A Kwara-based public affairs analyst, Comrade Ishowo Olanrewaju, has called on the Kwara State Government to convert the newly established Kwara State University of Education (KWASUED) into a University of Medical Sciences to address the chronic shortage of doctors in the state.
Ishowo spoke during a radio programme that discussed the ongoing strike by medical doctors in Kwara State.
The strike has crippled healthcare delivery in state-owned hospitals following the doctors’ protest over unresolved welfare concerns.
He explained that converting KWASUED into a specialised medical institution would be a strategic step to produce more doctors and health professionals to bridge the widening gap in the health sector, rather than adding to the number of education universities.
He noted that the current crisis, which has left many hospitals without doctors, underscores the urgent need for long-term investment in medical education.
He expressed concern over the shortage of medical personnel in the state, noting that available doctors were already overstretched and overwhelmed by the sheer volume of patients they were required to attend to daily. He lamented that this situation made industrial action embarked on by the doctors particularly troubling.
He argued that the state government should have prioritised a medical university over a university of education, insisting that Kwara’s more pressing challenge was the severe shortage of healthcare professionals rather than educators.
According to him, existing institutions, including the University of Ilorin, Kwara State University (KWASU) and Al-Hikmah University, already have faculties of education that produce graduates annually. He added that several public and private colleges of education across the state also train teachers.
“The number of educators we produce far exceeds what we need or can employ. Our challenge is not a lack of teachers. It is a dangerous shortage of doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals. That reality should have informed the government’s decision when it was considering establishing a new university,” he said.
He maintained that establishing a specialised medical university would help build a steady supply of doctors and other healthcare professionals to meet the state’s needs and serve other parts of the country.
“To address the persistent shortage of doctors and other medical personnel, I am calling for the conversion of KWASUED into a specialised medical institution,” he said.
He also proposed scholarships for Kwara indigenes admitted to the proposed institution, with beneficiaries required to sign a five-year service bond to work in the state after graduation before seeking opportunities elsewhere. Ishowo said the arrangement would help retain locally trained medical professionals and strengthen the state’s healthcare system.
“Let the government provide scholarships for Kwara indigenes who want to study medicine and other related health courses, and bond them to serve the state for five years post-graduation. This is how we begin to systematically solve the shortage of medical personnel that has plagued us for years,” Comrade Ishowo noted.
The analyst further stated that some state governments across Nigeria had already recognised the value of dedicated medical universities and taken steps to establish them. He cited the Bayelsa Medical University in Bayelsa State, the State University of Medicine and Applied Sciences in Enugu State, and the University of Medical Sciences in Ondo State as existing examples.
The Lagos state government is also pursuing plans to establish a standalone university of medicine and health sciences to tackle the doctor and healthcare worker deficit in the state.
“These states identified a need and responded to it strategically. Kwara can and should do the same. The conversion of KWASUED into a specialized medical university will be a response to a documented crisis that is costing Kwarans their health and their lives,” Ishowo said.
