By: Yemi Adeleye
Just like an albino whose outstanding presence among many heads in the market place cannot go unnoticed, the story of Professor Wale Sulaiman’s appointment as the Special Adviser on Health Matters to the Kwara State Governor is one that cannot be suppressed.
Professor Wale Sulaiman was appointed Special Adviser on Health Matters to Governor AbdulRahaman AbdulRazaq on August 26th, 2019.
The appointment, according to Rafiu Ajakaye, the chief press secretary to the Governor, was on the ground of Professor Sulaiman’s exceptional medical knowledge and skills, in his words “As part of Governor AbdulRazaq clear-eyed efforts to revamp every sector of the state, Governor AbdulRazaq is glad to bring Professor Sulaiman on board as a leading member of his team.
The appointment is based on the excellent report of his vast experience in health matters both locally and internationally, and dedication to the noble ideals of this administration.
”Governor AbdulRahman expressed confidence that the renowned Professor of Neurosurgery will bring his wealth of experience to bear in the delivery of affordable, innovative and qualitative healthcare to the people of Kwara.
This is expected given Professor Sulaiman’s well established career in the private and public sphere of health and social care.Before his appointment to office, Prof. Sulaiman is a well-known international Neurosurgeon. He is also a Professor of Neurosurgery at Tulane University and up until January 2019 he was the System Chairman of Neurosurgery and Co-Medical Director of a Neuroscience Institute with Ochsner Health System in New Orleans, USA.
Without doubt, Professor Sulaiman’s strides in Nigeria and beyond are recognized by all, and this must have contributed to his appointment into the state cabinet.
Achievements in Office his capacity as Special Adviser to the Governor on Health matters, Prof. Sulaiman contributed so much and without mincing words, his achievements are well recognised by all and sundry.
Within the span of one year of his dedicated service to the State, Professor Sulaiman utilised his expertise in helping to revamp moribund healthcare infrastructures across Kwara State.
As a medical expert, he envisioned and implemented programs for affordable, innovative and qualitative healthcare services delivery for the benefit of the good people of Kwara state.A landmark achievement of Kwara State Health Sector under the advice and supervision of Professor Sulaiman is the rehabilitation of the moribund Sobi Specialist Hospital.
The government also made available about Ten new ambulances spread across the state for effective service delivery. In addition, Professor Sulaiman and his league of experts facilitated the first Intensive Surgical Intervention program where over 500 local patients in Kwara State benefited. He also proposed a strategic Healthcare Master Plan for the Kwara State Government which, if implemented, will transform the state Healthcare sector for good.
As the Secretary and later Vice Chairman of the Kwara Covid-19 Committee, he collaborated with the team in developing workable strategies towards curbing the spread of the virus in the state, some of which include but not limited to the restoration of Oxygen plant at the Sobi Specialist Hospital, Alagbado, it is common knowledge that a huge number of Covid-19 deaths was traced to lack of access to adequate ventilation at the initial stage.
The restoration of the Oxygen Plant helped to save many lives in Kwara State and beyond. The contribution and efforts of Professor Wale Sulaiman during his tenure as the Special Adviser to the Governor on health matters, helped to save countless numbers of Kwarans from the Covid-19 virus, thus helping to prevent unnecessary deaths. Consequently, Kwara state was ranked third in the fight against Covid-19 pandemic in the federation.Also, in the course of his one-year service as Special Adviser to the Governor on health matters, Prof Sulaiman submitted to the State Government, a Memo on healthcare plan which provided a clear description on steps to be taken in order to improve access to safe and quality healthcare at all levels of medical services in Kwara State.
Under the counsel of Professor Sulaiman, plans were put in place by the State Government to transform Harmony Advanced Diagnostic Center (HADC) into a medical tourism hub with the aim to enable it provide excellent medical care and services for even more people than it was doing at the time.In his capacity as Kwara State Diaspora Focal Person (NIDCOM), he ensured that Kwarans in Diaspora were in solidarity with the State government in the fight against Covid-19.
Through this avenue, Kwara State Association of Nigeria in North America donated a significant number of hand sanitizing machines to the government.
