The Chief Medical Director of Alliance Hospital, Dr Christoper Otabor has called for private sector involvement in medical colleges for better infrastructures.
He made this known in an interview with pressmen during his visit to college of health sciences, University of Abuja .
He argues that the government is financially incapable of funding all necessary educational initiatives alone, necessitating private sector involvement.
He urged billionaires in Nigeria to invest in education and other critical sectors.
He pointed out that even capitalist countries rely on private investments to drive progress, saying this should be emulated in Nigeria.
The CMD discussed the need to increase the number of doctors trained annually from 75 to a higher figure due to the high rate of Nigerian medical graduates emigrating.
Dr Otabor stressed the necessity of infrastructure to support the training of more doctors.
He emphasized that the Medical and Dental Council will not allocate more numbers without adequate support structures.
He reiterated the importance of private sector involvement in funding and supporting medical education.
The CMD identified areas of need and pledged support to address these issues on a regular basis.
“You know, private sector must come in to government, because governments, obviously, in recent years, in Nigeria is broke, and if we depend on government and on budgets, we will never make progress. Private individuals should come up. Especially we we have a lot of rich men, billionaires in this country, who probably don’t even, I don’t think they know what to do with their money, or they are doing they are they are not prioritizing their funds.
“We are calling on them because all hands needs to be on deck, if you observe what’s happening in a place like us that’s also a capitalist country like Nigeria. Those who have made significant profit from their business, they plow back some of them into government,” he stated.
The Provost of College of health science, university of Abuja, Professor Professor Titus Ibekwe in his response emphasized the hospital’s commitment to both health and community outreach, highlighting the importance of reaching out to people and making a positive impact.
He acknowledged the efforts of a prominent individual, referred to as “the Man with a very large heart,” who has been instrumental in these initiatives.
Prof. Ibekwe mentioned the challenges faced by the government in managing the economy and the need for partnerships with individuals and organizations to support these efforts.
He stated the importance of the partnership and the contributions expected from the visiting team.
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