By Uche Bibilari
The Minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Yusuf Sununu, has commended the former Chief Medical Director (CMD), UATH, Prof. Bissallah Ekele, for his exemplary mentorship and enduring contributions to Nigeria’s medical profession.
Sununu gave the commendation in Abuja during a send-off dinner in honour of Ekele, who was the former CMD of University of Abuja Teaching Hospital (UATH).
He described the outgone CMD as a humble and dedicated leader who had been impactful over the years.
“I am here to celebrate success; to celebrate the epitome of mentorship; and also to share joy as a member of the community.
“Over the years, I have learned so much about him, he is humble, dedicated, hardworking and always ready to inspire the younger ones,” he said.
He expressed gratitude to Ekele and his family for their support and influence, adding that he had imbibed the golden attributes of mentorship demonstrated by the medical expert.
He said that Ekele remained active in the medical field and was currently on sabbatical with the National Universities Commission (NUC).
He expressed optimism that Ekele’s engagement with NUC would result in reforms in medical curriculum tailored to meet Nigeria’s present and future healthcare needs.
The minister, while addressing issues in the health sector, including recurring industrial actions by medical professionals, said that the present administration had adopted a more deliberate approach in negotiating agreements with health unions.
According to him, previous Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) were sometimes signed without adequate consideration of government’s financial capacity, leading to implementation failures and subsequent strikes.
“The health sector has been so much surrounded by a lot of issues. One of the major core issues is the fact that MoUs are signed by the government representative without considering the financial capability or capacity of the government.
“At times, the agreements end up not being implemented and being the reason for strike on and off.
“This time around, the government took its time to study what is needed and what needs to be done to make it better and that can also be implemented by government,” he said.
The minister said that a lot of funding, both domestic, grant and from foreign donors, had been channelled into the health sector to strengthen infrastructure and service delivery.
He highlighted ongoing collaboration between the Ministry of Education and the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria to reform medical education curriculum with emphasis on integrating technology into medical practice.
The minister wished Ekele good health, prosperity and long life, while praying that his children and trainees would surpass his achievements.
Similarly, the Acting CMD, UATH, Prof. Bob Ukonu, commended the former CMD for his examplary leadership, dedication to excellence in the healthcare practice, administration and a champion of innovation to many laudable projects in the hospital.
Ukonu said that Ekele’s tenure witnessed the acquisition of the Right of Occupancy for UATH, the construction and renovation of several wards through direct labour and collaboration with spirited individuals and organisations.
He said that 10 landmark projects were also commissioned on behalf of President Bola Tinubu by the Coordinating Minister of Health, Prof. Ali Pate, adding that the projects would stand the test of time.
“The facility also witnessed accreditation and re-accreditation of various departments, too numerous to mention. Training and retraining of staff and interns within and outside the country.
“Most of whom are professors today, indeed, his tenure had impacted positively and reduced patients’ mortality rates, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the hospital was designated as a major centre attending to patients.
“The man, Prof. Ekele, led with compassion as a man of vision and inspiration who strived for greatness,” he said.
Ukonu noted that the strategic insight of the former CMD during his eight-year tenure brought advanced critical reformation, strengthening synergy among key stakeholders, such as West African College of Surgeons and Physicians and many unions within the hospital.
He said that the outgone CMD championed policies that promoted sustainable growth, institutional harmony and improved service delivery, describing effective public service as “a noble calling” shown by Ekele’s leadership style.
The acting CMD, on behalf of staff of the hospital, thanked his predecessor for his leadership, mentorship, inspiration, and service to motherland.
On his part, the Chairman, Board of Management, UATH, Dr Ikechukwu Odikpo, said that Ekele, all through his tenure as the CMD, had shown very great capacity in administration, management and in the profession.
Odikpo expressed appreciation to the former CMD for laying a solid foundation in the hospital, adding that he has set a very good standard that must be sustained.
He wished him well as he continues in the profession.
Dr Comfort Ekele, wife of the former CMD, expressed joy and satisfaction for all the efforts her husband had put in service to humanity.
She thanked the staff of UATH for making her husband’s tenure in the hospital memorable.
The former Chief Medical Director, Prof. Bissallah Ekele, expressed joy and appreciation to the hospital management for the warm send-off dinner in his honour.
Ekele attributed all his eight years achievements while in UATH to teamwork, adding that he could not have achieved it all alone.
He said that as a leader whose aim was to succeed, there was need to carry people along.
“It is good to carry people along no matter what your vision is. If you want it to be successfully implemented.
“The team members were loyal, they were supportive, they were prayerful and that is why we were able to achieve all what we achieved,” he said.
The former CMD said for a better and improved health sector, there was need for more funds and resources, noting that nothing in the sector was cheap.
“The equipment, the machines, the reagents, none is cheap and if our budget to health is not increased significantly, we will still have a lot of challenges.
“We need to improve the insurance coverage for patients,” he said.
Ekele said that there was need to improve the incentives of health workers in order to discourage them from leaving the country in search of a better pay in other countries after being trained.
“Something has to be done incentive-wise for the health workers to keep them on ground. Otherwise, we train them they go. Why? because they have alternatives. Since they have alternative, something has to be done to keep them.
“Even if we do not give exactly what they are giving them in Saudi Arabia, in the UK or US, give them something that can make them function well,” he said.
He said that if all these were put in place, it would help to improve the health sector significantly.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the highlight of the dinner was a presentation of gift by the hospital management to the former CMD. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Kadiri Abdulrahman
