Connect with us

Feature

Buni Setting Yobe on the Path of Becoming Nigeria’s Medical Tourism Destination with Research Centre and Worthy Hospitals

Published

on

Buni Setting Yobe on the Path of Becoming Nigeria’s Medical Tourism Destination with Research Centre and Worthy Hospitals

By: Michael Mike

Yobe State is gradually getting something right in the medical field as it has in place a medical research centre and classic hospitals all through the effort of Governor Mai Mala Buni, Michael Olugbode reports:

Research is essential in various aspects of life, offering numerous benefits including
Knowledge advancement (Research expands our understanding of the world, uncovering new information and insights), Problem-solving (Research helps address real-world issues, developing solutions and improving lives), Innovation (Research drives innovation, leading to new products, services, and technologies), Evidence-based decision-making (Research provides a basis for informed decisions in fields like healthcare, policy, and business), Critical thinking (Research promotes critical thinking, analysis, and evaluation of information), Academic growth (Research is a fundamental aspect of academic development, advancing fields of study and disciplines), Improved practices (Research informs best practices in various industries, leading to improved performance and outcomes, Enhanced credibility (Research adds credibility to claims, theories, and initiatives), Collaboration and networking (Research fosters collaboration, building connections and partnerships) and Societal progress (Research contributes to societal progress, addressing global challenges and improving the human condition).


By conducting research, we can continue to learn, grow, and innovate, ultimately making a positive impact on individuals, communities, and the world at large. This informed the decision of Yobe State Governor, Hon. Mai Mala Buni to encourage the establishment of
Africa accounts for 15% of the global population but 25% of the worldwide disease burden. However, little scientific research is done within the continent to address health and disease problems. Taking COVID-19 pandemic as an example, with a population of about 200 million, as of December 2020, less than 0.5% of Nigeria’s population were tested for COVID-19. This is partly because only a few laboratories in Nigeria have the necessary equipment for conducting COVID-19 testing.
Research laboratories across Nigeria also have a drastic shortage of laboratory equipment. As a result, most Nigerian scientists are unable to conduct cutting-edge research in areas of bioscience. For example, as of 2020, no institution in Nigeria has a functional confocal or transmission electron microscope. This challenge is compounded by low funding for scientific research and a relatively small number of active scientists. These barriers limit biomedical research and innovations from Nigeria and Africa at large.


To arrest this low point, Dr. Mahmud Bukar Maina, born and raised in Yobe State, Nigeria, became inspired to help address these challenges after joining TReND in Africa, a charity supporting scientific capacity building across Africa. It runs cutting edge biomedical training courses, provide universities with scientific equipment, run academic volunteering and outreach schemes, and support and work with African researchers. As the founder of TReND Outreach Programme, in 2017, he organized a science festival in Yobe State University to raise public understanding of science and start discussions about the need for having a sustainable hub for biomedical science research and innovation. Due to the enthusiasm shown in Yobe, in 2019, Dr Maina started collecting laboratory equipment from institutions and groups around the world through TReND in Africa to establish a state-of-the-art bioscience laboratory in Yobe State University, and as a result of the outpouring support received from groups and institutions worldwide, a laboratory was launched in August 2021, which called the biomedical science research and training centre (BioRTC) aimed at research and training in biomedical sciences to address local and global problems; and to become a centre of excellence in research and training in areas of biomedical sciences in Nigeria and Africa, helping to solve local and global health problems through scientific research, with the mission of becoming lead world-class research in the field of biomedical science, to provide training to scientists and health professionals, thereby fostering the development of highly skilled scientists in Africa, offer state-of-the-art core infrastructure to support biomedical science research, foster research collaboration with scientists and institutions both within and outside Nigeria to tackle local and global biomedical science problems.


