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If the country’s health sector is to be in tune with 21st century health practices as practised in developed countries, a focused political leadership and self-development by medical practitioners must be vigorously pursued.

The founder of Ashanti Graham Health and Education Initiative Foundation (AGHEIF), Douglas Okor, made this known yesterday at a Continuing Medical Education (CME) programme organised by the foundation in collaboration with the Edo State chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA).

He also stressed the need to build institutions, and not personalities, to achieve the country’s vision of becoming one of the leading 20 nations by the year 2020.
According to Mr Okor, the leadership crisis in Nigeria would have to be resolved for the country to attain her Vision 20:2020, of which health is paramount.

“Our vision is 21st century healthcare for Nigeria, like the kind of healthcare you have in developed countries and by our projections, in the next 15 to 20 years, we will have that kind of healthcare.

“We have all it takes in Nigeria to get to where we want to be, but what is lacking is the people to get us there. We lack the people for direction and that is what we are now preaching, that we need leaders.”

Leadership factor

“We are talking about building leaders at the level of undergraduate students, building students at the level of postgraduate students, building leaders at the level of heads of departments and parastatals.” According to Mr. Okor, who is the first neurosurgeon graduate from the University of Benin, the just concluded general elections have raised the hope of Nigerians for getting the right leadership.

“The last election in Nigeria gave us great hope. A revolution has begun, we need to inspire leaders that have the passion to make the change and that will drive people to live up to the stage. We have to build institutions that do not depend on one man but on a process. We need to develop the human capacity. Nigeria is a mega-rich country but we need the right leadership to allocate our resources appropriately. Anybody who tells you that there is no fund in the country, that person is lying.

“The Edo State chairperson of the NMA, Philip Ugbodaga, had in his welcome address described the CME as “the cornerstone for healthcare delivery and a vehicle for improving our health indices.” This, he said, was why regulatory agencies all over the world, including the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), insist on CMEs as a prerequisite for the renewal