behaviour to you? She is an essential worker, and she deserves some compensation, and the way she was humiliated was wrong. Find her for me. I have 500k for her immediately.”
Angered by the singer’s response, the user explained how the nurse was undermining the effort of her colleagues, saying : “It is bad behaviour because she’s undermining collective action. If nurses are on strike, it’s not because they don’t love their jobs; it’s because they’re ignored, underpaid, and overworked. If you give her money today, and tomorrow, more people try to emulate her, how will the government listen and fix the broken system? How many people are going to give 500k?”
