… As Freshers of College of Nursing Sciences, Adazi-Nnukwu, Join League of Nigeria’s Nurses, Midwives
By Micheal Nnebife and Jessica Akabueze
It was a moment of jubilation for the Management, staff and the students of College of Nursing Sciences, Adazi-Nnukwu, CONSA, in Anaocha Local Government Area, Anambra State, as they converged for the 2025 matriculation of the National Diploma I, General Nursing and Year I Basic Midwifery Students of the College.
Coming with the joyous event which took place on Friday October 10, 2025, at the College’s Auditorium, was a capping ceremony for the 218 matriculating students, signifying their official admission into the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, NMCN.
The double event, which attracted such dignitaries as the Registrar, NMCN, Dr Ndagi Alhassan, represented by Anambra State Zonal Officer, Mrs Patricia Emeka; the Director, Nursing Services, Anambra State Ministry of Health, Mrs Ebele Dike, represented by Mrs Ifeyinwa Affam; among others, began with a Pontifical Mass presided over by the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Awka, Most Rev Paulinus Ezeokafor, who admonished the student nurses of CONSA to discomfort themselves to bring comfort and hope to patients.
Congratulating the matriculating students, Bishop Ezeokafor, represented by the Vicar General of the Diocese, Rev Fr Peter Akaenyi, reminded them that their profession was a human-oriented service vocation for saving human lives.
The Bishop, who also doubles as the Proprietor of the CONSA, advised the nursing students to take their studies seriously and be hard working, patient, and diligent in order to succeed.
Noting that CONSA was a faith-based institution, Bishop Ezeokafor expressed optimism that the student nurses would get unique training better than what their colleagues elsewhere could get.
‘That’s to say there must be a big difference; they will see the sense of God being in their lives, and know that what they are doing for the patients is a service to God. So, let them not lose sight of that,’ he advised the nurses.
In his homily, Rev Fr Gerald Ejimbeonwu of Peter University, Achina-Onneh, highlighted the symbols of nurses’ uniform and the red colour pic that always hung in their chest pocket, which, he said, signified hope and love respectively.
Quoting St Augustine, Fr Ejimbeonwu described love as a sacrifice that required one to discomfort oneself, to make another person in distress comfortable.
‘This is the angle I’m calling on you, the new students, and all of you who gathered here as nurses, to understand that your lives are a life of service.
‘So, you must learn how to die every day of your life for the sake of patients, even at your own extreme discomfort,’ he advised.
In her address of welcome, the Acting Provost of the College, Mrs Mary-Michael Ezenwuba, highlighted the significant achievements the College had made in the recent times.
‘These include affiliation with Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, for the award of BNSc,’ the Provost said.
She pointed out that the College had expanded its nursing laboratory, and created a public health laboratory with modern equipment for practical demonstrations.
Mrs Ezenwuba further disclosed that the College had recently furnished its library with current textbooks, and completed its hostel block of four-storey building, among other academic successes the College had recorded.
‘Our students have continued to excel in their academic work. This is evident in the March 2025 and May 2025 final qualifying examinations where our students got 98% with one Distinction and seven credits, 100% respectively,’ Ezenwuba said.
She however highlighted electronic mannequin, which, she said, cost about N4.5 million; demonstration room equipment; more library books and classroom seats as some of the major needs of the College.
The Provost also appealed to education lovers, philanthropists, public spirited individuals, among others, to help the College in providing those needs in order to sustain the progress it had made in the area of structural and infrastructural development.
In a vote of thanks, the College Administrator, Rev Fr Jude Igboka, thanked Bishop Ezeokafor for his fatherly support and scholarships for some indigent students of the College.
The Administrator also appealed to the affluent in society to emulate the Bishop by extending hands of benevolence to other indigent students of the College.
Saying that the College excelled in both academic work and morals, as well as formation, Fr Igboka assured parents that the College would continue to give its best to the students.
He congratulated and advised the newly capped students to work harder, reminding them that the profession they were admitted into, required them to do so, for them to be able to succeed and assist patients.
In separate interviews, the best students, Ms Virginia Chukwu from the Nursing Department, and Ms Vivian Ezeakor, from the Midwifery Department, expressed excitement and appreciation to God, their parents and the College for giving them the grace and opportunity to see the day and be part of the event.
They pledged to continue to work harder so that they would continue to be the best and make themselves, as well as their parents, proud.
The Matriculation Lecture, with the title, “Beyond the Uniform: Redefining the Image of Nurses in Nigeria”, by Prof Anthonia Chinweuba of the Department of Nursing Sciences, University of Nigeria, Nsukka; lighting of candles; recitation of nurses’ pledge by the matriculating students; and recognition of best students among them, were some of the highlights of the occasion, chaired by Bishop Afam Chukwukwere.
