Prodded by a US-based Nigerian, who survived a difficult health challenge while visiting the country during the last holidays in December, the former presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi, has narrated why and how he presided over the building of the fasted-completed teaching hospital in the country.
The US-based Nigerian, Chief Sabi Nweke, said he would be doing a disservice to himself and the country if he fails to appreciate Peter Obi publicly for building the Odumegwu Ojukwu Teaching Hospital to Awka, the state capital.
His words: “If that hospital wasn’t a teaching hospital, I may not have been alive today. I was in Awka for Christmas on the 10th of December 2024, and by the 15th, I was rushed to Amaku Hospital for treatment of diverticulitis. I was there until the 30th of December. I returned to the US two weeks ago” Obi’s wise decision saved my life. I hope to have surgery here in the States anytime soon.
Chief Nweke said he even sent an appreciation message to His Excellency as an encouragement for him not to relent on his good deeds because he may not know who will be saved by them.
Reacting, Obi said he made the building of the hospital a priority to save medical students already in the University.
“I built Nigeria’s fastest-completed teaching hospital from scratch—the first and only teaching hospital owned by Anambra State—Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu Teaching Hospital, Awka. This project was completed within two years, meeting the strict requirements of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, without which the State University Medical School would have been shut down”
“There was no Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria approval or accreditation for the training of medical doctors. The medical students, who were admitted at the time were stuck and had lost many years without progress in their studies/ training. The Administration took up the challenge, worked very hard to meet the requirements of the Medical and Dental Council and delivered a full accreditation within two years. This achievement set the stage for the graduation of the first set of medical doctors from the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu University Medical School. It was a very remarkable milestone achievement in the areas of improved healthcare services delivery, medical education, economic empowerment and general well-being of the people and our country.
“It goes to show my commitment to development, which remains anchored on the most critical pillars of progress: the Human Development Index (HDI)—education, healthcare, and lifting people out of poverty.”
