• Babcock varsity celebrates Nnaji, who obtained 9 distinctions in Medicine, smashed 12-year-old record
By Gabriel Dike
At the induction of new medical doctors at Babcock University (BU), Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State, Chidiogo Treasure Nnaji, stood out among her peers.
She emerged the best overall among the 74 medical doctors with a record of nine distinctions, the highest in the history of BU School of Health Science. She also became the first to obtain distinction in Community Health Science.
Nnaji spoke with Daily Sun. Excerpts:
How was your journey from nursery, primary to secondary school?
I began school at age three and attended quite a few nursery schools because we moved houses often when I was younger.
My primary school education was at Kiddies Educational Centre, Woji, Port Harcourt, Rivers State and later at Early Days Nursery and Primary School, Woji. There I participated in the drama club and sports. It was overall a very nurturing environment that laid a strong foundation for my future education.
I graduated in 2012 and got admission to my secondary school, Deeper Life High School, Port-Harcourt campus, Rivers State, in 2018. Secondary school was a transformative period for me. There I developed a keen interest in Biology.
The human body and how it worked, especially the heart, fascinated me. It was during this time, I began to consider pursuing a career in Medicine. I also had the opportunity to represent my school in multiple competitions such as Science Olympiad and American Mathematics Olympiad.
How did you get admission into BU?
I applied for admission to Babcock University, about a month after graduating from secondary school. The results of the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) had not yet been released at the time, so I applied using my JAMB as my credentials instead.
I had gotten a high score in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and the interviewer was quite impressed. I remember him saying, “You will get into Medicine for sure!”
I wrote the UTME once and scored a total of 315 out of 400.
Why Babcock university?
My parents and I had initially planned that I would study at a medical school in the Caribbean. I had already gotten my admission but they had gotten some information questioning the school’s credibility for offering Medicine as a course. So, that was no longer an option.
I also got admitted to a college in London for a two-year A level programme, prior to studying Medicine. It was a longer route and my parents decided they were not too comfortable with it.
Eventually, we settled on a private university in Nigeria. The rationale behind it was having a guaranteed graduation date not interspersed with strikes that are quite common in public universities.
A six-year course was already a long time to be in school. I chose Babcock University as it was accredited for Medicine at the time and for convenience since I already had a sibling attending the school.
Did your parents influence your choice of course?
Medicine and Durgery was solely my decision. However, my mother did have an influence on my choice. I would occasionally accompany her to the hospital and watch her work. I liked what I saw. She noticed my interest from a young age.
She would often tell me jokes about how somewhat strange I was as a child. I would never cry during injections and seemed to be fascinated by needles instead. She encouraged me when I told her I was considering studying medicine, as it was something she would have loved to do.
Describe your six years journey in BU?
I would describe it as both challenging and rewarding. The preclinical years were fun. I had time to rest and maintain a great social life, as it wasn’t as academically demanding then. The foundational courses like anatomy, biochemistry and physiology provided me with a deep understanding of human biology.
I also enjoyed the hands-on experience in the dissection lab, which made the theoretical concepts come alive. Although the smell of formalin is something I do not want to revisit.
The clinical years were tough. Learning to take patient histories, performing physical examinations and then arriving at a meaningful diagnosis was difficult for me to do, initially. It got easier with time and practice.
The people I met Babcock University were the main reason it was worthwhile. My friends who became like family and my favourite lecturers who treated students like their own children. The challenges however, were endless.
Reading for several hours and late night calls shattered my sleep schedule. It was in medical school I realised I could write exams with only three hours of sleep, the night before. Something I absolutely do not recommend. I had little time to visit friends like I usually would, it always seemed like I was writing exams every other day.
Was there a time you felt like calling it quit?
I have felt like giving up multiple times throughout medical school. It is extremely common among medical students. The amount of information to know can be so overwhelming that reading a month before an exam may be considered very late. The constant questioning by the consultant physicians during clinic sessions and ward rounds was something you had to mentally prepare for each day.
The one time that nearly crippled my resolve to study medicine was my third year. I had gotten really ill and missed several incourse exams while admitted. Some of which I was not given the opportunity to retake. This meant I would have to do well in the professional exams to pass, which were just a month away.
I became sick again two weeks to the exam and I was not reading as much as I wanted to. This made me panic since I was already disadvantaged for missing some exams prior. However, God helped me push through using parents, siblings and friends as the best support system I could ever wish for.
From praying not to have a re-sit to passing with distinctions. A complete miracle! Long story short, I highly recommend Jesus.
How do you feel being the first medical graduate of BU with nine distinctions?