With very strong backing from Yobe State Governor, Hon. Mai Mala Buni, the BioRTC boasts of cutting edge equipment acquired through grants and donations facilitated by Maina. This includes among others Zeiss Laser Scanning Confocal Microscopes (LSM 780 and LSM 700) which visualizes detailed cellular structures, confocal microscopy which provides clear, detailed images of cells and tissues by eliminating out-of-focus light, study cellular dynamics: live cell imaging capabilities that help in observing dynamic processes within cells in real-time, and multicolor fluorescence imaging which enables the simultaneous visualisation of multiple fluorescent markers, aiding in complex biological studies such as cancer research, neuroscience, and developmental biology.
The rest are Zeiss Laser Scanning Confocal Microscopes 780 and 700, LI-COR Odyssey imaging system, Applied Biosystems 7300 Real-Time PCR system, Full tissue culture suite, Cellular biobank, Nikon Eclipse Microscope 50i with fluorescence, Bio-Rad Mini-Protean System and UVP BioDoc-It imaging systems, and several others. With this Yobe State is perhaps the leading state in medical research as the governor continues to set the path of rejuvenating the state’s health sector and position the Northeast state as the the numero uno in medical tourism destination.


Conducting journalists round the facility, the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academics) of the university, Professor Mohammed Musa Lawal, who is also the coordinator of the centre, said the centre enjoys strong support from the state government. “The centre was founded by Professor Maina with support from foreign varsities including University of Sussex. This research centre focuses on malaria, kidney disease and dementia among others. It also organises workshop with resource persons from around the world and participants from within Nigerian and around Africa,” he said.
In his virtual remarks, the founder, Maina put the estimate of the equipment at the centre at over a billion naira, adding that some others were still being expected to facilitate further research work.


He said the choice of Yobe came because it is an example of places within the region with low resource and in conflict, adding it’s also a way of giving back to the community where he was born and raised.
The neuroscientist has never hidden his influence in getting the centre established in Yobe state, stating that: “As an indigene of Yobe State and given the commitment of the university’s management to promote teaching and research, I wanted to help establish a laboratory in the university which can be used for teaching and research.
“Having such a laboratory would enable us to mentor the next generation of African scientists in Nigeria and would make it easier for people like me to return home eventually to continue with research work. In a way, I am giving back to a community which has done so much for me.’’


Inheriting a legacy of note from his predecessor, Alhaji Ibrahim Geidam, Buni during his inauguration a little over five years ago said: “The Yobe State Teaching Hospital has no doubt made impressive mark as a tertiary healthcare institution, providing efficient services to the people. No wonder, the state has become a hub of medical tourism for patients in search of qualitative medical attention.


“This administration considers it necessary to upgrade the capacities of health institutions in the State by providing state-of-the-art medical facilities and equipment to provide the best services to the people. Government will continue to look into the welfare of healthcare providers to enhance healthcare delivery.


“The Medical College established in the state university, will be nurtured and supported to provide a conducive learning environment for the training of manpower for our health institutions. As the saying goes, health is wealth; this administration is determined and committed to creating a healthy population for an economically prosperous state.” He has since May 29, 2019 kept to his words and remained focused on ensuring that he endowed on the state a health sector worthy of note, five years on, the quality of the equipment and manpower available in the state’s health sector is a clear demonstration that the administration is consistently meeting the people’s health needs both in the areas of research and final service delivery. Today, Yobe houses a legion of medical equipment worth billions of naira, spread across Yobe State University Teaching Hospital and the adjoining Biomedical Science Research and Training Center (BioRTC) also in Damaturu, reputed to be the first in Nigeria.


The Yobe State University Teaching Hospital is one important place the Buni administration has invested a lot because of its importance to the health of the people of the state, the Chief Medical Director of the teaching hospital, Dr. Baba Woru Goni has this to say: hundreds of people receive kidney dialysis free of charge, this is because of the prevalence of the ailment in the state.
Goni during the tour of journalists of the facility, the 600-bed capacity maternal and child hospital in Damaturu, said with huge investment in the health sector by the Buni administration, the institution is being equipped with the state-of-the art facilities to be on top of reducing maternal and child mortality.


He noted that the hospital stands on a tripod of service delivery, training of manpower and research, insisting that “with the quality of equipment and manpower made available in our hospital by His Excellency, I make bold to say that we will be meeting the health needs of not just the Northeast states, but that of the entire north and even the country. We are working towards making this the nation’s medical tourism destination.”
While lamenting that Yobe has the highest number of kidney-related ailments in the country, he noted that: “So, the dialysis is all for free while we continue with the research to find a lasting solution to the problem. It is practically impossible for the poor to pay at least N50,000 for a session of dialysis. We thank the governor for his magnanimity,”
At the Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU), where preterm babies, those with jaundice and other infections, are kept in a facility designed by Prof Nicholas of Imperial College in London, for proper care for the first 28 days, he said five of such facilities, are available for use across the state.


In the area of manpower and welfare, Goni said 25 senior consulting lecturers were employed and a 32-room one-storey building made available by the state government for the Houseman-ship. Full locum service, a system where retirees are also brought on board to fill some vacuum for a brief period, is also put to use by the teaching hospital.
Some other areas, Buni has impacted the healthcare delivery to the next level in Yobe state, include upgraded four General Hospitals to Specialists Hospitals, and eight Primary Health Centres to General Hospitals, with all the necessary equipment and facilities befitting of Specialist, and General Hospitals thereby boosting the secondary healthcare delivery and bringing healthcare services much closer to the people of the state.


Some things are definitely happening in Yobe State worthy of the attention of other Nigerians, and one of those things is in the area of improvement of the healthcare and it is not only worth the visiting of other Nigerians but definitely to benefit from.

Buni Setting Yobe on the Path of Becoming Nigeria’s Medical Tourism Destination with Research Centre and Worthy Hospitals

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Feature

WHITHER BORNO SOUTH STAKEHOLDERS: A REJOINDER

Published

on

WHITHER BORNO SOUTH STAKEHOLDERS: A REJOINDER


BY: Yamta Bulama Bata Mshelia.

Amidst the very wide acclaim, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum has been getting for his leadership style; a news item captioned ” Borno South Residents Urge Action Against Discriminatory Politics “, authored by one Ishaya Malgwi, writting on behalf of a self styled group; BORNO SOUTH STAKEHOLDERS, caught my attention in the social media.


In the said piece Ishaya Malgwi, the convener of Borno South Stakeholders: an amorphous socio-political group comprising mainly Southern Borno elites in diaspora, tried painting the people of Southern Borno as ungrateful for the present government in Borno state under Professor Babagana Umara Zulum.


I had earlier read another write-up by Alhaji Yusuf Adamu, expressing appreciation to the governor for the numerous projects executed in Southern Borno: Biu in particular.
With Alhaji Yusuf Adanu’s piece, one would have been happy that contrary to Ishaya Malgwi’s postulations, the governor has done something worthwhile in the southern part and one can afford to ignore the Borno South Stakeholders under Ishaya Malgwi, but for the fact that as a stakeholder by all ramifications, and I am from Southern Borno residing in Biu, I could not resist the urge to correct the the erroneous impression being created by the so-called Borno South Stakeholders.


As a witness to some of the projects executed across Southern Borno which run contrary to the claims by the self styled group called Southern Borno Stakeholders, I have always had my suspicion about this group, which registered as agents of unity and development, but which has metamorphosis into an opposition: that does not see anything good in the government of Borno state.


I have interacted with so many people who were unsuspecting lured to join the group, most of whom opted out after realizing that it was more of a selfish self serving assemblage much more than a collection of development strategists.


I have also keenly followed their programmes and shall expose their real motives in the fullness of time.


I hasten to state that no governor, in the recent history of Borno state, has done what governor Zulum has done or is doing in Southern Borno in terms of development.
I stand to be corrected, but I am also aware that Southern Borno has its fair share of representation in the government, and I know that so many projects have been completed and are ongoing in Southern Borno.


I have made contact with like minds, and we are compiling the list of projects executed in each local government area in Southern Borno.
I am sure that, except perhaps those working in Ishaya Malgwi’s conclave, most Southern Borno stakeholders may not agree that we are mere onlookers on the political scene either.
It is needless to clarify that in Zulums government, the chairman of the ruling party is from Southern Borno: and one will wonder what political relevance Malgwi is talking about.


To my limited knowledge, I know that the Deputy Governor is from Southern Borno, the Deputy Speaker of the state Assemnly is from Southern Borno, the Deputy Chief of Staff is from Southern Borno, there is a Commissioner from each Local Government, except Gwoza and Chibok which had problems, there is a sizeable number of Advisers, SSAs, SAs and Technical Advisers from each Local Government and untill recently the Head of Service is from Southern Borno and many others.


I know, as a matter of fact, that many Southern Borno State indigenes have gained appointments through the instrumentality of the Borno State Governor.
We may concede it to Borno South Stakeholders as a right to express their opinions and orchestrate their sentiments because we are approaching another political phase, and the polity is already heating up.
But it is completely inaccurate to state that Professor Babagana Umara Zulum is running a government of exclusion to the detriment of Southern Borno.


We should learn to appreciate that which is good even when it does not favour us, just as we are previledged to also criticize.

Mshelia is an indigenes of Hawul Local Government.

WHITHER BORNO SOUTH STAKEHOLDERS: A REJOINDER

Continue Reading

Feature

The Changing Trajectory Of Governor Zulum’s Development Initiatives In Southern Borno

Published

on

The Changing Trajectory Of Governor Zulum’s Development Initiatives In Southern Borno

By: A. G. Abubakar

The last outing by HE Professor Babagana Umara Zulum to Biu in Southern Borno, where multiple capital projects were either commissioned or initiated, signified a strategic shift towards inclusion and fair play. It was a masterstroke that had the potential to engender unity and balanced development in the region. This is aside improving the deteriorating political and ethno-religious relations and the concomitant mass discontent in the affected zone(s). Kudos to His Excellency!

The citizens’ hunger for development should be seen as a legitimate aspiration. And, meeting such expectations (reasonably) should naturally be the guiding principles of governance that successive administrations in the state seemed to have jettisoned. A development that has since created a feeling of distrust between the government and the governed in the zone. The people believe, and rightly too, that they have no other polity to call their own apart from Borno State and, as such, deserve to be treated fairly in its affairs.

Professor Zulum may be a “new convert” to this noble philosophy but he seems to have his hands on the right handles going by the strategic nature of the dividends of democracy (infrastructure) his government is extending across parts of the Borno South. And, the Professor-Governor seems to be doing this, not only with the needed expediency but in style too.

The governor inaugurated (commissioned) “a state-of-the-art eye and dental hospital as well as a mega secondary school in Miringa-Biu, Biu LGA” of the state. The eye hospital is a 40-bed ophthalmological care centre. “Similarly, the dental hospital will provide comprehensive oral health services including preventive care, orthodontics, and restorative treatments.” The Mega school in Miringa has the capacity to accommodate 1,300 students students. The school consists of 60 classrooms, 4 laboratories, and an ICT centre.

Apart from the executed projects in Biu, His Excellency ordered the construction of 5 new hospitals in the state, with two coming to Askira and Uba towns in Southern Borno. The others are Gubio, Mafa, and Dikwa. To boost MSMEs in the zone, the governor launched a billion naira (N1 billion) support fund for the initiative. Governor Zulum equally laid the foundation for the construction of 600 housing units across Biu, Hawul (Borno South),Gubio, and Magumeri, with a view to addressing the housing deficits in these communities.

Not long ago, the governor was at the forefront at saving the Nigeria Army University (NAUB), Biu. His administration equally facilitated the take-off of the Federation College of Education, Gwoza, as well as that of the Federal Orthopaedic Centre in Azare, Hawul LGA.

It is common knowledge that governance is about the management of aggregate interests. Interests that may, at times, be even conflicting. It is also about inclusion and equity.

For long, the powers that be in Borno have been perceived as lacking in terms of the sense of proportion, especially in the distribution of capital infrastructure across the state’s constituent parts. For nearly two decades, capital projects have been domiciled in Maiduguri, the seat of government.

Mega schools, tertiary institutions, hospitals, urban renewable schemes (overhead bridges, mass transit systems, etc), support to MSMEs, have all been concentrated in Maiduguri.Thus, turning the polity into a one city-state that left the northern and southern Borno enclaves out. The former is due to the Boko Haram/ISWAP insurgency campaigns in the region, while the latter may not be unconnected with Nigeria’s zero-sum geopolitics underpinned by the tyranny of number.

