Otukpo FUHS: Gaining more mileage for the health sector

The appointment of a substantive Vice Chancellor for the newly established Federal University of Health Sciences (FUHS), Otukpo, and the constitution of the governing board by President Muhammadu Buhari are a harbinger to the imminent take-off of the institution this year. They are also a deliberate attempt at gaining more mileage as Nigeria races to become a major health care destination on the continent.  

The pioneer Vice Chancellor, Professor Innocent Ujah, a renowned obstetrician and gynecologist and recently elected President of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), has been described by his colleagues in the medical profession and his alma mater as a tested material on whose head the cap perfectly fits. His choice is also seen in other quarters as a sound decision by Mr. President.

This university is coming at the most auspicious moment as it is evident that Nigeria needs more well-trained medical personnel to tackle all manner of health challenges like the Covid-19 pandemic that may manifest in future.

To the estimated 2m people in the nine Local Governments that make up the Benue South Senatorial District where the university is located, it is a dream come true as the people have been struggling for several years to have such an institution located within their domain.

It is also noticed that the steadfast commitment of the officials of the Federal Ministry of Education and other indigenes of the area has helped in no small way as it has kept the issue of the university project on the front burner, meriting the attention of the Presidency which has now resulted in its imminent take-off.

Many public commentators are of the opinion that the new university is fortunate to have as its pioneer helmsman the person of Prof. Ujah who is not a new kid on the starting block, having spent almost all his adult life within the university community.

Although other principal officers and the governing council of the university are yet to be inaugurated, the vice chancellor is expected to have started the process of putting things in shape for the earliest commencement of academic activities in the new institution.

What is more, the location of the institution would pave way for rapid growth because unlike other areas where some members of the host communities would ask for a phantom sum of money as compensation for the acquisition of their land and in some cases where some individuals and groups could come to demand ransom from contractors handling construction projects, the permanent site of the university is located in a peaceful community that is grateful to the Federal Government for bringing a unique dividend of democracy within their reach.

The 2020 revised budget recently passed by the National Assembly with increment in the allocation for education and the establishment of six Federal Colleges of Education in the six geo-political zones of the country aimed at improving the quality of education at the grassroots underpins the determination of the Buhari-led administration for a greater overall development of education in the country.

Now that the university has got a Vice Chancellor and a Governing Council, more publicity needs to be carried out about its existence and the courses available to enable prospective students to take the necessary action.

When the five South-Eastern Governors went to Aso Rock to thank President Buhari for approving funds for the upgrading of the runway of the Enugu International Airport, they were wise to have taken that action in the knowledge that Federal Government funds are not unlimited and their extra efforts could be helpful in that regard.

It is equally not out of place for political leaders from the Benue South Senatorial District wherein the University is located to commend President Buhari and his government for bringing the most cherished institution to their domain if they have not already done so.

After all, in its embryonic stage, the institution will need all the support and goodwill it can garner to ensure its smooth take-off, steady growth and development.

To the Idoma nation, the location of the university within their domain represents many positive things to them. For starters, it is the only Federal Government tertiary institution in the land following the arbitrary removal of the then School of Secretarial Studies at Otukpo, which could have blossomed into a full-fledged University of Information and Communication Technology by the then Benue-Plateau Government in 1967.

In addition, the obnoxious and discriminatory scholarship policy of the then Benue-Plateau State Government which denied scholarships to students from the Idoma-speaking area of the state made it difficult for some indigent students to advance their educational pursuit at that time.

Since President Buhari came to power in 2015, it is on record that he has not had the opportunity to pay an official visit to any part of the State for no fault of his. The Federal University of Health Sciences, Otukpo, and the multi-million naira Oweto-Loko Bridge are two federal projects that are dear to his administration. Now that the Oweto-Loko Bridge has virtually been completed and open to motorists, Mr. President’s men may wish to plan his itinerary in such a manner that would enable him to travel and firstly, commission the new bridge and secondly, visit Otukpo to officially lay the foundation stone for the new university’s permanent site.

In all this, political observers are of the opinion that the people in the Benue South Senatorial District might have done the wisest thing by not putting all their political eggs in one basket when they overwhelmingly voted for Mr. President in both the 2015 and 2019 general elections.

The dividends of democracy they are now getting with the federal government establishing the Federal University of Health Sciences in their district and the continuous funding of the now completed Oweto-Loko Bridge may be part of the rewards the people are reaping for this singular support.

At the end of the day, the generality of the Idoma people are the beneficiaries of these projects.

Usman Adams writes from Abuja

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