By Mojeed Alabi
A Nigerian physician and former president of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Osahon Enabulele, has emerged as the president-elect of the World Medical Association (WMA), a global association of physicians founded on September 17, 1947.
Mr Enabulele, 50 years, who currently serves as the president of the Commonwealth Medical Association (CMA) is the first to be so elected from the West African subregion.
He takes over from Heidi Stensmyren of Sweden as the president-elect, as the latter takes over from the association’s incumbent president, David Barbe, of the United States as the WMA President for the 2021-2022 executive year.
In the WMA, a new president first emerges as president-elect and remains in that capacity for one year before taking over as full-fledged president.
Confirming the development in a telephone interview, the WMA’s contact official, Nigel Duncan, said Mr Enabulele will resume as the president in October, 2022.
“Yes, Mr Enabulele is president-elect and will only take over as the president in October, 2022,” Mr Duncan said.
Mr Enabulele beat his opponent, a Pakistani physician and professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, Muhammad Nizami, in an online election that was held for about one week.
Mr Nizami is currently the President of the Pakistan Medical Association.
About Enabulele
A consultant family physician at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), Edo State, Mr Enabulele was also the first Nigerian to be elected chairman of Socio-Medical Affairs Committee (SMAC) of the World Medical Association (WMA).
Mr Enabulele rose to the position of President-elect after more than 14 years of his involvement in the activities at the global level.
In 2019, he also became the first Nigerian physician to be elected as President of the Commonwealth Medical Association since the body’s creation in November, 1962.