BABCOCK UNIVERSITY NAMES MEDICAL SCHOOL AFTER BEN CARSON

The Provost, Ben Carson School of Medicine, Babcock University, Ilisan-Remo, Ogun State, Prof. Iheanyi Okoro, has said the institution’s zeal for medical excellence is the reason why BU named its medical school after renowned physician, Ben Carson.

He also called on the warring medical doctors and the Lagos State Government to go back to the dialogue table to resolve their differences rather than embarking on ego trip that has left many sick people dead.

Okoro stated these in a statement signed by the Chairman, Ceremonial Committee of BU, Prof. Dayo Alao, after he announced the activities lined up for the inauguration of the institution’s medical school scheduled June 1.

“Babcock University is about to change the face of medical practice in Nigeria amid growing concerns of poor medicare in the country. As we roll out plans for the inauguration of our Benjamin Carson School of Medicine on June 1, 2012, optimism is high that soon Nigerians will not have to travel abroad to receive excellent healthcare.

“The inauguration will mark the climax of the institution’s zeal for world-class health care in the country and indeed, the continent,” he stated.

He further stated that the university’s passion for excellence in medical education accounts for naming the school of medicine after the renowned American paediatric neurosurgeon, Carson, who has also been invited as the guest speaker at the inauguration of the medical school.

“The Ben Carson Medical School is designed to honour him as a role model to the students of the school. He is a doctor with competence and because we want to produce medical doctors with his kind of expertise, we believe that inviting him and naming the school after him will impart our students positively. A doctor without competence, they say, is a murderer and we don’t want to breed murderers here,” he said.

Commenting on the ongoing feud between medical doctors and the Lagos State government, Okoro advised both parties to embrace dialogue, saying that dialogue is the best crisis resolution tool.

“Strike is not in the best interest of anybody as it leads to suffering and death of patients,” he added.

He said that the inauguration of the medical school would attract leaders, captains of industries, international researchers and professionals within and outside the country.

The institution’s President/Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Kayode Makinde, said that the MBBS/PhD programme became necessary because of the need to revamp the depleting state of medical research in the country.

“We are set to make our medical programme the benchmark for excellence in the country,” he said.

He added that the institution’s 12th convocation would hold on June 3.

Meanwhile, one of the pioneer medical students of the university, Dora Adebuyi, expressed optimism about the quality of the programme in Babcock.

“I chose Babcock after a careful look at the other institutions offering medicine across the country. I believe the choice I made is the right one.”