Being the first medical graduate of Babcock University to make nine distinctions was like a dream come true. It was something I had intentionally set out to achieve in my final year. I had sacrificed a lot (going on a social media break was the hardest) and started preparing months before the exam.
My mantra then was that I would give it my all, so no matter the results, I would have no regrets. I had six distinctions already and I guess there was already an expectation for me to perform really well again.
When the results came out, I was overjoyed. I felt accomplished, as it was a validation of my hard work and evidence of an unchanging God.
You also broke the record of being the first to make distinction in Community Health.
Community medicine was one of my favourite clinical postings. I genuinely enjoyed traveling with my course mates and visiting the different health care centres. I had heard stories from seniors who said the exams were not as rosy. They were right!
The information we needed to know was a lot and combined with research work, made it quite difficult. I owe my distinction in community medicine to my amazing study group. We would share different topics before hand and meet every other night for quiz sessions.
The “presenter” for that day would prepare questions to ask others. This made sure each person not only read their assigned topic, but every other person’s topic, so they can answer the questions asked. Also we had a group chat where we shared random facts or questions on the topics we were reading.
This sufficed for the times when we could not physically meet. It made active recall easier and the information stick better. Fortunately we were all split into different groups during our clinical posting.
Each meeting, we would briefly run through what we were taught, so everyone experienced the different lecturer’s teaching and question styles to some degree. We did this for other courses as well but it helped me the most in Community Medicine.
Are you a bookworm?
I would definitely describe myself as a bookworm. I could read for hours concerning a topic if it interests me. I also read a lot of novels and non-fiction.
How do you think the government can tackle the “Japa syndrome”?
The “japa syndrome” cuts across all professions and is an important national issue. Economic hardship, insecurity and high rates of unemployment in the country are some of the major reasons for relocation. Among healthcare professionals in particular, some of the reasons include poor remuneration for the expertise they provide and poorly funded hospitals with little to no access to basic amenities like electricity.
Many hospitals in the country are grossly understaffed and the healthcare providers, overworked. The government of Nigeria can tackle relocation of its citizens by prioritising their needs. This includes provision of conducive and fair employment opportunities where people are duly compensated for the services they offer.
Also, by encouraging entrepreneurship, through offering loans with low interest rates, more job opportunities can be created. Funds should also be directed to improving poor infrastructure and facilities in the country such as roads, electricity, access to safe drinking water, school and hospitals.
Poor food security also contributes to economic hardship, as prices of food items are becoming increasingly difficult to afford. Farmers can be provided with loans to encourage mechanised farming and proper transportation facilities to allow foodstuff reach the consumers.
If you are appointed as Minister of Health, what will be your priorities?
As the Minister of Health, I will embark on a total reform of the public health sector. One of my priorities would be to improve government funding of the healthcare sector. The funding of healthcare services in the country has been consistently poor and insufficient to properly equip hospitals with competent staff and amenities.
This I will achieve by collaborating with related sectors to advocate for an increase in the percentage of the national budget that is allocated to healthcare. By ensuring adequate budget allocation, obsolete facilities and dilapidated buildings can be replaced with new and functional ones. Improving the facilities would encourage more doctors to practice in their home country instead of leaving for better opportunities.
Nigeria unfortunately has a doctor-to-patient ratio of about one doctor for every 4,000 to 5,000 patients as compared to the recommended one doctor for every 600 patients, by the World Health Organisation. These figures can be improved significantly, when healthcare providers are given proper working conditions and salaries deserving of their expertise.
Another priority of mine would be to address the disparities in health outcomes among different demographic groups. This can be tackled by offering free or markedly subsidised health care, targeted especially for pregnant women and children, as they are the most vulnerable.
Lastly, I would promote public health policies geared towards health education and disease prevention. Such policies would be directed towards the following: enlightenment of the general public about communicable and non-communicable diseases through mass media and physical campaigns, provision of essential drugs, including vaccines, provision of portable water, promoting immunization to prevent childhood illnesses, encouraging the use of mosquito nets and insecticides to curb malaria, promoting sexual and reproductive health among women including emergency obstetric care and cervical cancer screening, training of traditional birth attendants to improve delivery outcomes for both mother and child, thorough disease surveillance and control of outbreaks and organization of free medical outreaches to underserved communities living in poverty.
Tell us about yourself
My name is Nnaji Treasure Chidiogo, born and raised in Port- Harcourt, Rivers State, with roots in Isi-Uzo Local Government, Enugu State.
I come from a supportive family, with parents who emphasised the importance of education and integrity. My father is a Petrochemical Engineer and my mother is a registered nurse, which piqued my interest in healthcare.