IN line with the need to promote the growth, development and     good health of Nigeria, there is a compelling need for the establishment of the Office of the Surgeon-General of the Federation to be occupied by a licensed medical/dental professional (called Surgeon-General of the Federation) who, as an officer of the nation, should be an independent officer and not a member of any political party.

health Independence

He/She should independently articulate national and international health perspectives based on evidence-based best practices targeted at empowering Nigerians for healthy living. Importantly, the Surgeon-General of the Federation, amongst other functions, should be conferred with the technical, professional co-ordination and expert leadership of a commissioned Medical Emergency Corps to handle public health/medical emergencies during disasters, as well as the power to assess the medical fitness of political office holders.

Health Ombudsman

In different countries, there is a Health Ombudsman whose duty it is to technically guide the nation on matters of public health importance. Different countries have different names for their Health Ombudsman who is held responsible for the health of the nation and who is not subject to the vagaries of politics. What is important is therefore the accorded roles and responsibilities and overall objective.

In Nigeria, there used to be a Chief Health Adviser, including Sir Manuwa, who made remarkable contributions to the growth of the health system.

No conflict

It should be noted that the functions of the Surgeon-General of the Federation are not in conflict with those of the Minister of Health, but rather are complementary. The Office, through its separate and statutorily defined functions, will support the work done by the Minister and Mr President on health with improved technical competence and stability brought to bear on the health of Nigerians.

Similar positions

It should also be noted that similar posts already exist in Nigeria’s public service and they perform useful services. These include Accountant-General of the Federation, as distinct from the Minister of Finance; Surveyor-General as distinct from the Minister of Lands and Housing;  Attorney-Genera, Auditor-General as distinct from the Minister of Finance and Statistician-General.

Conviction

I wish to once more express my patriotic conviction that our country urgently needs to establish the Office of Surgeon-General of the Federation as a way of addressing critical gaps in our constitutional, political and medical history.

I am clear on the fact that beyond the opposition being engineered on the basis of primitive prejudices, this creation of the Office of the Surgeon-General will help to significantly improve Nigeria’s essential health indicators, with the overall aim of driving growth, development and the future progress of Nigeria.