Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, has said that it is
evident that many of the country’s problems can be solved by Nigerians
themselves without recourse to foreign aid.
He said that the impressive performance and achievements
recorded by Nigerians across diverse fields, at home and abroad can prove this.
Osinbajo said this on Friday when he received a delegation
from the West African College of Surgeons (WACS), in his office. (The College
formed by a group of young Nigerian surgeons 60 years ago predated the Economic
Community of West African States).
The delegation led by Prof. Ibrahim Yakasai, mni, was at the
Aso Rock Presidential Villa to brief the Vice President about the activities of
the College, including its planned 60th Annual General Meeting and Scientific
Conference scheduled for Abuja. Yakasai is the Local Organising Committee
chairman.
Speaking after listening to a brief on the achievements of
the WACS, the VP said “I am glad to hear the good things that have been done by
the college through the years.
“I believe that a lot of our problems, some of the aids that
we need, can be provided by ourselves. We have the resources including human
capacity to do it.”
He thanked the delegation for the visit, assuring the
College of the Federal Government’s continued support.
Earlier in his remarks, the immediate past President of the College,
Prof. King-David Yawe highlighted some of the achievements of WACS especially
with regards to free medical outreaches to several Nigerian communities.
He said while working with the Presidential Committee on
North East (PCNE), the College has conducted 9, 000 surgeries on 49,000
patients in the Northeast with the insurgency in the region, adding that the
body was currently conducting free medical outreaches in 14 hospitals across
the FCT, some North Central States and Maiduguri.
Prof. Yawe added that as part of the 2020 pre-conference
events, the College is currently conducting free surgeries in the FCT, Borno
and other States, noting that 700 such surgical operations have so far been
conducted in the past one week with a target of reaching 1000 before the
commencement of the conference.
He also said that the outreaches which started 14 years ago
include eye surgeries, orthopedic, paediatric & plastic surgeries, brain
tumor amongst many others complicated health challenges that otherwise cost
patients several millions of Naira, and for which many travel out of the
country to treat.
Continuing on the activities of the surgeons, Prof. Yawe
said the College has accredited training centres in Gombe, Borno and Yobe
States.
He commended the Buhari administration’s support to the
association in partly funding some of its activities and meeting its
responsibilities especially in solving its 20-year-old problem regarding a
request for land in the FCT.
Prof. Yawe informed the VP that the land has been allocated
to the College for the establishment of a Skills and Simulation Centre to train
surgeons in West Africa in hi-tech surgeries.
The leader of the delegation, Prof. Yakasai also informed
the VP that the College works in partnership with the ECOWAS and has surgeons
from 18 countries with over 7000 fellows across West Africa. The College
conducts training, postgraduate education and research activities
While Yawe is the immediate past President of the College,
Yakasai told the VP the current President is from Senegal. (Prof Serigne
Magueye Gueye.)
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