The state of things, however, seems to be changing for the good of all. Governance is becoming more responsive by exhibiting some modicum of fairness in state craftsmanship.The people need to reciprocate the positive gesture. Trust is crucial in governance, though it has to be earned. The recent action by the government also needs to be sustained in order to maintain public trust.

Like Oliver Twist, the central character in Charles Dickens’ seminal work (1838) of the same title, the people are yearning for more. They wish to remind the Borno State government that the Biu Dam is still uncompleted after almost 40 years! The Damboa to Biu highway, as well as the Damaturu-Biu- Garkida road, need the government’s intervention, too. The poor state of the roads have rendered large chunks of the state a safe haven for Boko Haram/ISWAP. Mobility is a critical factor in prosecuting wars and in securing public support as well.

Apart from the major highways, the Borno State government initiated a rural road development programme to boost economic activities, especially agriculture and commerce. Gunda communities in Biu LGAs and some others in Chibok, Askira/Uba, etc, were identified, and work commenced. Two years down the line, nothing has been done, leaving the affected communities frustrated as they see their hopes gradually getting dashed. For some inexplicable reasons, the Miringa-Garubula-Gunda, feeder road with a possible extension to the border towns of Galabinda and Tattaba, basically remains abandoned.

The State College of Agriculture, Damboa, is still being housed in Maiduguri, the state capital. Attempts should be made to move it to its permanent site after almost three decades. Not forgetting the need to facilitate the return of thousands of Borno citizens pushed into refugee camps in neighbouring Cameroon and Niger.The government’s credibility is at stake with regard to these issues.

The people of Borno South salute the governor, His Excellency, Professor Zulum, for the commendable paradigm shift. May it be a sustainable one.


A.G.Abubakar agbarewa@gmail.com

The Changing Trajectory Of Governor Zulum’s Development Initiatives In Southern Borno

Continue Reading

Feature

Features: Two years after the ajaokuta ban in Borno, insurgents and residents now scavenge for plastics and firewood

Published

on

Features: Two years after the ajaokuta ban in Borno, insurgents and residents now scavenge for plastics and firewood

By: Bodunrin Kayode

“Ajaokuta” is the name of a council area in kogi state. But that is for those not living in north Eastern Nigeria. In North Eastern Nigeria, “Ajaokuta” is used to mean scrap metals both in kanuri and hausa. As a result any metallic material not useful like empty “can of soft drinks” or beer which can be turned into money by making aluminum pots or containers. Anything not usable again and condemned to the metal bin made from iron or aluminium is big money to both the boko haram insurgents and the residents who search for them as relics of war.

The scavenging for these scrapes however soon woke up the recycling industry which had been restricted to mostly can drinks before the advent of the war. So many vehicles, military and civilians which were abandoned in the bush where it got broken down and became impossible to tow out before the insurgents took over 21 council areas became ready scrap metals inside the savannah. Because nobody in his right senses will spend more than ten minutes inside insurgents territory without being killed during the peak of the crisis.

This was how ajaokuta became a reality in north east Nigeria and such scraps became money in the hands of these scavengers on both sides of the divide who knew its value. These desperate scavengers of scrap materials turned even discarded car parts in organized garages to big money. And it is for that instant cash that some internally displaced people (IDPs) decided to be making fast money from it 6. This is because most of them are confined to the Head Quarters of their council areas unable to farm and fish or make a living for themselves where necessary.

With the shut down of organized idp camps in the city of Maiduguri these residents these days are becoming restless since they can’t earn their living through farming which is their primary past times. They hardly sit down where they are confined in the hinterlands sub camps pending the end of the war. This is because most of them disregard the war situation that has been declared in the north east and insist on wanting to live normal lives while still surrounded by insurgents. Some entered the maiduguri idp camps years ago without a family and now they are back to their council area sub camps with many wives and children. And they don’t see why the Governor, Babagana Zulum was complaining recently about that.

