Unilorin produces 4,461 doctors since inception – Provost

Prof. Abdulwahab Johnson, Provost, College of Health Sciences, University of Ilorin, says the institution has produced 4,461 medical doctors since its establishment in 1977.

Johnson said this at the induction of 20 members of the Batch ‘B’ 2018 medical graduands of the college on Monday in Ilorin.

According to him, 3,446 of the medics are male while 1,015 are female, and had been inducted since the inaugural event in 1983.

He noted that under his tenure from August 2014 to date, the college had produced 541 graduands, comprising 369 male and 172 female.

The provost urged the inductees to “always render qualitative services and care for the quality of the college medical training’’ programmes they acquired.

He noted that the superlative performance of the Batch B, 2016/2017 set was the first by any final year class of undergraduate medical trainees in his 31 years as a medical educator in the university.

On the recent trend of increasing proportion of female medical graduands, the Professor of Paediatrics and Child Health said: “Indeed, this time honoured profession which was considered to be the exclusive preserve of men, is gradually being relinquished to our more studious, hardworking and indeed, more caring female counterparts.’’

Johnson added that the college had the first female neurosurgeon in West Africa, while an alumnus of the college was recently appointed Doping Control Officer by the World soccer governing body, FIFA.

The provost expressed appreciation to the current and immediate past administrations for their gestures to the college.

He disclosed that the administration had supported the college on full accreditation and re-accreditation of nearly all the existing college-related professional and B.Sc programmes.

He added that this had helped in sustaining the functionality of the college’s Clinical Skills and Simulation Laboratory (CSSL), among other supports.

Earlier, the Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Sulyman Abdulkareem, represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Management Services), Prof. Bolaji Sule, congratulated the graduands, their parents and guardians.

The vice chancellor pledged continued support of the university administration toward growth of the college.

Abdulkareem disclosed plans by Unilorin to provide asphalt surfacing on the link road from the main campus to the college and other developmental drives to ensure better education and good learning environment.

Dr Kunle Olawepo, the Chairman, Nigerian Medical Association, Kwara branch, also an alumnus of the college, tasked the inductees to be focused and aimed for excellence.

Dr John Oyeniyi, Registrar, Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, also reminded the inductees on their responsibility to provide medical services, responsibility to patients and consultation of experts, among others, in their job.

While enjoining the graduands to respect elders in the field, Oyeniyi also cautioned them against advertising themselves.