APC chieftain lauds federal health sciences varsity in Osun

A former interim national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Bisi Akande, has lauded the management of the Federal University of Health Sciences, Ila-Orangun (FUHSI), for the accelerated infrastructure growth and development at the institution.

He made the remarks while speaking to newsmen shortly after a facility tour with the management of the three-year-old university on Saturday, led by the vice-chancellor, Professor Wale Lasisi.

Established in 2021 by the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, the university currently offers 13 courses and has constructed numerous facilities, including a fully equipped hospital.

Revealing that his impression had changed with the establishment of FUHSI, the former Osun State governor advocated for more medical universities in the future, citing the shortfall in the number of medical personnel in the country.

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“When my friends in the government of the APC decided to put the university here, I was very happy. But my impression of a medical science university was that it was a mere hospital. At the beginning, I was always coming here, but today I realize that the university is quite different from the hospital, and I realize that the hospital is a mere laboratory for the university,” he recalled.

“The statisticians will tell you that you need a certain number of doctors for a certain population, but Nigeria is far below that recommendation. So, for a medical science university, I would love to see more of them in the country because health is wealth.

“This is a country afflicted with illiteracy and where you find a lot of dirt and sickness. So, I don’t see universities being too many if they are purposeful universities. But if they are purposeless, merely turning out students who will be roaming about seeking jobs, I may say they are too many. However, with this kind of university we have in Ila, I will say we need more of it.”

Akande stressed that he was impressed with the phenomenal growth in infrastructure at the institution within the short period since its establishment, commending the management for their vision and exemplary leadership.

“For the job done so far, I am highly impressed. I have never seen a university grow at this phenomenal rate in infrastructure all my life,” he said.

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“I am grateful to the vice-chancellor and the management for their bold vision and accomplishments thus far.”

On his part, the vice-chancellor, Professor Lasisi, disclosed that the university’s teaching hospital could commence operations in 2025.

He noted, “We started in February 2022, and for the first 11 months, we struggled to get a place, but we started academics on December 29, 2022. Construction started on May 30, 2022.

“So, all these structures, including the hospital, were completed within 24 months. The hospital has 350 beds and has been equipped pretty well.

“We have equipment that can cover two theatre facilities. We can take off in 2025. The Federal Ministry of Health took over the teaching hospital and appointed a Chief Medical Director, Professor Musiliu Owonikoko.

“For the main university, the permanent site is being developed pretty well. We already have a Senate Building, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Matriculation Pavilion, Library, Health Centre, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, and our students are in their third year. About 13 programmes are running, and we are happy.”

According to the vice-chancellor, the management of the institution invited the former APC national chairman for the facility tour because of issues related to the funding of completed projects.

“There are issues of funding, the main reason why I persuaded Baba to come and look at most of these facilities. Many of these facilities have been built, and some of the vendors have not been mobilized.

So, when Baba sees it, he can put power behind what we have been doing and sort it out to move to another,” he said.

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE