Medical (3)

The Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria has withdrawn the
accreditation of the medical and dental schools in the University of
Benin and Igbinedion University, Okada, Edo State.


This was announced by the Chairman of MDCN, Dr. Roger Makanjuola, at the
inauguration of the council’s new secretariat building in Abuja on
Monday. Makanjuola said the accreditation was withdrawn because both
universities had inadequate medical facilities and had more students
than they could properly train.


He said, “In recent years, it had been observed that a number of training institutions have failed to
maintain the prescribed standards and many have also admitted numbers
of students far in excess of what they can meaningfully train...


“Recently, the accreditation of two training institutions was withdrawn. More are
to follow. Let me take this opportunity to state that those institutions
whose accreditation was withdrawn must stop admitting students. The
council will also not register purported graduates from these
institutions.”


He also said the council was concerned by unsubstantiated claims by many persons that they could cure different
kinds of ailments. Makanjuola described such claims as ineffective and
dangerous and could harm those patronising the claimants.
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Medical doctor members of the National Association of Seadogs on humanitarian duty.

Seadogs offer free medical aid

The Pyrates Confraternity is known to have been founded by the Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka and six others. But the professor of Comparative Literature has maintained, at different times that, contrary to the general belief, the association he founded while a student at The University College, Ibadan, has nothing to do with the nocturnal groups currently found in the nation’s campuses.

As a way of lending credence to Mr. Soyinka’s claim, some members of the Lagos State chapter of the National Association of Seadogs (NAS), a.k.a Pyrates Confraternity, recently came out to demonstrate their noble intentions by offering free medical aid to some Lagos residents, while using the forum to carry out a voter-education campaign, in preparation for the 2011 general elections.

Under the canopies erected at the Ojuelegba Bus Stop at Surulere, members of the confraternity who are medical practitioners checked the blood pressure (BP) and the sugar levels of passers-by, dispensed drugs and gave advice to people with serious health conditions; while other members of different professions shared fliers educating the public on the dangers of drug abuse and addiction.

A passer-by, Ekaette Daniel, said the occasion allowed her to check her health and confirm some of the health problems she had suspected she was suffering from.

“I saw them giving free medical treatment so I decided to check myself. The doctors told me that my BP is OK but that I am too big for my height. I had suspected this but was not sure because it has been long I did a check-up. They confirmed it and advised me on what to do,” said Ms Daniel.

One man, one vote

While speaking at the occasion, which also served as a forum to educate the public on the forthcoming general elections, the secretary of the group, Uche Nwachukwu, condemned any power shift or zoning formula in the formation of Nigeria’s polity..

Mr Nwachukwu said any concept which supports allotting where a person must come from before aspiring to an elected office, is contrary to the principles of democracy.

“Zoning is an anathema. It runs in opposites to democracy. It is a means of disenfranchising people from certain positions. What Nigeria needs is credible elections. There must be a review of the voters register and necessary structures must be put in place now to ensure our votes count by 2011,” said Mr Nwachukwu, who is a paediatrician at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH).

Seizing the opportunity for a free check-up, a teacher, Olaniyi Ogunmuyiwa, said, for eight months, he has been suffering from relapsing chest and throat pains. He said he was “pleased to get free medical attention” because he had been procrastinating going to a hospital.

The association’s Lagos chapter spokesperson, Sylvester Nsor, said over 130 people were given free medical attention during the exercise. He said the association, which is a male-only confraternity, chose the Ojuelegba Bus Stop as its sensitisation point owing to the location being a melting-pot for several inhabitants who engage in diverse clandestine activities.

“Amongst NAS values is the promotion of humanitarian ideals aimed at touching lives and giving hope to the less-privileged in the society. And Ojuelegba is a place with so many characters who need to be informed on the dangers of drugs,” said Mr Nsor, a member of the confraternity since 1991.

Formed as a tertiary campus pressure group, the Pyrates Confraternity was founded in 1952 by seven students of the University College, Ibadan (now the University of Ibadan), including Mr Soyinka, to protest against oppression and tribal alienation. It was formally registered as the National Association of Seadogs in 1980. The Association, since 1984, has continually dissociated itself from university cult fraternities known for anti-social tendencies.

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By Felix Onuah ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua will travel to Saudi Arabia on Monday for medical checks, his office said. "President Umaru Yar'Adua will leave Abuja today for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. While there, the president will call on his personal physicians in Jeddah for follow-up medical checks," presidency spokesman Olusegun Adeniyi said in a statement. Yar'Adua has travelled to Saudi Arabia in the past for treatment for a chronic kidney problem, raising questions about whether he will be fit enough to stand for a second term in 2011 elections. Adeniyi said Yar'Adua had forwarded copies of the 2010 budget, which he had been due to present to parliament last week, to the heads of the Senate and House of Representatives. The presentation of the spending plans for sub-Saharan Africa's second-biggest economy was postponed because of a row between the two chambers of parliament over which one should host the event. Government sources have said Yar'Adua will seek approval to breach a 3 percent deficit target for the second year in a row in 2010, due to the cost of development projects in the Niger Delta and rehabilitating the country's ailing power sector. Yar'Adua has had regular medical treatment in Germany and Saudi Arabia and his health was a source of concern even before he assumed the presidency. He has not yet confirmed whether he plans to stand again in presidential election in 2011 but key figures in the ruling party have pledged their support if he decides to do so. FROM Saharareporters It was gathered that sickly Nigerian ruler, Umaru Yar’adua, is due to be flown out today or early tomorrow for what our source described as “urgent medical treatment.” As at the time we were briefed, the source said insiders close to Yar'adua said the sick former governor of Katsina would be taken to a hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Our source said that Yar’adua’s father-in-law is also in an Egyptian hospital. “The president’s medical trip is scheduled to last at least one week,” said the source, adding that Yar'adua “may offer the excuse that he would be visiting his father-in-law in Egypt and that his wife would attend this year’s Hajj in Saudi Arabia as the excuse for the trip.” Mr. Yar’adua suffers from Churg Strauss syndrome, a degenerative disease. Our source said Yar’adua’s health dipped in the last three weeks. Poor health explained his conspicuous absence at the Abuja stadium during the final game of the FIFA Under-17 football game that featured Nigeria and Switzerland. “Vice President” Goodluck Jonathan stood in for him. Saharareporters sources also said Yar’adua had only managed to meet with cabinet members at his official residence in Aso Rock Villa, Abuja.

“His health took a turn for the worse over the weekend,” said one source. “His doctors have advised that he undertake immediate medical treatment outside Nigeria,” the source added. Yar'adua maintains a retinue of expatriate medical personnel at his residence and office. He travels with two well-equipped ambulances everywhere he goes in Nigeria. 

Another source Yar’adua’s inability to present the annual budget last week at the National Assembly was actually due to his illness. “The so-called ‘crisis’ between the two chambers of the National Assembly was contrived to cover up Yar'adua's illness,” said the source. In an intriguing move, Yar’adua’s People's Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday issued a stunning press release to denounce those campaigning for Yar'adua's second term in office. The party said it has not made such decision. Meanwhile, several sources have told Saharareporters that some PDP crooks, including rogue Attorney General Michael Aondoakaa and former Delta State governor James Ibori, have been assuring Yar’adua’s wife, Turai, that they are capable of arranging for her to serve out the remainder of her husband’s tenure should Mr. Yar’adua die or become permanently incapacitate
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