- says it is a legacy for Lagos
By Olanrewaju Adesanya
The management of Eko University of Medicine and Health Science (EKOUNIMED), has called on well meaning Lagosians to buy into the noble concept geared towards salvaging the nation’s hailing health sector.
Mrs. Rebeeca Ibraheem, Director of Development EKOUNIMED canvassed for the support, while delivering her speech at the maiden matriculation and signing of MOU with Eko Hospital, Ikeja and the Lagos State General Hospital, Alimosho, as their teaching hospitals.
According to her, 30 new matriculating medical students were duly admitted through Joint Admission Matriculation Board (JAMB) into EKOUNIMED.
She said the University has approval to run all programmes in the following medical and health fields: faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, faculty of clinical sciences, faculty of community medicine and primary health care, faculty of pharmaceutical sciences, faculty of Dentistry, and faculty of nursing.
The University envisions a world-class institution for the medical and other health professions in terms of learning, research, character building and service to humanity.
Stating the challenges confronting the institution, Mrs Ibraheem said the University, its students hostel, laboratories, offices and more, runs on a 24 hours power generating set, adding to the daily running cost.
“I want to call on Lagos government to see to the issue of power in this area imagine an organisation of this magnitude, running on diesel powered generator daily because there is no electricity.
The state government should get involved in this kind of thing, there are so many people abroad who are ready to invest in their country because it is like a call to give back to their motherland and it is a thing of pride but for the lack of power that is causing setbacks.
The state government should also come to our rescue, we don’t have good roads, the entrance and access route into the university is nothing to write home about.
We don’t have good drainage and the whole of the environment is so filthy, yet we keep doing the good job.
“At the moment we only have one faculty and we will be making effort for it to grow, we want to start our nursing programmes as well, but still have some shortcomings hindering that.
We need structures, we need people to donate via endowment funds, there are so many things they can donate for the progress of the school.
We want the indigenous wonderful people of Lagos to buy into the vision of EKOUNIMED, just like the name it symbolizes the greatness of Lagos.
Ekiti State government did all the roads for Afe Babalola University, Ogun State government did all the inner and outer roads for Crescent University, we want the Lagos State to toe same line.
To all well meaning Lagosians we are opened to donations, connections and support we can get from them.
They should see this as a dream that would outlive everyone and support us.
Universities in other climes though with bigger budget than that of many nations, still have people donating to their endowment schemes, so we should support this noble course,” she said.
In his contributions,Professor Samuel Odewunmi said that the University will concentrate on three sets of medics within the next four years.
“We shall churn out three sets of medics within the next four years, later we will now expand into other health sciences that we were licensed to do.
“We were licensed to do nursing, pharmacy, pharmacognosy and laboratory technology.
“The idea is let’s consolidate on one first, because this is something you cannot afford to fail, you must get full accreditation, we have three thesis ahead now.
We had some in the past from the Nigeria Medical Council and the NUC, we will have two before we start graduating and every year when we graduate the Nigeria Medical Council will come.
So once you are able to do that three times, then we will now go for other less difficult courses, for now let’s concentrate our resources on MBBS.
Professor Odewunmi hinted that the conception of the University was borne out of the founder’s thirst for excellence and perfect, functional health sector, going by his exposure and medical training in the United States of America.
“The founder Chief Dr. Hammed Ayodele Ibraheem has seen the best in the other climes and wanted that replicated in Nigeria.
The idea for some of us was to have an hospital but he refused, saying once he started an hospital he will soon die and whatever standard he established may not be able to continue.
The best thing is to replicate yourself, is to train the very best so that that can continue, it is his vision that Nigeria can have the best.
While giving his speech, he cited the fact that in the US out of 120 students who graduated as medics, 90 were Nigerians, we are damn good, but the environment need to reflect it back home.
“We can make the difference because you are not going to change Nigeria by just complaining, it is by getting your hands dirty on the plough.
“So that is what he is doing, training a new crops of Doctors, 30, 30, 30, over times it will blossom although the number can continue to increase as time goes on.
“The highest number you can take for medics is 120, through JAMB, Advance studies with CCC, CB at best or five credits at O’levels including physics, chemistry and biology.
Speaking on the challenges, Professor Odewunmi noted, “municipal services, such as electricity tops the list, light in this area is nothing to write home about.
“If I tell you how much is spent on diesel every week honestly you would want to give up.
“You know hostels, laboratories, offices many of which must have AC, that is the condition, you also have cadavers (dead bodies), you have to keep them refrigerated at all the times for practical, that is our challenge.
“Medical training cannot be done without power, Nigerian institution we have the human resources.
We will in the next five years start training allied medics, like anatomy and physiology, nursing and pharmacy.
All students are residential, the idea is that at the set time, those we have MOU with. like Columbia university, we will now send them to do resident there. if Federal government allows us.
Founder EKOUNIMED, Chief Dr. Hammed Ayodele Ibraheem noted that the University was a 21 year-old vision, hindered by several times by a number of cogs which he has fought repeatedly.
He called for a total overhaul of the Nigerian health sector, citing the fact that the system is quite poor and needs concerted efforts to revitalise it.