I was born and raised by parents who believed that in life, you are either in or out. They detested neutrality and tepidity. “Sitting on the fence,” they taught me, “is an act of cowardice.” One must choose a side; and make it known.
As I grew older, I encountered a passage in the Holy Book of my parents’ faith which reinforced this philosophy: “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot… so then, because you are lukewarm, I will spit you out of my mouth” (Rev. 3:15–16). After an independent and comparative study of world religions, this became the faith I consciously embraced.
Yet, those same disciplinarians (my biological parents), also taught me something equally profound: never to love or hate anyone because of their background, religion, tribe, or creed. They warned me against viewing people through the lens of segregational prejudice, insisting that love and hate are not native to any tribe.
Jude Eze
The author
Later in life, I stumbled upon a quote by St. Augustine in my father’s library: “Interfice errorem, sed diligere errantem” — “condemn the error, but love the errant” (hate the sin, not the sinner). From that moment, I learned to pass independent judgment on situations and personalities, with a mind open enough to withstand prejudicial sentiments.
At the university, I was an active member of the Students’ Union Government (SUG). More importantly, I was an ardent member and official of the Nigerian Medical Laboratory Science Students Association (NIMELSSA), the student arm of the Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (AMLSN). From my early student days, I followed and participated actively in AMLSN affairs, both as a student and later as a full financial member after graduation.
That commitment intensified until 2020, when we journeyed to Ebonyi State for the AGM/ASC and election of National Executive Officers. I attended that conference in Abakaliki as the Team Lead of Dr. Casmir Ifeanyi’s (DCI) media team. Our mission was simple: to sell DCI to delegates as the best man for the job of National President.
When Prof. James Damen emerged winner, I was crestfallen. I could not reconcile how a man of DCI’s pedigree, an aluta man with demonstrable competence, could be overlooked in a ballot, for what I considered a comparatively unmatching alternative. I returned from Abakaliki convinced that AMLSN preferred mediocrity over merit. I resolved, quietly but firmly, that the Association did not deserve my sweat.
Then came a turning point.
Dr. Casmir summoned his team members to Jevinik Restaurant in Wuse II, Abuja. There, he calmed our frayed nerves and pleaded with us not to abandon our great Association. He had already accepted the outcome of the election and pledged his full support to the Damen-led NEOs. Reluctantly, I yielded, and we moved on.
Dr. Casmir Ifeanyi
National President AMLSN
As the 2023 national election approached, Dr. Chuks Ironkwe unknowingly rekindled my resolve when he admitted that even in 2020, despite supporting Prof. Damen, he had always known that Dr. Casmir was eminently and indisputably qualified for the presidency.
Once again, we went to work.
We pushed the campaign with renewed vigor, injected warmth into a previously cold electioneering atmosphere, and marched into the November 18, 2023 election with a high-flying DCI brand. We emerged victorious… undisputedly.
AMLSN House,
(Secretariat of the Association)
Durumi Phase I, Abuja
Instead of heading home in triumph, Dr. Casmir took Dr. Ironkwe and me to Caritas Guest House at the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, where the elders were lodged. There, in the presence of the doyen of Medical Laboratory Science in Nigeria, Prof. Dennis Agbonlahor, alongside Elder Chris Mbata, Bona Nlemadim (Akupe Ngokpuala), and others, he did something remarkable.
He prostrated.
He pledged obedience to their guidance as he prepared to lead the Association. One of the most damaging narratives deployed against him during the campaign was that he was stubborn and irreverent toward elders. That mid-morning, he dismantled that lie, completely. He even surrendered his certificate of return to them for guidance.
Then came the storm.
While Dr. Casmir was pursuing his campaign manifesto, a faction orchestrated a court ruling that attempted to drag the Association back to 2020; handing Dr. Uche Odionyenma an expired mandate that had already been lawfully exhausted under Prof. Damen’s tenure as the 14th National President of AMLSN.
Casmir consistently pointed out the legal and practical unimplementability of that ruling. He gently told everyone that cared to listen that the ruling could not lawfully displace his fresh, legitimate mandate, which carried the constitutional single three-year tenure ending in November 2026. But his voice was drowned by the cacophony of desperate interests serving one man’s inordinate ambition.
That was when I broke.
I told Casmir plainly: he could continue to have faith in AMLSN, but not with me. I packed my faith into a bag and shut the door against the Association.
What followed was a prolonged leadership crisis that plunged AMLSN into its deepest abyss for over a year. Relief eventually came through the intervention of the Honourable Minister of Health and Social Welfare, whose olive branch laid the groundwork for reconciliation.
Still, Casmir would not let me go.
“Do not abandon this Association,” he insisted, “to those you yourself have acknowledged lack the leadership charisma to take us forward. Stay. Help us struggle into office. Help us save what we call our professional home.”
He reminded me that this was our primordial calling as Medical Laboratory Scientists, to uphold the honour and dignity of our profession.
By then, I was weary, weather-beaten, and worn out. Worse still, his willingness to submit to the verdict of the Ministerial Committee, despite holding a valid mandate that would expire in November 2026, angered me deeply. I could not immediately wrap my head around such sacrifice.
I became a reluctant, almost latent member of the DCI 2026 Media Team, following the lead of Ejemete Sunday, Paul Oreji, Khoda Nkumah, and Donald etc, more out of loyalty than conviction.
Yet somehow, Casmir succeeded in doing the impossible: he kept my heart open, even when I had shut the door.
Like Obama, he made us believe that yes, we can. And we did.
In line with the verdict of the Ministerial Committee, the Association returned once more to the ballot. At the rescheduled national election held on Saturday, February 7, at the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria (MLSCN) Secretariat, Abuja, under the watchful presence of heavy security operatives, the supervision of ANEC, and the vigilant eyes of our members, Dr. Casmir Ifeanyi again emerged National President of AMLSN. It was not merely a victory at the polls, but a reaffirmation of trust by the collective will of the profession. This means I am not the only one who so much believes that AMLSN deserves a competent leader like him. Yet, even in triumph, he did not lose sight of the weight of the rich manifesto he bears; one anchored on reform, dignity, unity, and the elevation of Medical Laboratory Science in Nigeria.
Twice he was pulled down.
Thrice he rose again, and marched on.
He has rekindled my faith once again in AMLSN.
Today, I have arrived at a conclusion that gives me peace: Dr. Casmir Ifeanyi is on a mission for the common good of all, and we owe him our support to see it through.
May daylight spare us!
✍️ Jude Eze.