It was under his watch as the Kwarans in Diaspora Focal Person that the Kwarans in diaspora associations and organizations harmonised into one united organisation known as Kwarans in Diaspora (KID). Also worthy of note is the fact that, towards the tail end of his time in office as the Special Adviser on health matters to Governor AbdulRahaman AbdulRazaq, measures were set in motion for the establishment of Kwara Health Insurance Scheme.
Prof. Wale Sulaiman achieved so many feats in his short time as the Special Adviser on health matters, so much so that many people argued that he spent more than a year in office, one can only imagine what Kwara healthcare services would have become if he had stayed in office a little longer, and even though he now work in the private capacity, Professor Sulaiman has not relented in the slightest bit, his commitments to the improvement of healthcare services in Kwara State, this is hardly surprising considering the fact that he has always shown keen interest in the welfare of the people even before his appointment as the Special Adviser to the Governor.
Accolades by Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq On several occasions Governor AbdulRazaq had commended the efforts of Prof. Sulaiman towards coming up with ideas that could help in revamping healthcare infrastructures in the State.
In his opening remarks at the Kwarans in Diaspora (KID) Virtual meeting held on July 3rd, 2020, Governor Abdulrahman stated that: “The huge challenges are in the healthcare sector, education and infrastructure, Like I said we are lucky to have Doctor Wale on our side.
The important thing is about drawing up a policy, once you have a policy in place, it is a road map to invest in… One of the first task Dr Wale was given was the Oxygen Plant which had not work for close to 10years and immediately he came in with the right investment the oxygen plant is working, people are coming even outside Kwara State to get Oxygen from there and we revamped completely dead hospital back into the state of the art hospital – The Sobi Specialist Hospital is now what you can call a specialist hospital…”.
Reflecting on the recurrent Healthcare challenges in Kwara, the Governor further commended Professor Wale Sulaiman for being a worthy and excellent expert, he said: “Here in Kwara we are still battling with Covid-19 and I must say they are tough issues on ground.
We are lucky to have Doctor Wale with us giving us good sound advice on health and taking care of Covid-19…. We have not flattened the curve yet; the numbers are going up, it just the nature of our people out there, they are ready to get back to normal, but it is a new norm now. We need to encourage them to use their face masks and social distancing and all that.”
Considering the vast contributions of Professor Wale Sulaiman to Kwara State Health and Diaspora affairs in barely a year, one could only imagine the feats that could be achieved under is wise counsel, hence the reason his resignation came as a rude shock.
Professor Sulaiman resigned from the office of Special Adviser on Health Matters on August 19th 2020, barely a year after his appointment. He ascribed his resignation to the dire need to serve humanity in a private capacity. According to Prof. Sulaiman; “My passion in life is to create opportunities where there are none, and to give hope to the underprivileged using my skills, expertise, and professional network…”He however reiterated his commitment to the government and his readiness to continuously support the much-needed change and transformation in Kwara state through philanthropic efforts, economic and social empowerment, as well as the promotion of investment opportunities and partnerships with Kwarans in Diaspora.
Essentially, Governor Abdulrahman commended the Professor Sulaiman on his resignation and lauded the support that was rendered to his administration.
According to the Governor in his press release:“Prof Sulaiman remains an ally! Prof. Wale Sulaiman is leaving his cabinet position to pursue his long-time passion of maximising his contacts in the global health and non-health sectors to deepen interaction with Nigerians in diaspora and attract investments. While this is strictly a personal passion of Prof. Wale Sulaiman, our doors remain open to him and other great minds like him in our commitments to rebuild a Kwara we would all be proud of.
Indeed, the government will continue to consult with Prof. Wale Sulaiman on relevant aspects of our policy direction as an administration.”
The good people of Kwara South were proud of the giant stride of their son within the short time of his service as Special Adviser on Health Matters to the Governor. His philanthropic activities and free healthcare mission within and outside Kwara State distinguished him among his contemporaries. The people of Kwara South however called on Prof. Wale Sulaiman to engage Kwara politic at this critical time in order to salvage the region from poor representation.
Prof. Wale Sulaiman is the Social Democratic Party Kwara South Senatorial Candidate,he his on a mission to change the narrative of poor representation in Kwara South.
Prof. Sulaiman is blessed by God with gifts and talents and he is bound to be successful at whatever he does which is why he has demonstrated excellence at every opportunity he had to serve the good people of Kwara. It is time for Kwara South to take this Honeypot.
