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The Dean of the Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Ilorin, Prof. Salihu Moyosore Ajao, has urged the Federal Government and other stakeholders to invest more in medical education in order to generate adequate and competent number of medical doctors and other allied professionals that would take care of the health needs of the nation’s growing population.

Prof. Ajao stated this last Monday (September 9, 2024) while speaking with UNILORIN Bulletin in his office.

The Professor of Anatomy explained that medical training and other related disciplines require huge funds and enormous facilities for the production of qualified and competent professionals.

Prof. Ajao, who is also the immediate past Chairman of the University of Ilorin Chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), said that resources currently being made available for medical training are grossly insufficient.

He added that since human life is too precious to be toyed with, everything worth doing at all must be done well to ensure that the trainers of future medical doctors and their trainees are not denied essential materials and facilities required for the training.

Prof. Ajao noted that despite the lean resources being made available for medical training in Nigeria, the nation’s University system has been turning out diligent and competent medical practitioners courtesy of the ingenuity of the nation’s medical educators who are insisting on giving back to the society that produced them despite lack of motivation and encouragement.

He added that Nigerian trained medical doctors are nevertheless still held in high esteem across the globe because of the resourcefulness and resilience inculcated in them by their trainers.

Prof. Ajao also encouraged the government to inject more resources into teaching hospitals with a view to turning them around for them to perform optimally. He said that doing so would reduce medical tourism that is gulping the country’s limited financial resources.

He added that with adequate and state-of-the-art facilities, Nigerian medical doctors would do wonders as he said that some of them are working in “hospitals of last resort” abroad where our people are often referred to.

Prof. Ajao equally canvassed for the introduction and implementation of special incentives for medical educators and practitioners in government services to encourage them to do more. He noted that this category of workers must be given added incentives in order to motivate and encourage them to continue to contribute their quota to the system.

The don also appealed to the National Universities Commission (NUC) and the Medical and Dental Registration Council of Nigeria (MDCN) as well as the Nursing Council of Nigeria, among other regulatory bodies, to ensure that stringent measures are put in place before any institution is allowed to run one medical programme or the other in the country. To him, lowering the standard because of quantity will spell doom for the country.

Prof. Ajao explained that medicine, nursing, and other health related courses are not like any other academic or professional programme that can be kick-started without adequate preparation and enabling facilities.

The former ASUU Chairman commended the authorities of the Kwara State University, Malete, for the introduction of medical training at the University.

He added that the establishment of the College of Health Sciences at the University would give room for more qualified indigenes of Kwara State and other Nigerians the opportunity of being trained to become medical doctors.

He also commended the Kwara State Government for converting the old Ilorin General Hospital to the Kwara State University Teaching Hospital (KWASUTH) for the training of Medical students and other related professionals at the Kwara State University (KWASU), Malete. Prof. Ajao added that KWASUTH would definitely reduce the pressure on the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH) as he noted that medical trainees from other institutions would also benefit from the new teaching hospital in one way or the other.