A Trip to Calabar for the Nannsm South South Zonal Event Cross River State (Calabar)

Good day, my fellow Steemians.

I'm rather excited to share how my trip to Calabar for the nursing and midwifery zonal event held in Calabar at the 504 kolanut event centre on the 22nd of May. On the 22nd of April, the zonal president of the nursing and midwifery council sent a message to me on WhatsApp inviting me specifically to give a presentation at the event. It was such an honour. I was intrigued and privileged to participate in that big event, as I told my mom about it, who shared in my joy.

The zonal event was a quiz, debates and awards competition whereby all the colleges of nursing sciences from the South South zone of Nigeria chose three representatives from their states to participate in the competition. The states present were Akwaibom, Cross River State, Delta State, Bayelsa State, Edo State, Abia State, etc.

There were 21 student nurses who came from my state, Akwaibom, in different colleges of nursing sciences, 3 representatives, I being one of them, and the rest were state excos and supporters. We left for Calabar on the 21st of May (Wednesday). We used the school bus to transport us there. The bus was a 15-seater; it wasn't so comfortable, as the number of people was more than the seats. We had to manage to get to our journey. The journey wasn't so smooth due to bad roads and a lot of dust.

The driver stopped at Aba so we could stretch our tired legs and ease ourselves. The journey continued hence. Some hours later we reached Cross River State; I took videos of the beautiful state. It was a lovely sight to behold. Their minibus is blue in color unlike ours in Akwaibom, which is orange and red. Cross River is rather sloppy and characterised mostly by hills.

At long last we reached our destination, the College of Nursing Sciences, Calabar. They were our host for the event; hence, they provided accommodation for us on the school premises.

The school was very beautiful and clean. I really admired the campus. I was so exhausted and weary from the long journey I couldn't wait to have a shower and rest my tired bones. The host welcomed us warmly as we alighted from the bus. She was a senior student nurse and the hostel governor; she gave us a quick tour round the school and where we were going to stay. It was a large room with bunks, well ventilated and clean, with 4 different bathrooms; it was rather very comfortable.

Dinner was served. It was Jollof rice and chicken. It was tasty. I had my shower and slept till the next day, which was the event. 22nd of May was the Nannsm south-south zonal event. We had our baths early and ate a breakfast of noodles and fried eggs. After which we dressed up in our immaculate white uniform and waited for the school bus to take us to the event centre.

The event centre was well decorated and organised. Songs were played while waiting for the programme to commence. The programme began with an opening prayer and the Nigerian anthem and the nursing anthem. After which , important dignitaries were recognised.

The commissioner of health was present, as was the commissioner of education, the Bayelsa state commissioner, the head of nursing sciences and other important personalities. The chairman of the occasion gave his opening remarks, and the unveiling of the magazine was done by the zonal president. It was endorsed with money by each of the important dignitaries of the occasion.

There was a welcome dance by cultural dancers. They danced gracefully. After which the zonal president gave her opening speech. After her speech, the quiz competition round one began. It was an interesting competition to watch. Each state sent one representative for the quiz. At the end of the quiz, only two states made it to the finals as a tie of 35 points. Akwa Ibom State, Bayelsa and Cross River State were competing for the next round. After round one of the quiz, there was a performance of dance by the Edo students.

After which it was time for the debate. The debate topic was "Is Telenursing beneficial or harmful?" Akwa Ibom State was on the opposing side. They stated their points clearly and convincingly and earned a total of 504 points, making it to the finals. Cross River State too made it to the finals.

Awards were given to students, such as the most corrosive, best student of the year awards and the like. After the presentation of the awards, I was called to the stage to give a presentation on hypertension. Using a flowchart represented in the projector, I gave a beautiful presentation on the pathophysiology of hypertension. The audience gave a standing ovation when I was through.

The second round of the quiz and debate competitions commenced as we awaited the final results. The College of Nursing Sciences, Cross River State, was announced as the winner of both the quiz and debate competitions with a prize of 1 million naira . College of Nursing Sciences, Akwa State, came in second place with a prize of 700,000 naira. We were so happy as we danced after the event.

https://youtube.com/shorts/0gfBbaLIm5Y?si=FG524SxaXaCEo6uF