Borno State has witnessed several skirmishes between the idps and the boko haram insurgents who equally look out for similar items for its commercial value to sell and feed their numerous harem of women and children with them in the bush. However, with the early clamp down on non governmental organizations (NGO’s) who were sympathetic to the cause of the insurgents in the name of balancing acts, it became harder for the terrorists to maintain their harems and their kids. They had to desperately look for alternative plans to survive especially with the factionalization of the jihadists. Indeed former theatre Commander, General Adeniyi once shut down about three NGO’s fingered in such sympathetic practices but they were later allowed to resume operations by some powers that were from Abuja. But what ever was trickling to the insurgents was completely cut off according to sources including the controversial mama Boko Haram who had unfettered access to their commanders through her foundation. So having been left high and dry in the bush, they too started sending their wards out to scavenge not only for ajaokuta but for abandoned plastic containers and firewood. This was meant to assist their bush economy which Adeniyi did not want to thrive even as they farmed and fished in the lake Chad axis unhindered.
Consequently, it was the scavenging for these items that used to bring lingering fracas between the IDPs and the insurgents.

The most bloody skirmish in recent times

Not too recently in Rann, the headquarters of Kala Balge the idps were said to have strayed several kilometers beyond where they were supposed to stay in search of these scraps which would amount to immediate cash once they meet the right dealers. Over 40 residents on a scrap metal scavenging spree were slaughtered by insurgents believed to be of the Islamic State of West Africa (ISWAP) stock. The killings which took place when ISWAP insurgents carrying rifles and knives rounded up a group of idps that were searching for scrap metals to sell for a living. About 47 of the scavenging camp residents who were looking for the “Ajaokuta ” were rounded up and slaughtered for daring into the known territories of the insurgents. That singular act of butchery sources told this reporter became very painful to the Governor Babagana Zulum who vowed to ban the activities of the residents and idps over ajaokuta. But are they really banned considering the fact that there are no specific check points monitoring it’s movements?

Transition to plastics and fire wood

After the banning, the idps usually confined within 5km of their council headquarters now settled for the used battered plastics trade which had existed long before the boko haram challenge started. The ajaokuta business goes on secretly in trickles because they hide them inside used plastic containers and bottles which the security points hardly bother about. Driving through the city of Maiduguri, heaps of plastics can now be seen around certain areas in outskirts like Gubio road, Baga road and several suburbs where cart pushers ask for so called condemned items to go sell. And these are weighed on scales and instant cash is awarded for those who are bold enough to penetrate Garbage bins and dump sites to get the plastics which are gathered like Ajaokuta.

Fire wood is equally not left out of the foraging business. As a matter of fact, firewood has become the second largest revenue earner for resident IDPs in the state capital. The camps may have closed officially but a lot of resident IDPs who live with relatives in the metropolis go hunt for firewood in the thick savannah and sell to residents most of whom have abandoned charcoal which moved from N3,000 to N10,000 a bag. This has forced many civil servants in the upper lower class to move down to fire wood as the new savior. So with firewood dumps in almost every crevice of the state now, it has become a safe alternative to these ajaokuta scraps some of which have become death traps because residents usually walk into improvised Explosive Devices (IEDS) planted by insurgents in the name of hunting for them. Many innocent souls have perished in that process.

However. If residents in key towns in the state must fulfill their destinies to generate enough revenue to feed themselves, since free feeding may be terminated this year, then fire wood scavenging has come to stay as a veritable index in fulfillment of their individual desires. Firewood and plastics have become a heavy source of bush market revenue which even the government can utilize in beefing up it’s internal revenue. The mantra of plant trees where others are felled can only apply where there is safety. Nobody can tell residents of tashan Kano and surrounding suburbs down to Bulumkutu who go into the nearby Molai bush to source for fire wood to plant one tree there. His or her business is to grab the wood and return back quickly before the armed men in the other side come out to look for theirs. That is the new slogan of the down trodden in Borno state.

Features: Two years after the ajaokuta ban in Borno, insurgents and residents now scavenge for plastics and firewood

Continue Reading

Trending

Verified by MonsterInsights