UMTH : Professor Ahmed Ahidjo Reaching For The Rescue Of Stroke Patients

UMTH : Professor Ahmed Ahidjo Reaching For The Rescue Of Stroke Patients

By: Balami Lazarus

Much has been said and spoken on stroke over the years in Nigeria . This ailment is associated with so many things that have no relationship with it , including spiritual attachment. Therefore, stroke has become one of the feared medical challenges because of what has been said of it at different fora coupled with different interpretations from men with no iota of medical training or  knowledge about this ailment called stroke. At the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, the team led by Professor Ahmed Ahidjo came with the idea of a stroke centre to cushion its effects on society.

Although the centre is under construction with over 90 percent, the good news is that all the equipment for the centre are on ground and when completed and soon will be the centre of research and can produce experts that will speak on this challenge to disabuse the minds of many people who believe stroke is attached with some negative belief system.

NEWSng reports that the UMTH has observed its (stroke) many derailing effects among the people and the many attachments. Indeed, in the part of the world , there have never been any stroke unit or department in any of the secondary or tertiary hospitals in Nigeria known for the treatment of stroke until perhaps recently and the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital is leading in making the difference going by the investigation carried out in our research to unearth the positive development achievements of the Professor Ahidjo’s led management team.

What is a stroke? And what are the causes of stroke? To put these straight in our brief findings, if anything to go by can be explained as a damage to the brain from interruption of free flow of blood supply. This means high blood pressure (HBP) as usually referred to in plain language. The doctors told us that this is the leading cause of stroke among many people in the world. And this is far contrary to the stories we heard from the village angles about uncle’s and aunties we so called village people.

It is on record that UMTH has provided succour in the treatment of stroke to patients within and around the northeast region including other parts of the country. With the establishment of the Stroke Centre. The University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital has taken the centre stage as one the best hospitals in the country. Since the beginning of the insurgents in 2009 to date , the hospital has never closed for a day. It has weathered the storms and stood tall in offering services to the people with new projects put in place by the CMD.

Looking back at his works from the start to date, Professor Ahmed Ahidjo has placed on table what has always been a dream for many before him and with his inclusive style of leadership testimonies from the hospital reveals that the Professor of Interventional Radiology is not only intervening from his professional calling but has put a challenge to professional manager of human and capital resources in both administrative and management of hospitals in Nigeria.

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“We all know healthcare is one of the most important foundation pillars in any development. There is no system or community or society that develops without a good health system because it is only when you are healthy that you can be productive. And as long as you do not have a healthy population, the population will not be productive. As long as they are not productive there is no way you can prosper as a society. So, we must understand the value of healthcare in the economy of any nation. A sound healthcare system provides a good platform for economic development. They are directly proportional. If you look at the graphical representation, you will agree that it is a linear relationship between healthcare and economic development. So spending as a nation in our healthcare is very important and not only spending but spending wisely. 

“Everybody knows that it is easy to spend money. If they give you money and you enter a supermarket, you can spend it the way you want it. But at the end of the day, if you come out of that super market you asked yourself. Have I done a proper need assessment before I go in? Did I buy the things that I really need and not the things that I want? You evaluate your purchases whether your spending is on your real needs and anything that you do, if you want a proper development you must lay a foundation. There is no way you can expect a child to start running without first sitting and crawling.” Professor Ahmed Ahidjo said in one of his interviews.

Before the Stroke Centre came to reality, Professor Ahmed Ahidjo had made special arrangements and had provided trained men and medical materials which are to give special care for those with medical challenges of stroke. The Stroke Centre is one the biggest structures embarked by the CMD. When NEWSng took time recently to inspect the building it was near completion. In fact, the centre is a complex of its own, where offices for stroke experts , examination rooms , patients wards , laboratories and Out – patient Departments (OPD ) are all available within the Centre.

The UMTH Stroke Centre is a specialized unit lying in a quite serene environment of this institutional hospital. During the tour of this massive construction work, it was revealed that one of the sons of Borno state, a philanthropist, Dr. Mohammed Kyari Dikwa has opened his doors to support and sponsor this health services project as contribution to healthcare services which will soon be commission to alleviate the sufferings of those with stroke challenges.

UMTH : Professor Ahmed Ahidjo Reaching For The Rescue Of Stroke Patients