…As Old students donate donate N90m worth equipment to College of Medicine, UI
By Adeyinka Adeniran
Pioneer Medical Director of the Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta, Professor Emmanuel Otolorin has called on the Federal Government to consider how to turn brain gain in the medical and health sector to brain gain, in the staed of policies that can limit the career growth of health practitioners.
This is as the 1995 Medical and Dental Graduates, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan (CoMUI) donated medical equipment and facilities to the tune of N90million to their Alma Mater, in commemoration of the 30 years post graduation reunion.
Speaking during a lecture entitled, “From Brain Drain to Brain Gain”, organised as parts of the celebration at the Paul Hendrickse Lecture Theatre, College of Medicine, University College Hospital (UCH) premises, Professor Otolorin identified two broad factors which according to him are responsible for the brain drain menace facing the health sector.
He gave them to include: the push factors and the pull factors.
According to the Immediate Past President of the Ibadan College of Medicine Alumni Association (ICOMAA) Worldwide, while the push factors are responsible for driving healthcare workers out of the country, the pull factors are those things luring and attracting healthcare professionals to other countries.
He said government can take advantage of the exposure, skills, expertise among other things that are achieved by experts and healthcaee professionals who have left the country to impact on those still in the country to better the sector.
He commended the initiative of the Federal Government through the Nigerian in Diaspora Commission (NiDCoM), but maintained that many of the policies advocated must be translated to reality.
He said for the government to turn the menace of brain drain to brain gain may be complex, it is not more than what the government can address to encourage healthcare practitioners to remain in the country.
Professor Otolorin said, “Brain drain is mostly caused by the push factors and the pull factors. The push factors from Nigeria are mostly poor salaries and allowances, insecurity in the country, lack of equipment and supplies, and working environment that is not conducive for healthcare professionals.
“And the pull factors are of course that better quality of life abroad, opportunities for more training, career progression, and appropriate remuneration without having to go on strike all the time.
“So the advice for the government is to address these factors, mostly the push factors. Work on security, work on infrastructure in our health facilities, hire more staff because there are many who want to work in some of these hospitals. Our doctors are under stress, they are overworked, they are overburdened, and when you are stressed, you are working in a toxic environment, you are bound to make mistakes and then you don’t feel that you are well remunerated for all your efforts. So we need to address all of those push factors.
“At the same time, we should take advantage of those who have gone, that when they are there, even if they don’t want to come back, we should take advantage of the skills that they have learned and have, through the diaspora network, bring them back to help to develop our younger ones, so that in fact we can create new opportunities for training them to the level of those places where they are going, so that they don’t even have to leave the country.
“And then for those who can’t come back, we can provide opportunities for them to be engaged in our universities temporarily, either in teaching assignments, curriculum review, or even organizing seminars and webinars, like this alumni group is doing for the students. So that way we harness their skills.
“At the same time, I know there’s benefits of diaspora remissions. You know, people are sending money home, and the government has seen that they can make 20 billion dollars every year from diaspora remittances, you know, but we cannot be benefiting from remittances at the expense of the health of our people.”
In his remarks, the President, COMUI 1995 Medical and Dental Graduating Class, Dr. Olakunle Johnson the reunion is a thanksgiving to God for his goodness and mercies to this set, christened Unique Class.
He thanked all teachers who impacted the art and science of medicine into the set, some of whom were also present at the lecture.
He recounted the Uniqueness of the set, saying, “It is on record that over 85 percent of the class progressed from the preclinical to the clinical school. The class blended beauty with brains, social life, sports, and politics. The class produced three distinctions in the preclinical school. A member of the class became the Student Union President after a near loss the previous year. A revolution in sports in ABH started with the class introducing 5-a-side soccer competitions, which resulted in the hall winning its first-ever soccer game, the Vice Chancellor’s Cup.
“We have at present sixteen professors and counting. A member of the class is the CMD of LUTH (Lagos University Teaching Hospital), in the person of Professor Wasiu Lanre Adeyemo. Similarly, one of us was Commissioner of Health in Abia State, Nigeria, in the person of Dr. Okechukwu Ogah. We have our members in various fields of medicine and dentistry, excluding neurosurgery, both in the country and diaspora.”
He also reported that the set has lost 11 of its members to the cold hand of death, praying for the repose of their soul.
The President explained further that, the current executive, who took over the mantle of leadership in January this year, has had a remarkable journey so far, saying “we achieved several milestones, including registering the class as an association with a standard government registration and developing a guiding constitution. Additionally, we instituted a Group Life Insurance Scheme for the class.”
He said the N90million worth item donated to commemorate the 30th anniversary of graduation include: Solar alternative energy (20 KV) to the Restorative Department of the Faculty of Dentistry, Upgrade of the solar alternative energy of the Family Medicine Department of UCH from 2.5 KV to 5.0 KV; 5 KV solar alternative energy to the Community Medicine Department of the College of Medicine, UI; 2 laryngoscope video instruments to the Department of Anesthesia, UCH; Arthroscope to the Orthopedic Department of UCH; Pediatric Department – Two ambulatory blood pressure monitors with neonatal, infant, and child cuffs, 4 OMRON BP machines, 4 BP cuffs, and 4 weighing machines and for the Medicine Department – Four Contec TLC 9803 3-channel Holter ECG, 2 Contec 24-hour rechargeable ambulatory blood pressure monitors with large adult and adult thigh cuffs, handheld spirometer digital, sleep apnea screening monitor, ultrasound blood flow detector.
Other items include: O&G Department – 1 Digital Video Colposcope and accessories; Ophthalmology Department of UCH – Installation of Retiscan 21 diagnostic unit with the supply of one year’s consumables and basic maintenance support after payment of the outstanding debt of the hospital; ABH – Solar alternative energy for Block E and donations of sporting equipment and a generous donation to ICOOMA towards the construction of the ICOMAA students Hostel.
Highlight of the event was the decoration and presentation of honors to some of their teachers who were also at the event.
The Chairman, Local Organising Committee of the Reunion, Dr Okechukwu Ogah said the event is thenfirat opportunity for some of the old students to return physically to the school.premises, saying the set will always be grateful to the institution and men/women used by God to give them an excellent medical and dental training, saying “for many of us, thirty years ago COMUI carried out a generational radical ‘povertectomy’ on us.”
