NECC Kaduna bids farewell to Dr Mustapha Yaro after two successful tenures

By Our Correspondent

The National Ear Care Centre (NECC), Kaduna, has commenced a series of activities to honour its outgoing Medical Director, Dr Mustapha Yaro, following the completion of his two successful tenures at the helm of affairs of the institution.
The send-forth programme, which brought together members of staff, students, professional colleagues, friends and other stakeholders, was not merely a farewell ceremony. It was an opportunity for the institution to reflect on a period of leadership, institutional development, staff engagement and the various initiatives introduced or strengthened during Dr Yaro’s tenure.
For an institution whose mandate revolves around specialised ear, nose and throat healthcare, training and related professional services, the departure of its Medical Director naturally represents the end of one chapter and the beginning of another. But before attention turns fully to the future, members of the NECC community have chosen to celebrate the man who led the institution through two terms of service.
The series of activities organised as part of the send-forth programme also demonstrated that the outgoing Medical Director’s tenure was not defined solely by clinical and administrative responsibilities. Staff members used different platforms to highlight areas in which they said his leadership had touched the wider life of the institution, including staff welfare, sporting activities and professional training.
Among the programmes organised was an interdepartmental table-tennis competition, an event that combined recreation, healthy competition and staff interaction.
The competition was chaired by the Head of the Medical Laboratory Department, Mr Mohammed Kabir, who also serves as Chairman of the Sports Committee of the institution.
Speaking to journalists during the sporting event, Kabir expressed appreciation to the outgoing Medical Director for what he described as his support for sports and sporting activities within the institution.
According to him, sports provided more than entertainment for members of staff. It created an avenue for colleagues from different departments to interact outside their normal professional routines, strengthened camaraderie and promoted physical fitness.
Kabir’s remarks were particularly significant because the table-tennis competition brought staff members from different departments together in an atmosphere that was markedly different from the formal environment associated with hospital administration and clinical practice.
The players competed against colleagues with whom they normally shared professional responsibilities, but on the table-tennis court, departmental boundaries gave way to sporting rivalry and friendly competition.
The Chairman of the Sports Committee said the support received from the outgoing Medical Director contributed to sustaining sporting activities within the centre.
He noted that leadership support was important to the success of staff sporting programmes because such activities require encouragement, organisation and institutional backing.
The competition therefore became one of the symbolic components of the send-forth activities. It offered staff an opportunity to celebrate their departing leader while also highlighting an aspect of institutional life that might otherwise receive less attention.
The significance of sports in a workplace such as the National Ear Care Centre extends beyond recreation. Healthcare workers operate in an environment that can be demanding, requiring concentration, teamwork and long hours of professional responsibility. Sporting activities can provide staff with opportunities to relax, interact and build relationships across departmental lines.
The table-tennis competition consequently served two purposes: it was part of the farewell programme for Dr Yaro and, at the same time, an expression of the institutional community that developed during his tenure.
The send-forth programme also featured activities connec