18 March 2008
Lagos — It took 17 good years for the work to start. However, when it finally did recently, hopes and expectations of the three million people of Zamfara State were rekindled for a federal medical centre of their own. Imam Imam writes
Denied the opportunity of having a standard medical facility in the then Eastern senatorial zone of the old Sokoto State, the then Federal Military Government of General Ibrahim Babangida decided to set up a Federal Medical Centre in line with its policy of having at least, one tertiary medical facility in each state of the federation. Then civilian governor of the state, Mallam Yahaya Abdulkarim chose Gusau due largely to its historical position as a cosmopolitan centre of commerce. The location was hailed as perfect connecting the then capital city of Sokoto to other towns in the eastern part of the state like Kaura Namoda, Tsafe, Maru, Bungudu Birnin Magaji, Zurmi, Issa, Anka, Gummi, Bukkuyum and Talata Mafara, among others.
Five years after the foundation laying ceremony in 1991, the dream of the entire eastern part of Sokoto became a reality when former Head of State, General Sani Abacha created Zamfara State with Gusau as its capital. The challenges facing the new state were enormous and after the celebrations died down, expectations were high that the Federal Medical Centre, earlier abandoned by Abdulkarim's successors, would become a reality.
Repeated appeals to the Federal Government to resume work at the permanent site fell on deaf ears, the situation was compounded by the fact that successive governments at the state level have made little efforts to provide alternative healthcare facility that will take care of the teeming population of the state capital and its environs. In the midst of this situation, the newly elected senator representing Zamfara Central zone, Alhaji Hassan Muhammad Gusau took it as a personal challenge to see that the hospital project becomes a reality. During the campaign last year, he promised to ensure that the Federal Medical centre move to its permanent site as well as having the federal government build and equip additional primary health care centres in some of the local government councils that make up the zone.
True to his words, Senator Muhammed, who is a professional nurse, found himself in the Senate Committee on Health as member, a good platform to push for the development of the hospital. A letter obtained by THISDAY dated October 24, 2007 written by the senator to the Minister of Health titled "The Need to accord the Federal medical Centre Gusau priority budgetary allocation towards an effective take off" implored the federal government to fulfil all its promises regarding the project.
The letter read in part: " I have observed with dismay that the development of the site is being surreptiously neglected. The centre is lagging behind among its peers as till date, only the perimeter fencing and a few uncompleted structures are what it can boast of.
"This scenario is contrary to what obtains in similar institutions in Uyo, Katsina, Birnin Kudu and Yola, where even the N300m take-off grant given to other FMCs was not availed to it, thus further compounding the sorry state of health care delivery in the state.
"I have been inundated with public outcries, conveying the people's angst over the manner a critical matter bordering on their well-being is so trivialised. It is common knowledge that the state is bereft of any tertiary medical institution to cater for the teeming populace, making the need for an efficient health care delivery institution like the FMC a dire one that should elicit urgent attention from all quarters".
In an interview with THISDAY in Gusau last week, Senator Muhammed said he was shocked when he discovered last year that there was zero allocation for the hospital in last year's budget. "I had to write a letter to the Federal Ministry of Health intimating them of their resolve to have the hospital developed in phases so as to minimize cost and make best of what was available. In close collaboration with my colleagues in both the Senate and House Committees on Health, we secured the approval of N200m in last year's supplementary budget. Luckily for us and within a very short period of time, half of that amount was released. We then had to mobilize new contractors to site and also map out areas that require urgent attention to enable the project get started."
According to him, both he and the hospital management, under the leadership of the Chief Medical Director, Dr. Tajuddeen Aiyedun, emphasized to the contractors the urgency with which they had to start work so as to convince the Federal Government to set aside additional funds in this year's budget so that work will continue. The senator said the level of seriousness shown by all parties concerned reawakened the hope of the people in the project, with some leading prayers in mosques calling for divine intervention so that the work will not be abandoned again.
It is as if their prayers have been answered, because in a space of two months, about 30 percent of the total structures needed for the successful take off of the hospital have been put in place, to the astonishment of both the senator and the hospital management.
Addressing the hospital management during a visit last week, Senator Muhammed said apart from ensuring that funds have been released for the project, "it is of utmost concern to check once in a while to see how far that money has been spent." He added: "The focus of this senate is to lay much emphasis on oversight functions. That is why I have resolved to follow this project from inception until we get to our destination God willing. This hospital is dear to the people of this state. Apart from being the only visible federal institution in Gusau, its completion will give residents added choice in where to get best medical attention now that the state government is building a multi-billion Naira Millennium Hospital in the state capital. When the two projects are completed, Gusau will be a centre of excellence in health care delivery in the North West geo-political zone of the country.
"In this fiscal year, 12 Federal Medical Centres, out of the 26 available in the country, will be taken care of in the budget. I am optimistic that the whole allocation will be released because the President has promised that his budget will be implemented in full, the era of partial implementation of budget is over. With this new development, we can expect to finish the project on schedule."
Conducting journalists round the site of the project last Monday, the project manager, Malam Ahmed Shehu Idris said some key projects have reached advanced stage and would be completed in the next two months. Some of those projects include the expanded administrative block, the Obstetric and Gyneacology Department (O and G) made up of surgical unit, neo-natal, ante-natal, pre-natal and post-natal units, the General Outpatient Department (OGPD), the medical and surgical wards, the pharmaceutical unit and other supporting buildings. He said arrangements have already been concluded to lay the foundation for the mortuary which will complement the O and G clinic.
The Project Manager said if funds keep coming on schedule, the entire project will be ready within 18 months. With the progress of work, Idris however said the total amount required for all construction to be completed is N2b, which is far more than what has been budgeted so far. "The N1b we are expected to get will make the movement to the permanent site realizable, but it won't meet all the demands of the hospital," he added.
To tackle that problem, Senator Muhammed said he intends to explore all avenues to ensure that funding keeps coming until the work is completed.
On his part, Aiyedun said before next year, the hospital intends to institute a sequential movement depending on which structure is ready for use. He said he is confident the pace with which the work started with will be maintained. Dr. Aiyedun commended the efforts of the Zamfara State government is pushing for their case with the Federal Government, adding that the pressure has started yielding fruits. He expressed satisfaction with the quality of work done at the site so far, saying the work needs to be completed on time so as to beat inflation.
To him, three essential items must be provided for the movement to the new site to be effective. "We need light, water and road. Those three are very important because without water you cannot work in a hospital, without light all the expensive machines expected to be procured cannot function. As you can see, the surface here is a muddy kind and we need good road network for vehicles to move effectively During the rains, you cannot be able to work in this environment, so that is why we need the road. I have already explained to the Senator that it will be of great help to us if the state government can move in and assist us with those things. They have been doing enough, but we need more to accelerate the pace of the work", he said.
Speaking on behalf of Zamfara government, Adamu Sani Katuru, director of press affairs at the Government House in Gusau, said the project is of utmost concern to the state government, the same as its proposed Millennium Hospital. He said the decision to commence work at the site could not have come at a better time. "This clearly shows that the era of political differences between the Federal Government and some states is over. I cannot see that happening in the immediate past considering that we are in opposition in the country. I think Mr. President is laying a good foundation in inter-party relations. He has shown that he is a president for all Nigerians, not just for PDP-controlled states. My hope is that the work will continue, and hopefully by the time our own Millennium Hospital project is completed, then Gusau will become a reference point in healthcare delivery in this zone," he added.
Sani Shehu Gusau, an electrical engineer, said the mere fact that work has commenced at the site calls for celebration. "The hospital will help the people from as far as Niger Republic. As you can see, lots of patients are rejected at the General Hospital in Gusau because it is usually congested, some never get to see doctors and while waiting, tragic consequences befall some of them. I am sure if this hospital is completed, it will reduce congestion and sufferings of the people", he said.
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