From Bamigbola Gbolagunte, Akure
Former president of the West African College of Surgeons and professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Ibadan, Prof. Adeyinka Omigbodun, has stressed the need for more hands in the medical profession to cater for the health needs of Nigerians.
He also called for an increase in the number of people enrolled for medical courses in the nation’s university to increase manpower in the sector.
He said the only way to prevent medical personnel from seeking greener pastures abroad is to make their working conditions admirable.
Delivering the fourth Emeritus Professor Oladipo Akinkugbe distinguished lecture at the Ondo State government-owned University of Medical Sciences (UNIMED), the renowned gynecologist said medical personnel would continue to relocate abroad, hence the need for the government to improve their working conditions.
Also, he stressed the need for more people to be encouraged to study medical related courses to make up for those who relocate abroad from time to time.
Prof Omigbodun who spoke on the topic, “Leadership, mentorship and academic development in Nigeria” said the leadership and followership have serious roles to play if the country would move forward.
Extolling the virtues of the late Prof. Akinkugbe, Omigbodun who acknowledged the legacies of the late medical icon, described him as an astute administrator and great leader, the type that any county needs to move forward.
Also, he acknowledged that there is deficiency of medical personnel in many of the health institutions in the country, and therefore called on regulatory agencies of medical courses to increase the number of students to be admitted to medical schools.
He emphasised that the medical profession needs more hands to cater for the health needs of Nigerians.
The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Adesegun Fatusi, said the university has in the last 10 years of its existence made giant impacts in both education and medical sectors, saying that the university has made several research breakthroughs that are useful for the health sector.
Prof. Fatusi who recalled the contributions of late Prof. Akinkugbe to the development of medicine in Africa, said the university will continue to remember him for his service to the country and being the founding chairman of its governing council.